Whats New 2019
Safety of ships and fishing gets a boost in Ghana
Fishing is considered one of the most hazardous occupation in the world and, despite improvements in technology, the loss of life in the fisheries sector is unacceptably high. In order to improve the safety of fishers and fishing vessels, IMO has put in place, over the years, several initiatives, culminating with the adoption of the Cape Town Agreement of 2012. Accra, Ghana, was the host for a regional seminar (8-12 July), on "Ensuring Safety Of Ships and Fishing", to encourage discussion on promoting and ensuring safety in the fishing industry. more...
Enhancing maritime security in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden area
How do you deal with maritime crimes at sea - and how do you train others to do so? These are the skills being taught on the latest in a series of regional training of trainers courses on combating insecurity in the maritime domain. Participants from 18 countries are attending the course, at the Mohammed Bin Naif Academy for Maritime Science and Security Studies, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (30 June - 11 July). more...
Working to limit lost fishing gear in the oceans
Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear can continue to capture and kill marine animals and may cause navigational hazards – as well as contributing to the global marine litter problem. IMO is working closely with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on reducing marine plastic litter from fishing vessels, including fishing gear, as part of the IMO Action Plan on the Reduction of Marine Plastic Litter. This collaboration includes IMO participation at a series of FAO-led workshops, the latest in Bali, Indonesia (8-11 July). more...
Committing to decarbonization in the Caribbean maritime sector
Government and private stakeholders have expressed their support for climate action in the Caribbean, with a focus on decarbonizing the shipping sector, during a regional workshop on Capacity Building for Climate Mitigation in the Maritime Shipping Industry, held at the Chaguaramas Campus of The University of Trinidad and Tobago (1-3 July). The workshop, the second for the region, was hosted by the Maritime Technology Cooperation Centre (MTCC) Caribbean - one of five regional centres established under the IMO-led, European Union-funded Global MTCC Network (GMN) project. more...
Empowering Women in Maritime Security
Twenty-three female candidates from developing countries and Small Island Developing States attended a Maritime and Port Security course (25 June - 8 July) at the Galilee International Management Institute in Nahalal, Israel. IMO, together with the Belgian Government, supported the course which was in line with this year's World Maritime Day theme on "Empowering Women in the Maritime Community" and the 2019 Day of the Seafarer campaign "I Am On Board with gender equality". more...
A key partnership to empower port women
More women are joining the maritime ranks in a variety of professions within the industry. To encourage this trend, IMO supported a training course aimed at female officials from maritime and port authorities. 25 women from 17 developing countries took part in the two-week "Women in Port Management" course, hosted in Le Havre, France (24 June - 5 July). The course covered lectures on port management, port security, marine environment, facilitation of maritime traffic, marketing, port logistics and other topics. more...
Implementing IMO instruments
The Sub-Committee on Implementation of IMO Instruments (III) brings together flag, port and coastal States to consider implementation issues. At its sixth session (1-5 July), the Sub-Committee is expected to finalize updates to key instruments which assist in implementation, including the updated Survey Guidelines under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification, the Non-exhaustive list of obligations under instruments relevant to the IMO instruments implementation Code (III Code), and Procedures for port State control, for adoption by the IMO Assembly at its thirty-first session in November 2019. more...
Addressing bioinvasions - GloFouling project sets to work in the Pacific
In
a spate of activity since its formal launch in March, the initial phase of
the Glofouling Partnerships project is now well and truly underway with a series
of technical workshops in the Pacific. The key message delivered to participants was that once introduced, marine invasive species can be hard to eradicate - and invasive species represent a potential major threat to the Pacific Ocean's biodiversity and the ecological integrity of Small Island Developing States. The GEF-UNDP-IMO GloFouling Partnerships project aims to protect marine biodiversity by addressing bioinvasions by organisms which can build up on ships' hulls and other marine structures. more...
Peru accedes to anti-fouling treaty
Peru has acceded to an important IMO
treaty helping to protect the marine environment – the Control of Harmful
Anti-fouling Systems on Ships (AFS) Convention.
The treaty prohibits the use of harmful organotins in anti-fouling paints and
establishes a mechanism to prevent the potential future use of other harmful
substances in anti-fouling systems. H.E. Mr. Juan Carlos Gamarra Skeels,
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Peru to IMO, met IMO
Secretary-General Kitack Lim at IMO Headquarters, London, to deposit the
instrument of accession (2 July).