Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is IMO?

What does IMO do?
Who is the Secretary-General of IMO?
Why do we need an international organization to look after shipping?
Where can I find statistics on the shipping industry?
How does IMO ipleent legislation?
What a!out the classification societies?
What a!out pollution?
"oesn#t IMO always ai for the lowest coon denoinator?
How uch does IMO cost?
IMO used to !e called $the rich an#s clu!$% Has it changed at all?
Shouldn#t IMO ha&e soe sort of police function?
What is the 'oluntary IMO Me!er State (udit Schee?
Why is IMO so slow?
Ha&e shipping safety and the arine en&ironent ipro&ed !ecause of IMO?
What a!out aritie security?
What is IMO doing a!out piracy?
How can I !ecoe a e!er of IMO?
How can I get a )o! at IMO?
What is technical co-operation?
What is the GM"SS?
Where can I o!tain the text of the IMO con&entions?
How can I contact IMO?
I a a student doing research - how can I find ore inforation?
What exactly is IMO?
*he International Maritie Organization is a specialized agency of the +nited ,ations which is responsi!le for
easures to ipro&e the safety and security of international shipping and to pre&ent arine pollution fro ships%
It is also in&ol&ed in legal atters- including lia!ility and copensation issues and the facilitation of international
aritie traffic% It was esta!lished !y eans of a .on&ention adopted under the auspices of the +nited ,ations
in Gene&a on /0 March /123 and et for the first tie in 4anuary /151% It currently has /66 Me!er States%
IMO#s go&erning !ody is the (sse!ly which is ade up of all /66 Me!er States and eets norally once
e&ery two years% It adopts the !udget for the next !ienniu together with technical resolutions and
recoendations prepared !y su!sidiary !odies during the pre&ious two years% *he .ouncil acts as go&erning
!ody in !etween (sse!ly sessions% It prepares the !udget and work prograe for the (sse!ly% *he ain
technical work is carried out !y the Maritie Safety- Marine 7n&ironent 8rotection- 9egal- *echnical .o-
operation and :acilitation .oittees and a nu!er of su!-coittees%
*he IMO slogan sus up its o!)ecti&es; Safe, secure and efficient shipping on clean oceans%
What does IMO do?
When IMO first !egan operations its chief concern was to de&elop international treaties and other legislation
concerning safety and arine pollution pre&ention%
<y the late /10=s- howe&er- this work had !een largely copleted- though a nu!er of iportant instruents
were adopted in ore recent years% IMO is now concentrating on keeping legislation up to date and ensuring that
it is ratified !y as any countries as possi!le% *his has !een so successful that any .on&entions now apply to
ore than 13> of world erchant shipping tonnage%
.urrently the ephasis is on trying to ensure that these con&entions and other treaties are properly ipleented
!y the countries that ha&e accepted the% *he texts of con&entions- codes and other instruents adopted !y
IMO can !e purchased fro IMO 8u!lications%
*he IMO strategic plan can !e found in the Aout section%
Who is the Secretary!"eneral of IMO?
*he Secretary-General is Mr% 7fthiios 7% Mitropoulos ?Greece@%
Why do #e need an international organi$ation to look after shipping?
<ecause shipping is an international industry% If each nation de&eloped its own safety legislation the result would
!e a aze of differing- often conflicting national laws% One nation- for exaple- ight insist on life!oats !eing
ade of steel and another of glass-reinforced plastic% Soe nations ight insist on &ery high safety standards
while others ight !e ore lax- acting as ha&ens for su!-standard shipping%
Where can I find statistics on the shipping industry?
*here are &arious external sources of inforation;
- http;AAwww%arisec%orgAshippingfactsAkeyfactsindex%ht gi&es an o&er&iew of the shiping industry%
- +,.*(" produces an annual Be&iew of Maritie *ransport
- In addition- IMO now re&iews its own perforance indicators%
- See also .asualties and Inforation Besources
*he Glo!al Integrated Shipping Inforation Syste ?GISIS@ has !een de&eloped !y IMO to pro&ide inforation
on Maritie .asualties and Incidents as well as data!ases of other inforation pro&ided !y Me!er States%
*he World Maritie "ay thee for C==5 was International shipping ! carrier of #orld trade% See Message-
<ackground 8aper and four-page colour leaflet relating to the iportance of the shipping industry in the world
today%
%o# does IMO i&ple&ent legislation?
