IACS - FAQs

What exactly is IMO?

The International Maritime Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for measures to improve the safety and security of international shipping and to prevent marine pollution from ships. It is also involved in legal matters, including liability and compensation issues and the facilitation of international maritime traffic. It was established by means of a Convention adopted under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva on 17 March 1948 and met for the first time in January 1959. It currently has 170 Member States. IMO's governing body is the Assembly which is made up of all 170 Member States and meets normally once every two years. It adopts the budget for the next biennium together with technical resolutions and recommendations prepared by subsidiary bodies during the previous two years. The Council acts as governing body in between Assembly sessions. It prepares the budget and work programme for the Assembly. The main technical work is carried out by the Maritime Safety, Marine Environment Protection, Legal, Technical Co-operation and Facilitation Committees and a number of sub-committees. The IMO slogan sums up its objectives: Safe, secure and efficient shipping on clean oceans.

What does IMO do?

When IMO first began operations its chief concern was to develop international treaties and other legislation concerning safety and marine pollution prevention. By the late 1970s, however, this work had been largely completed, though a number of important instruments were adopted in more recent years. IMO is now concentrating on keeping legislation up to date and ensuring that it is ratified by as many countries as possible. This has been so successful that many Conventions now apply to more than 98% of world merchant shipping tonnage. Currently the emphasis is on trying to ensure that these conventions and other treaties are properly implemented by the countries that have accepted them. The texts of conventions, codes and other instruments adopted by IMO can be purchased from IMO Publications.

Who is the Secretary-General of IMO?

The current Secretary-General is Mr. Koji Sekimizu (Japan).

How does IMO implement legislation?

It doesn't. IMO was established to adopt legislation. Governments are responsible for implementing it. When a Government accepts an IMO Convention it agrees to make it part of its own national law and to enforce it just like any other law. The problem is that some countries lack the expertise, experience and resources necessary to do this properly. Others perhaps put enforcement fairly low down their list of priorities. The result is that serious casualty rates - probably the best way of seeing how effective Governments are at implementing legislation - can potentially vary from flag to flag. IMO is concerned about this problem and in 1992 set up a special Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation to improve the performance of Governments. Another way of raising standards is through port State control. The most important IMO conventions contain provisions for Governments to inspect foreign ships that visit their ports to ensure that they meet IMO standards. If they do not they can be detained until repairs are carried out. Experience has shown that this works best if countries join together to form regional port State control organizations. IMO has encouraged this process and agreements have been signed covering Europe and the north Atlantic (Paris MOU); Asia and the Pacific (Tokyo MOU); Latin America (Acuerdo de Viña del Mar); Caribbean (Caribbean MOU); West and Central Africa (Abuja MOU); the Black Sea region (Black Sea MOU); the Mediterranean (Mediterranean MOU); the Indian Ocean (Indian Ocean MOU) and the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC MoU (Riyadh MoU)). IMO also has an extensive technical co-operation programme which concentrates on improving the ability of developing countries to help themselves. It concentrates on developing human resources through maritime training and similar activities. IMO has adopted the Voluntary IMO Member State Audit Scheme. The Audit Scheme is designed to help promote maritime safety and environmental protection by assessing how effectively Member States implement and enforce relevant IMO Convention standards, and by providing them with feedback and advice on their current performance. The first audits under the Voluntary IMO Member State Audit Scheme were completed at the end of 2006 but the IMO Assembly has agreed a programme to make this scheme mandatory, with the entry into force of the mandatory audit scheme likely to be in 2015.

Why do we need an international organization to look after shipping?

Because shipping is an international industry. If each nation developed its own safety legislation the result would be a maze of differing, often conflicting national laws. One nation, for example, might insist on lifeboats being made of steel and another of glass-reinforced plastic. Some nations might insist on very high safety standards while others might be more lax, acting as havens for sub-standard shipping.

Where can I find statistics on the shipping industry? Try the Knowledge Centre on this site. IMO compiles statistics from external sources:
International Shipping and World Trade - Facts and figures There are also various external sources of information: - http://www.marisec.org/shippingfacts/home/ gives an overview of the shiping industry. - UNCTAD produces an annual Review of Maritime Transport http://www.unctad.org/Templates/StartPage.asp?intItemID=2614&lang=1 - IMO now reviews its own performance indicators. The Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS) http://gisis.imo.org/Public/ has been developed by IMO to provide information on Maritime Casualties and Incidents as well as databases of other information provided by Member States.

How does IMO implement legislation?

It doesn't. IMO was established to adopt legislation. Governments are responsible for implementing it. When a Government accepts an IMO Convention it agrees to make it part of its own national law and to enforce it just like any other law. The problem is that some countries lack the expertise, experience and resources necessary to do this properly. Others perhaps put enforcement fairly low down their list of priorities.

The result is that serious casualty rates - probably the best way of seeing how effective Governments are at implementing legislation - can potentially vary from flag to flag.

IMO is concerned about this problem and in 1992 set up a special Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation to improve the performance of Governments. Another way of raising standards is through port State control. The most important IMO conventions contain provisions for Governments to inspect foreign ships that visit their ports to ensure that they meet IMO standards. If they do not they can be detained until repairs are carried out. Experience has shown that this works best if countries join together to form regional port State control organizations.

IMO has encouraged this process and agreements have been signed covering Europe and the north Atlantic (Paris MOU); Asia and the Pacific (Tokyo MOU); Latin America (Acuerdo de Viña del Mar); Caribbean (Caribbean MOU); West and Central Africa (Abuja MOU); the Black Sea region (Black Sea MOU); the Mediterranean (Mediterranean MOU); the Indian Ocean (Indian Ocean MOU) and the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC MoU (Riyadh MoU)).

