Whats New 2017
‘No hiding place’ for sub-standard shipping
IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim has
stressed the vital importance of collaborative efforts to leave ‘no hiding
place’ for sub-standard shipping. Mr Lim was addressing the third Joint
Ministerial Conference of the Paris and Tokyo Memoranda of Understanding on
Port State Control in Vancouver, Canada (3-4 May).Port State Control is the mechanism that enables officials
from a port state to board and inspect foreign-flag ships to ensure they comply
with the necessary safety and environmental regulations. more...
Training for maritime law enforcement
A three-week
training course on maritime law enforcement for countries surrounding the Gulf
of Aden concludes today (4 May) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The course brought
together specialists from 14
signatory countries* to the Djibouti Code
of Conduct – the IMO instrument helping to repress piracy and armed robbery
against ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. Participants
covered topics covered under the recently adopted Jeddah amendment
to the Djibouti Code – such as how to suppress a range of illicit
activities. more...
What’s next for ballast water management?
Latest developments on the entry
into force of the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention took centre stage
at the 8th International Conference on Ballast Water Management (24-25
April) in Singapore. IMO Secretary-General Emeritus, Koji Sekimizu, and Chief
Technical Advisor of the GEF-UNDP-IMO GloBallast Partnerships Programme, Jose
Matheickal, delivered keynote addresses at the event. more...
Piracy recap
IMO has contributed to the ReCAAP ISC Piracy and Sea Robbery
Conference 2017 in Singapore (27 April). IMO special advisor on maritime
security, Chris Trelawny, gave a presentation on current statistics and trends
on the issue of piracy and armed robbery against ships. According to reports
received by IMO, the number of incidents followed a downward trend in 2016,
with 215 incidents, compared with 303 in 2015 – a reduction of about 29% at the
global level. more...
Inspiring more women to join the Pacific maritime sector
Regional commitment of the Pacific on the advancement of women and
gender equality in the maritime sector was at the forefront of a meeting held
by The Pacific Women in Maritime Association (PacWIMA)
in Nuku’alofa, Tonga (24-28 April). Thanks
to IMO funding, the association was able to meet and discuss the regional strategy for
Pacific women in the maritime sector, launching their new website and
collaborating with the World Maritime University`s Women’s Association. The strategy seeks to
encourage women who aspire to train for, and work in, the maritime sector, by
raising awareness and providing the tools for civil society and local
communities to create an enabling environment for them to do so. more...
Impacts of fouling
The issue of biofouling has been under the microscope at a series of national workshops delivered by IMO, most recently, a national workshop held in Antananarivo, Madagascar (25-27 April). All ships can experience a build-up of aquatic organisms on their underwater hull and structures, which is known as biofouling. This can impact on the ship speed and energy use, but it could also potentially see aquatic organisms transferred to new areas, where they could become invasive species. more...
Assessing seafarers
Seafarers need to be properly trained if they are to operate ships safely and competently, and the standards they must attain are set out in IMO’s STCW Convention. It is also vital that seafarers are properly assessed and examined to make sure they really do reach the required levels of skill and competency. A regional training course on how to assess and examine seafarers is being held in Shanghai, China (24-28 April). more...
Sustainable energy and transport
Adverse climate changes, sea level rising and extreme weather patterns are causes of great concern for the Pacific community. IMO has joined more than 100 high-level delegates and experts in Nuku’alofa, Tonga (26 April) for the Third Pacific Regional Energy and Transport Ministerial Meeting, under the theme of "Affordable, Reliable and Sustainable Energy and Transport Services for All". more...
Learning to teach energy-efficient ship operation
Maritime educators from Panama and Jamaica are taking part
in an IMO training workshop to introduce the topic of energy-efficient ship
operation into their teaching curriculums. The workshop, taking place in Panama
City, Panama (25-26 April) was developed under the Organization’s GloMEEP project and supports maritime
training institutes to deliver the IMO Model Course 4.05 to seafarers. more...