It doesn#t% IMO was esta!lished to adopt legislation% Go&ernents are responsi!le for implementing it% When a
Go&ernent accepts an IMO .on&ention it agrees to ake it part of its own national law and to enforce it )ust
like any other law% *he pro!le is that soe countries lack the expertise- experience and resources necessary to
do this properly% Others perhaps put enforceent fairly low down their list of priorities%
With /66 Go&ernents as Me!ers IMO has plenty of teeth !ut soe of the don#t !ite% *he result is that
serious casualty rates - pro!a!ly the !est way of seeing how effecti&e Go&ernents are at ipleenting
legislation - &ary enorously fro flag to flag% *he worst fleets ha&e casualty rates that are a hundred ties
worse than those of the !est%
IMO is concerned a!out this pro!le and in /11C set up a special Su!-.oittee on :lag State Ipleentation
to ipro&e the perforance of Go&ernents% (nother way of raising standards is through port State control% *he
ost iportant IMO con&entions contain pro&isions for Go&ernents to inspect foreign ships that &isit their ports
to ensure that they eet IMO standards% If they do not they can !e detained until repairs are carried out%
7xperience has shown that this works !est if countries )oin together to for regional port State control
organizations%
IMO has encouraged this process and agreeents ha&e !een signed co&ering 7urope and the north (tlantic ?8aris
MO+@D (sia and the 8acific ?*okyo MO+@D 9atin (erica ?(cuerdo de 'iEa del Mar@D .ari!!ean ?.ari!!ean MO+@D
West and .entral (frica ?(!u)a MO+@D the <lack Sea region ?<lack Sea MO+@D the Mediterranean ?Mediterranean
MO+@D the Indian Ocean ?Indian Ocean MO+@ and the (ra! States of the Gulf ?G.. Mo+ ?Biyadh Mo+@@%
IMO also has an extensi&e technical co-operation prograe which concentrates on ipro&ing the a!ility of
de&eloping countries to help thesel&es% It concentrates on de&eloping huan resources through aritie
training and siilar acti&ities%
IMOhas adopted the 'oluntary IMO Me!er State (udit Schee% *he (udit Schee is designed to help proote
aritie safety and en&ironental protection !y assessing how effecti&ely Me!er States ipleent and
enforce rele&ant IMO .on&ention standards- and !y pro&iding the with feed!ack and ad&ice on their current
perforance%
What aout the classification societies?
(ll ships ust !e sur&eyed in ordered to !e issued certificates which esta!lish their seaworthiness- type of ship-
and so onand this is the responsi!ility of the flag State of the &essel% Howe&er- the flag State ?$(dinistration$@
ay $entrust the inspections and sur&eys either to sur&eyors noinated for the the purpose or to organizations
recognized !y it$ ?SO9(S .hapter /- regulation 6@%
In pracice these $recognized organizations$ are often the classification societies%
*he International (ssociation of .lassification Societies?I(.S@ is a ,on-Go&ernental Organization which was
granted .onsultati&e Status with IMO in /161%
What aout pollution?
In /152 a treaty was adopted dealing with oil pollution fro ships% IMO took o&er responsi!ility for this treaty in
/151- !ut it was not until /160- when the tanker Torrey Canyon ran aground off the coast of the +nited Fingdo
and spilled ore than /C=-=== tons of oil into the sea- that the shipping world realized )ust how serious the
pollution threat was% +ntil then any people had !elie&ed that the seas were !ig enough to cope with any
pollution caused !y huan acti&ity% Since then IMO has adopted a whole series of con&entions co&ering
pre&ention of arine pollution !y ships- preparedness and response to incidents in&ol&ing oil and hazardous and
noxious su!stances- pre&ention of use of harful anti-fouling systes and the international con&ention on !allast
water anageent to pre&ent the spread of harful aGuatic organiss in !allast water%
*he Marine 7n&ironent 8rotection .oittee ?M78.@ deals with all issues relating to arine en&ironent
protection as it relates to shipping%
8rotecting the en&ironent fro shipping is not )ust a!out specific regulations pre&enting ships duping oil-
gar!age or sewage% It is also a!out the ipro&eents in safety - fro andatory traffic separation schees to
the International Safety Manageent ?ISM@ .ode and ipro&ing seafarer training - which help to pre&ent
accidents occurring%
*he preser&ation of Special (reas and 8articularly Sensiti&e Sea (reas is an iportant aspect of IMO#s work% IMO
adopts these areas - so that all Me!er States ha&e an opportunity to &iew proposals and discuss any proposed
easures- so that any which ight ipact on the freedo of na&igation can !e fully explored%
IMO#s *echnical .o-operation 8rograe is hugely iportant in ensuring Me!er States ha&e the resources and
expertise to ipleent IMO con&entions relating to arine pollution pre&ention% 7xaples of prograes
include; sensiti&ity apping to identify which parts of a coastline are particularly &ulnera!leD training in oil spill
response and contingency planningD the Glo<allast pro)ect which is addressing !allast water anageent issuesD
and the Marine 7lectronic Highway in the Malacca Strait%
*he IMO has a significant role to play in preser&ing the arine en&ironent and ensuring that shipping does not
ha&e a negati&e ipact% It is recognized that en&ironentally speaking in ters of energy needed for &olue of
cargo transported- shipping is one of the $greenest$ transport ethods%
(genda C/- a glo!al plan of action for sustaina!le de&elopent adopted !y the /11C +nited ,ations .onference
on 7n&ironent and "e&elopent ?+,.7"@- in Bio de 4aneiro- <razil included a nu!er of target areas which
IMO was addressing or needed to address and IMO reported its significant progress on these issues to the
4ohannes!urg Suit C==C - the +nited ,ations# World Suit on Sustaina!le "e&elopent ?WSS"@%
'oesn(t IMO al#ays ai& for the lo#est co&&on deno&inator?