IMO also has an extensive technical co-operation programme which concentrates on improving the ability of developing countries to help themselves. It concentrates on developing human resources through maritime training and similar activities.

IMO has adopted the Voluntary IMO Member State Audit Scheme. The Audit Scheme is designed to help promote maritime safety and environmental protection by assessing how effectively Member States implement and enforce relevant IMO Convention standards, and by providing them with feedback and advice on their current performance. The first audits under the Voluntary IMO Member State Audit Scheme were completed at the end of 2006 but the IMO Assembly has agreed a programme to make this scheme mandatory, with the entry into force of the mandatory audit scheme likely to be in 2015

What about the classification societies?

All ships must be surveyed in ordered to be issued certificates which establish their seaworthiness, type of ship, and so onand this is the responsibility of the flag State of the vessel. However, the flag State ("Administration") may "entrust the inspections and surveys either to surveyors nominated for the the purpose or to organizations recognized by it" (SOLAS Chapter 1, regulation 6).

In pracice these "recognized organizations" are often the classification societies.

The International Association of Classification Societies(IACS) is a Non-Governmental Organization which was granted Consultative Status with IMO in 1969.

What about pollution?

In 1954 a treaty was adopted dealing with oil pollution from ships. IMO took over responsibility for this treaty in 1959, but it was not until 1967, when the tanker Torrey Canyon ran aground off the coast of the United Kingdom and spilled more than 120,000 tons of oil into the sea, that the shipping world realized just how serious the pollution threat was. Until then many people had believed that the seas were big enough to cope with any pollution caused by human activity. Since then IMO has adopted a whole series of conventions covering prevention of marine pollution by ships, preparedness and response to incidents involving oil and hazardous and noxious substances, prevention of use of harmful anti-fouling systems and the international convention on ballast water management to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic organisms in ballast water.

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) deals with all issues relating to marine environment protection as it relates to shipping.

Protecting the environment from shipping is not just about specific regulations preventing ships dumping oil, garbage or sewage. It is also about the improvements in safety - from mandatory traffic separation schemes to the International Safety Management (ISM) Code and improving seafarer training - which help to prevent accidents occurring.

The preservation of Special Areas and Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas is an important aspect of IMO's work. IMO adopts these areas - so that all Member States have an opportunity to view proposals and discuss any proposed measures, so that any which might impact on the freedom of navigation can be fully explored.

IMO's Technical Co-operation Programme is hugely important in ensuring Member States have the resources and expertise to implement IMO conventions relating to marine pollution prevention. Examples of programmes include: sensitivity mapping to identify which parts of a coastline are particularly vulnerable; training in oil spill response and contingency planning; the GloBallast project which is addressing ballast water management issues; and the Marine Electronic Highway in the Malacca Strait.

The IMO has a significant role to play in preserving the marine environment and ensuring that shipping does not have a negative impact. It is recognized that environmentally speaking in terms of energy needed for volume of cargo transported, shipping is one of the "greenest" transport methods.

What about climate change?

IMO is heavily engaged in the fight to protect and preserve our environment - both marine and atmospheric - and is energetically pursuing the limitation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from shipping operations. The Marine Environment Protection Committee has developed energy efficiency measures, both for existing and new ships, to enable a comprehensive package of technical and operational measures to be agreed.

Doesn't IMO always aim for the lowest common denominator?

IMO usually tries to act on a consensus basis. This is because it is important that measures adopted by the Organization, which can have a major impact on shipping, achieve as much support as possible. A treaty that was supported by only 51 per cent of the IMO membership, for example, would be opposed by nearly half the shipping world. Not only would they not ratify the treaty concerned but they might go off and adopt an alternative treaty of their own, thereby dividing the maritime community. But this does not mean that the measures themselves are of a low standard. Governments that did not want high standards would not bother to join IMO. The Governments that do join IMO do so because they support the Organization's aims. Experience has show that the treaties adopted by IMO represent an extremely high standard and their acceptability can be shown by the fact that many of them are now almost universal in their coverage. SOLAS, for example, has been accepted by more than 156 countries and covers all but a fraction of the world merchant fleet.

How much does IMO cost?

IMO is a bargain. It is one of the smallest agencies in the United Nations system, both in terms of staff numbers (just 300 permanent staff) and budget. The total budget for the 2010-2011 biennium is £61,151,200.

This is less than half what it would cost to buy a medium sized oil tanker and represents only a fraction of the cost of the damage caused by an oil spill, for example (the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989 has so far cost more than US$5 billion). If IMO is responsible for preventing just one oil tanker accident a year then it more than covers its cost.

The IMO budget is unique for another reason. Costs are shared between the 170 Member States primarily in proportion to the size of each one's fleet of merchant ships. The biggest fleets in the world are currently operated by Panama and Liberia and so they pay the biggest share of IMO's budget.

IMO used to be called "the rich man's club". Has it changed at all?

When IMO began operations in 1959 shipping was still dominated by a relatively small number of countries, nearly all of them located in the northern hemisphere. IMO tended to reflect this. But as the balance of power in the shipping industry began to change so did IMO. The Maritime Safety Committee, the senior technical body, was thrown open to all Member States (previously it had consisted only of 16 Members elected by the governing Assembly). The Council, which acts as governing body in between the two-yearly meetings of the Assembly, was increased in size from 18 to 24 Member States, then to 32 and in 2002 was increased still further to 40. This was done partly to take into account the growing membership of IMO, but also to ensure that the views of developing countries were properly represented. The biggest increase in Council membership has been to the section which takes geographical representation into account. In 1969 IMO became the first UN agency to make its Technical Co-operation Committee a permanent institution - an indication of the importance the Organization attaches to this subject.