Whats New 2017
Spreading cyber security
Cyber security awareness on board
ships plays an important role in ensuring the safety and security of
shipping around the globe. IMO has issued Guidelines on maritime cyber risk management, in addition to a resolution on Maritime Cyber Risk Management in Safety Management Systems – adopted by the Organization's Maritime Safety Committee in June this year. more...
Search and rescue – an international responsibility
Search and rescue is a humanitarian process, aimed at assisting persons in distress, without regard to the nationality or circumstances of the persons in distress. IMO’s Chris Trelawny highlighted this global responsibility, during the first Coast Guard Global Summit, jointly hosted by the Japan Coast Guard and Tokyo-based Nippon Foundation, in Tokyo (14 September). He also outlined the international legal framework for SAR; the implementation of effective SAR systems; and the need for and benefit of international and inter-regional cooperation for effective SAR on a global basis. more...
How to legally remove a hazardous wreck
What is the legal basis for removing a hazardous wreck at
sea? Who bears the liability? These and many other wreck removal questions were
addressed by IMO’s Jan de Boer at the ACI’s Maritime Salvage & Casualty Response
conference
in London (13-14 September). more...
Biofouling management for sustainable shipping
An IMarEST workshop on practical biofouling management strategies just has concluded in Melbourne, Australia (12-15 September). Biofouling, is defined as the undesirable accumulation of aquatic organisms like, plants, algae and animals on ships’ hulls, which pose a significant problem to the world’s oceans and to the conservation of biodiversity. IMO is working actively to address this issue by implementing practices to control and manage biofouling. One of the IMO’s main objective at the conference is to promote a new partnership project together with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which seek to curb the spread of bioinvasion as well as to identify future partners for the project. more...
Jamaica and Malta accede to Ballast Water Management Convention
Jamaica and Malta have become the
latest States to sign up to IMO's Ballast Water Management Convention –
the international treaty requiring ships to manage their ballast water
to help stop the spread of invasive aquatic species across the globe. The Convention entered into force earlier this month (8 September) and a total of 65 signatories now represent 73.92% of the world's merchant fleet tonnage. more...
Hazards of bauxite on cargoes Sub-Committee agenda
New research considered by IMO this week about the behaviour of an aluminium ore that featured in a high-profile shipping casualty in 2015 could lead to changes in industry rules about how such cargoes should be handled. IMO’s Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC 4, 11-15 September) will consider the latest research results on the potential instability of bauxite when carried by ship. The Sub-Committee will review the outcome of a correspondence group and the findings of a Global Bauxite Working Group, with a view to further developing and updating the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code. The meeting was opened by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim and is being chaired by Mr. Xie Hui of China. (Photos here). more...
Practising port security drills
A security incident hits a passenger ship in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – an important port receiving more than 140 passenger ships and hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. Procedures need to be followed and numerous national agencies need to be coordinated. This was the subject of one of the drills and exercises that took place during an IMO workshop in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (7 September) involving more than 100 participants from different port facilities in the Americas region. more...
Addressing fishing vessel safety
Fishing continues to be considered the most
hazardous occupation in the world, and despite the improvement in technology,
the loss of life in the fisheries sector is unacceptably high. To address the issue, IMO has held a regional
seminar in Rarotonga, Cook Islands (28 August - 1 September) on the
ratification of an important IMO legal instrument called the Cape TownAgreement, providing Member Governments with the
assistance needed to implement the treaty. more...