Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 107) - closing remarks

IMO SECRETARY-GENERAL KITACK LIM  CLOSING REMARKS – MSC 107

Madam Chair, Excellencies, distinguished delegates and observers, Good morning,

We have come to the end of another very busy session of the Maritime Safety Committee which once again achieved many important accomplishments.

First, I would like to express my deepest condolences to India for the tragic incident involving three trains in India's eastern Odisha state, with many lives lost and hundreds injured.

 My thoughts, those of the Secretariat, and the entire membership of IMO, are with the people of India at this difficult time.

I also convey my deepest personal condolences, and those of the IMO Membership, to the delegation of Germany and the family of Mr. Ivan Nikolov, and to the delegation of Vanuatu and the family of Dr. James Cowley, following their passing. They will both be missed by the many colleagues and friends here at IMO.

Distinguished delegates we were informed during this session, of an initiative developed by the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Canada concerning the shipwrecked Vessel RMS Titanic to ensure a standardised, international approach to preserving the wreck and resting site of more than 1,500 people aboard when it sank.

The Titanic is inextricably linked to IMO as the tragedy led to the creation of SOLAS, which is still the fundamental basis for ship safety today.

I would like to encourage Member States to support the initiative by signing the Agreement.

With regard to the outcome of this MSC session, I would like to highlight some of the most important achievements:

  • The adoption of amendments to the 1974 SOLAS Convention and five associated mandatory instruments;

  • The adoption of amendments to the 1978 STCW Convention and Code and approval of draft amendments to the STCW Code;

  • The adoption of an MSC resolution on Strengthening measures for ensuring the safety of international shipping; 

  • The approval of a draft MSC-MEPC circular on Guidelines for the sampling of oil fuel for determination of compliance with the revised MARPOL Annex VI and SOLAS chapter II-2;

  • The approval of the MSC circular on Interim guidelines for the safety of ships using LPG fuels; 

  • The approval of a new output on "Development of a safety regulatory framework to support the reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions from ships using new technologies and alternative fuels"; 

  • The approval of the revised STCW-F Convention and the new associated STCW-F Code; 

  • The significant progress in the work on the new Code for MASS; 

  • The adoption of the International Code of Safety for Diving Operations 2023; 

  • The approval of the IMO position on ITU's World Radio Conference 2023 agenda items concerning matters relating to maritime services; and 

  • The approval of Interim guidelines on safe operation of onshore power supply service in port for ships engaged on international voyages.

All these achievements would not have been possible without the devotion and spirit of cooperation from all of you, the delegates.

My most sincere appreciation goes to your Chair, Mrs. Mayte Medina of the United States. Madam Chair, you once again demonstrated outstanding decision-making skills and excellent leadership in steering the affairs of the Committee to great success as always.

I would also like to thank your Vice-Chair, Mr. Theofilos Mozas of Greece, for his support throughout this session.

My thanks also go to the Chairs of the working and drafting groups, Mr. McHardy of the Marshall Islands, Mr. Allgeier of Germany, Mr. Sirkar of the United States, and Mr. Tsuchiya of Liberia, who ensured successful outcomes for their respective groups.

I would also like to bid farewell to Captain Tero Jokilehto of Finland and Mr. Sverrir Konrádsson of Iceland for whom this was the last session of the Committee. All deserve very special praise for their outstanding contributions to this Committee and to IMO over many years.

Let me conclude by thanking the staff of the Maritime Safety Division for their dedication, under the Secretary of your Committee, Director Ms. Heike Deggim.

My thanks also go to all staff in the Conference Division, including Meeting Services and Translation and Document Sections, as well as the Department of Information Technology, and special thanks, go to the interpreters for facilitating our communication and cafeteria for the special support during the meeting.

Distinguished delegates,

It only remains for me to wish you all a nice weekend and a safe journey back home.

Thank you.

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