Whats New 2019
Dealing with waste - the importance of port reception facilities
Port reception facilities are a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to implementing IMO's MARPOL convention for the prevention of pollution from ships. A regional workshop in Lima, Peru, (21-23 October) has put the focus on port reception facilities in Latin America. Participants from 16 countries * learned the best way to effectively implement MARPOL Annex V on prevention of pollution from ships by garbage and gained knowledge of best practice in port reception facilities.
Recognising women in fisheries, increasing visibility
Women play a significant role in the fishing supply chain, processing, smoking, and ensuring fish reaches markets and tables. Yet their contribution is often overlooked. “Women play key roles in fisheries around the world. To ignore those roles is to see only half the picture,” said IMO’s Juvenal Shiundu, during a side event on Women in Fisheries at the Torremolinos Ministerial Conference on safety of fishing vessels in Torremolinos, Spain (21-23 October). “Available data does not capture the multidimensional nature of the work undertaken by women in fisheries and few policies are developed with women in mind,” Mr. Shiundu said. To address the lack of visibility of women in fisheries, IMO has undertaken an online raising-awareness initiative under the hashtag #WomenInFisheries including an online photowall.
Cook Islands, Sao Tome and Principe accede to Cape Town Agreement, more than 45 declare support
The Cook Islands and Sao Tome and Principe have become the latest States to become Party to the Cape Town Agreement on fishing vessel safety. They deposited their instruments of accession during the Torremolinos Ministerial Conference on Fishing Vessel Safety and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing (21-23 October). They joined more than 45 other countries signing the Torremolinos Declaration, a non-legally binding political instrument. By signing the Declaration, (Photos) the States publicly indicate their determination to ensure the Cape Town Agreement reaches entry into force criteria by the tenth anniversary of its adoption (11 October 2022). more...
Safe fishing, legal fishing: conference pushes ratification of Cape Town Agreement
The loss of life on fishing vessels remains unacceptably high – but the ratification and entry into force of the Cape Town Agreement, a key international treaty on fishing vessel safety, could have a significant positive impact, saving lives at sea. A Ministerial Conference (21-23 October) has opened in Torremolinos, Spain, to garner momentum towards entry into force of the Agreement. This will also help to combat illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing. more...
Maritime and port security support for Indonesia
Indonesia is the latest country to benefit from IMO support to increase maritime and port security. The first dedicated maritime security workshop in the country for several years took place in Bali (15-18 October) building on a regional event, run by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and IMO, on maritime counter-terrorism legal frameworks earlier this year. more...
New audit leaders at the ready
Auditing IMO Member States to assess how effectively they administer key IMO
instruments is an important part of the Organization’s work to create a
regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is universally adopted and
implemented. To support this process, new audit team leaders were trained under IMO’s Member State Audit
Scheme (IMSAS) at a course held at IMO Headquarters, London (14-17
October). The course involved thirteen auditors* who had been part of audit
teams under the Scheme between 2016 and 2019 and are now ready to act as audit
team leaders in future audits. more...
Progress in combatting illicit ship pollution in the Mediterranean
A proposed “Blue Fund” to help
combat illicit ship pollution in the Mediterranean is set to be studied by
States and stakeholders working to protect the Mediterranean marine
environment. This was agreed at a meeting of
the regional network for law enforcement officials of the Mediterranean, known
as MENELAS* - organized by REMPEC, the
IMO-administered pollution emergency response centre in the Mediterranean. more...
Fuels of the future to decarbonize shipping
Ammonia and hydrogen are promising potential fuels of the future in a decarbonized shipping industry, which has to switch to alternative, zero carbon fuels in order to meet the targets set out in the initial IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships, an IMO symposium on sulphur 2020 and alternative fuels heard on Friday (18 October). Setting the scene, IMO's Edmund Hughes said the initial GHG strategy, adopted in 2018, had sent a clear signal that shipping will need to adapt. more...
Better together – international organizations unite at IMO
IMO is the only United Nations agency based in London but the city itself is home to the headquarters and country offices of many other international organizations. Together, these form a group called the All London Based International Organizations. Although they deal with a host of different topics, ranging from maritime safety to molecular biology, there are many issues that unite them – for example, a high proportion of overseas staff and their families, living away from their home countries. The member organizations meet annually to discuss these and other matters and this year it was the turn of IMO to host (17 October). more...