IMO usually tries to act on a consensus !asis% *his is !ecause it is iportant that easures adopted !y the
Organization- which can ha&e a a)or ipact on shipping- achie&e as uch support as possi!le% ( treaty that was
supported !y only 5/> of the IMO e!ership- for exaple- would !e opposed !y nearly half the shipping
world% ,ot only would they not ratify the treaty concerned !ut they ight go off and adopt an alternati&e treaty
of their own- there!y di&iding the aritie counity% <ut this does not ean that the easures thesel&es
are of a low standard% Go&ernents that did not want high standards would not !other to )oin IMO% *he
Go&ernents that do )oin IMO do so !ecause they support the Organization#s ais% 7xperience has show that the
treaties adopted !y IMO represent an extreely high standard and their accepta!ility can !e shown !y the fact
that any of the are now alost uni&ersal in their co&erage% SO9(S- for exaple- has !een accepted !y ore
than /56 countries and co&ers all !ut a fraction of the world erchant fleet%
%o# &uch does IMO cost?
IMO is a !argain% It is one of the sallest agencies in the +nited ,ations syste- !oth in ters of staff nu!ers
?)ust H== peranent staff@ and !udget% *he total !udget for the C==6-C==0 !ienniu is I21-0H=-H==% *his
copares with I26-/12-1== for C==2-C==5%
*his is less than half what it would cost to !uy a ediu sized oil tanker and represents only a fraction of the
cost of the daage caused !y an oil spill- for exaple ?the Exxon Valdez spill in (laska in /131 has so far cost
ore than +SJ5 billion). If IMO is responsi!le for pre&enting )ust one oil tanker accident a year then it ore than
co&ers its cost%
*he IMO !udget is uniGue for another reason% .osts are shared !etween the /66 Me!er States priarily in
proportion to the size of each one#s fleet of erchant ships% *he !iggest fleets in the world are currently operated
!y 8anaa and 9i!eria and so they pay the !iggest share of IMO#s !udget%
*he top ten contri!utors for C==6 were assessed as follows ?the figures show the aount paya!le and as a
percentage of the total !udget@;

8anaa
9i!eria
<ahaas
+nited Fingdo
Greece
Singapore
2-/2/-15/
/-0H=-623
/-/C3-551
/-=2=-=63
10H-/5/
1==-5H/
/3%20
0%0C
5%=H
2%62
2%H2
2%=C
4apan
Marshall Islands
+nited States
.hina
32C-516
3=C-13H
00/-0H0
021-=1H
H%06
H%53
H%22
H%H2
IMO used to e called )the rich &an(s clu)* %as it changed at all?
When IMO !egan operations in /151 shipping was still doinated !y a relati&ely sall nu!er of countries-
nearly all of the located in the northern heisphere% IMO tended to reflect this% <ut as the !alance of power in
the shipping industry !egan to change so did IMO% *he Maritie Safety .oittee- the senior technical !ody-
was thrown open to all Me!er States ?pre&iously it had consisted only of /6 Me!ers elected !y the go&erning
(sse!ly@% *he .ouncil- which acts as go&erning !ody in !etween the two-yearly eetings of the (sse!ly- was
increased in size fro /3 to C2 Me!er States- then to HC and in C==C was increased still further to 2=% *his was
done partly to take into account the growing e!ership of IMO- !ut also to ensure that the &iews of de&eloping
countries were properly represented% *he !iggest increase in .ouncil e!ership has !een to the section which
takes geographical representation into account% In /101 IMO !ecae the first +, agency to ake its *echnical
.o-operation .oittee a peranent institution - an indication of the iportance the Organization attaches to
this su!)ect%
Shouldn(t IMO ha+e so&e sort of police function?
