Whats New 2017
Safe and sustainable Straits of Malacca and Singapore
A series of the meetings under the Cooperative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore have been held in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia this week (2-6 October 2017). Safety of navigation, including e-navigation, and marine environmental protection in one of the busiest waterways were on the agenda of the meetings, attended by representatives of the littoral States (Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore), user States and other stakeholders. IMO’s Hiro Yamada participated. more...
Oil spill preparedness for the wider Caribbean
Any state with offshore oil interests needs to be ready to respond to an oil spill. With this in mind, an IMO workshop (2-5 October) in Cartagena, has covered how to assess, identify and acquire oil spill response equipment. A simulated table-top exercise provided hands-on practical experience in how an incident might play out. Participants also gained knowledge in how to develop and implement national and regional exercise programmes.
Safe and green cargo shipping
The collaboration between all stakeholders to ensure the safe and environmentally sound transport of goods was a key message delivered by IMO’s Jack Westwood-Booth at the recent International Cargo Handling Co-ordination Association (ICHCA) 65th Anniversary Conference, Las Palmas, Gran Canarias, Spain (2 October). Reflecting the World Maritime Day Theme - “Connecting, ships, ports and people” - IMO’s work in collaboration with government and industry to develop and implement regulations specific to the entire cargo supply chain, including goods packed in containers, was outlined. On behalf of IMO, Mr Westwood Both accepted the John Strang A.O. Memorial Award, which recognizes IMO for its achievements related to cargo handling operations. more...
Empowering maritime women in east and southern Africa
Promoting women's access to quality employment and senior management level within the maritime sector is a key priority for IMO's gender and capacity-building programme and was at the core of the 8th regional conference to support the Association of Women Managers in the Maritime Sector in East and Southern Africa (WOMESA), held in Mahé, Seychelles (26 to 29 September). Under the theme "A Decade of empowering Maritime Women - What does the future hold for Africa's Blue Economy?", the event, supported by the Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration (SMSA), focused on the key achievements made by the Association over the last decade, as it celebrates its milestone 10th anniversary. more...
Maritime matters – a global celebration
World Maritime Day (28 September) has been marked around the world in a series of events and celebrations led by IMO from its London headquarters. Seafaring nations, coastal states and the shipping industry staged conferences, seminars and public events under the 2017 theme “Connecting Ships, Ports and People”. more...
Spotlight on liability treaties at Pacific Islands workshop
An IMO/SPC workshop in Fiji is supporting Pacific Island countries* to implement treaties dealing with liability and compensation. The workshop, taking place in Suva (26-29 September), is providing a comprehensive overview of the IMO liability regime, including treaties covering wreck removal, salvage, carriage of hazardous and noxious substances, passengers, CLC, Fund, Bunkers Convention and limitation of liability. more...
Global standards for sustainable shipping
IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim has stressed the importance of global standards and regulations developed by governments at IMO, as the foundation for shipping to become safer, more efficient, cleaner and greener, during a visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (23-24 September). more...
IMO welcomes new delegates
To provide new delegates with a flavour of what IMO does and how it works, IMO hosted an orientation seminar at its Headquarters in London (21-22 September). The two-day event provided a packed agenda looking at a broad range of IMO activities from the functioning of the Organization's governing and technical bodies and the Secretariat to campaigns and award ceremonies. The information provided an opportunity for all delegations to be better informed about the work of IMO as well as encouraging the participation of all Member States in the work of the Organization.
Collaboration for Future Ready Shipping
"No stakeholder, alone, can deal with the complexities the planet faces in addressing the challenge of climate change", said IMO's Director of the Marine Environment Division, Stefan Micallef, as he opened the joint Singapore-IMO International Conference on Maritime Technology Transfer and Capacity-Building also known as Future-Ready Shipping Conference 2017, held in Singapore (25-26 September). The Conference looked at future collaborations that can drive discussions towards identifying opportunities that can have an impact on the shipping industry as it moves towards decarbonization. The event also included sessions covering the latest trends in maritime and port energy efficient technologies; the regulatory framework; and market access and potential solutions to meeting countries' needs in capacity-building and technology transfer. more...