Whats New 2017
Marine environment protection in Southeast Asia gets fresh backing from Norad
A new IMO-Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) environmental project in Southeast Asia is set to begin, to support seven countries to protect the marine environment from shipping operations. IMO and Norad signed (on 8 December 2017) an Agreement to support the new major project titled “Marine Environment Protection for Southeast Asia Seas (MEPSEAS)”. more...
Wreck removal challenges
The issue of how to legally remove hazardous wrecks at sea has been in the spotlight at the Salvage & Wreck London 2017 Conference (7 December). IMO’s Jan De Boer took part in a panel discussing the challenges surrounding wreck removal and provided an update on the Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention. more...
More women in ports
Female officials from maritime and port authorities from developing countries are attending a training course aimed at improving management and operational efficiency of their ports. Hosted in Le Havre, France (27 November - 8 December), women from 21 countries are taking part in the two-week course entitled "Women in Port Management" which includes lectures on subjects such as port management, port security, port marine environment, facilitation of maritime traffic, port marketing, port logistics and other topics. Alongside classroom lectures, visits were organized at the Port of Le Havre and the Port of Rouen, enabling the participants to experience for themselves the day-to-day operations of a port with a view to applying the newly-learned material back in their respective countries. more...
Finding biofouling solutions
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, and also
potentially see aquatic organisms transferred to new areas, where they can
become invasive species. To help address this threat, the IMO team preparing the new
GloFouling
project has taken part in the Sustainable Ocean Summit in Halifax, Canada
(29 November – 1 December) where industry-led solutions to ocean sustainability
challenges were being discussed. more...
Somalia signs Jeddah Amendment on illicit maritime activity
Somalia has become the 14th signatory to the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct – the instrument developed and adopted by countries in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden that has been a key factor in repressing piracy and armed robbery against ships operating in that region. The Amendment significantly broadened the scope of the Djibouti Code when it was adopted in January 2017. more...
Supporting Solomon Islands
The maritime capacity of the Solomon Islands is to be strengthened through a new capacity-building partnership signed between Belgium, the Solomon Islands and IMO. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at IMO Headquarters (30 November). more...
Empowering female port managers
Six female officials benefited from IMO fellowships and attended a Port Senior Management Programme held at the Galilee International Management Institute (GIMI) in Nahalal, Israel, (15 -28 November). The two-week course provided them with key information and updates on innovations in the port industry. This initiative comes from IMO's gender and capacity-building programme which supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, particularly goal 5 on gender equality. One part of the programme focuses on providing gender-specific fellowships which in this case was provided to six female officials from Belize, Indonesia, Kenya, the Philippines, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
Making “Voyage Together” vision a reality
Better implementation of IMO standards, improving capacity building, enhancing the performance of the Secretariat and promoting a global approach and awareness are the cornerstones of IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim’s vision for the London-based United Nations agency. A multi-donor trust fund to help make this vision a reality today (27 November) received a major boost. more...
Training for port security staff in Guinea
Port security officials in Guinea have undergone training on complying with IMO’s maritime security measures. The event in Conakry, Guinea (20-24 November) is being organised in conjunction with Guinea’s Maritime Authority and the Ministry of Transport. more...