It is soeties said that IMO should ha&e soe sort of authority to enforce its regulations% *his sees to iply
the creation of a tea of inspectors and a fleet of patrol !oats crewed !y officials with the right to !oard any
ships they suspected of contra&ening IMO regulations% In practice- the creation of such a force would !e
financially enorous - it would ean recruiting hundreds- pro!a!ly thousands of people - and politically
ipossi!le; ost Go&ernents would ne&er agree to allow ships flying their flag to !e !oarded in international
waters and any attept to introduce a syste of penalties and punishents would !e e&en ore unaccepta!le%
*he $IMO$ police force would duplicate the work !eing done already !y indi&idual Go&ernents and there is no
guarantee that it would ake a significant ipact on safety and pollution- certainly in relation to the cost
in&ol&ed% IMO has howe&er !een gi&en the authority to &et the training- exaination and certification procedures
of .ontracting 8arties to the International .on&ention on Standards of *raining- .ertification and Watchkeeping
for Seafarers ?S*.W@- /103% *his was one of the ost iportant changes ade in the /115 aendents to the
.on&ention which entered into force on / :e!ruary /110% Go&ernents ha&e to pro&ide rele&ant inforation to
IMO#s Maritie Safety .oittee which )udges whether or not the country concerned eets the reGuireents of
the .on&ention% *he result is a 9ist of .onfired 8arties to S*.W%
What is the ,oluntary IMO Me&er State Audit Sche&e?
IMO has now adopted the 'oluntary IMO Me!er State (udit Schee% *he (udit Schee is designed to help
proote aritie safety and en&ironental protection !y assessing how effecti&ely Me!er States ipleent
and enforce rele&ant IMO .on&ention standards- and !y pro&iding the with feed!ack and ad&ice on their current
perforance%
Why is IMO so slo#?
*he ain purpose of IMO is to adopt international treaties which are intended to apply to as any ships as
possi!le% +naniity of this kind ine&ita!ly takes tie - it depends on the speed with which Go&ernents act- as
well as IMO - and it can only !e achie&ed at all !y ensuring that the regulations adopted are &ery widely
accepta!le and this can take tie%
<ut when speed is necessary IMO can act &ery rapidly indeed%
(n exaple is the adoption in "ece!er C==C of security easures - largely in response to the // Septe!er
C==/ atacks in the +nited States%
In "ece!er C==H- IMO re&ised the rules on oil tanker single-hull phase-out- in response to the Prestige incident
of C==C%
In another exaple- following the Estonia disaster of Septe!er /112- in which a passenger ro-ro ferry sank with
the loss of ore than 1== li&es- the then Secretary-General of IMO- Mr% Willia (% O#,eil- called for a coplete
re&iew of ro-ro safety to !e carried out !y a special panel of experts% *he panel#s report was considered !y the
Maritie Safety .oittee in May /115 and aendents to the International .on&ention for the Safety of 9ife
at Sea ?SO9(S@- /102 were adopted in ,o&e!er% Special reGuireents concerning the crews of ro-ro passenger
ships were included in aendents to the International .on&ention on Standards of *raining- .ertification and
Watchkeeping for Seafarers ?S*.W@- /103 that were adopted in 4uly /115% (ll of this was done !efore the final
report into the disaster had !een issued%
( further exaple is pro&ided !y the /115 aendents to the S*.W .on&ention as a whole% (lthough IMO
agreed soe years ago to aend the .on&ention- the tieta!le originally en&isaged would ha&e eant that this
would not ha&e taken place !efore /113 and the aendents thesel&es would not ha&e entered into force until
the next century% In May /11H the Secretary-General urged the Maritie Safety .oittee that this process !e
accelerated !y using special consultants% *he .oittee agreed and the aendent procedure - which
aounted to a coplete re-writing of the .on&ention - was copleted !y 4uly /115% (s a result the aendents
entered into force in :e!ruary /110 - ore than a year !efore the aendent conference would ha&e !een held
under the original tieta!le%
IMO has ipro&ed its procedures o&er the years to ensure that changes can !e introduced ore Guickly%
One of the ost successful of these has !een the process known as $tacit acceptance$ which has !een included in
ost technical con&entions adopted !y IMO since the early /10=s% *he noral procedure for adopting
aendents to an international treaty is !y eans of $explicit acceptance%$ *his eans that the aendents
enter into force so any onths after !eing accepted !y a specified nu!er of 8arties to the original .on&ention%
*he nu!er can !e as high as two-thirds and if the parent con&ention has !een accepted !y a large nu!er of
countries it could ean 3= or ore of the ha&ing to ratify the aendent !efore it !ecoes international law%
7xperience has shown that this can take decades to achie&e - !y which tie the aendent itself is likely to !e
out of date% *he tacit acceptance procedure eans that aendents - which are nearly always adopted
unaniously - enter into force on a set date unless they are specifically re)ected !y a specified nu!er of
countries%
<ecause of the care taken at IMO conferences to achie&e unaniity &ery few re)ections ha&e e&er !een recei&ed
and the entry into force period has !een steadily reduced% In exceptional cases aendents can enter into force
as little a year after !eing adopted% (part fro the speed- tacit acceptance also eans that e&eryone in&ol&ed
knows exactly when an aendents will enter into force% +nder the old syste you ne&er knew until the final
acceptance was actually deposited with IMO%
%a+e shipping safety and the &arine en+iron&ent i&pro+ed ecause of IMO?
(lthough we can say yes to this Guestion with soe confidence it is difficult to copare shipping today with that
of thirty or forty years ago !ecause of the great changes that ha&e taken place in the industry during that period%
In the /15=s shipping was doinated !y a handful of traditional aritie countries% *hey !uilt the ships-
operated the- anned the - and pro&ided the goods that were carried on the% *oday ost ships fly the flags
of de&eloping countries- their crews coe fro all o&er the world% "ou!ts ha&e !een expressed a!out the a!ility
of soe of these countries to aintain and operate ships to the high standards laid down in IMO regulations%
Ships thesel&es ha&e changed draatically in size- speed and design and in addition econoic factors ean
that the a&erage of ships today is uch higher than it used to !e% "espite these changes- safety standards
around the world are generally good and ha&e ipro&ed considera!ly since the late /10=s- when IMO treaties
!egan to enter into force and the nu!er of acceptances rose to record le&els%
Statistics do not always tell the whole story% In the early /13=s- for exaple- a study carried out in the +nited
Fingdo showed that the nu!er of collisions !etween ships was uch the sae as it had !een ten years
!efore- indicating that the introduction of traffic separation schees and other easures had not had uch
ipact% <ut closer exaination showed that the nu!er of collisions had fallen draatically in areas where IMO
appro&ed schees had !een adopted - !ut had risen !y the sae nu!er in areas where nothing had !een done%
Generally speaking- the rate of serious casualties has not greatly changed during the last ten years or so% <ut in
&iew of the changes taking place in shipping - nota!ly the steady ageing of the world fleet o&er the last fifteen
years or so - this is an indication that IMO easures are ha&ing an ipact%
(s far as pollution is concerned- the indications are that there has !een a rearka!le ipro&eent in the aount
of pollution caused !y ships during the last two decades% *his is partly due to the tightening of controls through
IMO con&entions such as the International .on&ention for the 8re&ention of 8ollution fro Ships- /10H- as
odified !y the 8rotocol of /103 relating thereto ?M(B8O9 0HA03@ and partly to the introduction of !etter
ethods of controlling the disposal of wastes% (ccording to a study carried out !y the +nited States ,ational
(cadey of Sciences oil pollution fro ships fell !y a!out 6=> during the /13=s- coinciding with the entry into
force of M(B8O9 0HA03%
Whilst statistics ha&e to !e used with care- it should !e noted that the incidence of large spills is relati&ely lowD a
&ery few large spills account for a high percentage of the oil spilt% ,e&ertheless- it is generally acknowledged that
oil spills fro shipping ha&e decreased significantly o&er the last H= years%
(ll of this is encouraging% <ut IMO is aware that a great deal ore needs to !e done to ipro&e safety and
pre&ent pollution% It is now concentrating on aking sure that Go&ernents and the industry ipleent the
easures that ah&e !een adopted ore effecti&ely - and on reducing the nu!er of accidents at sea which are
caused !y huan error% Since soe estiates say that istakes ake up around 3=> of the total the scope for
ipro&eent is enorous%
IMO is now onitoring perforance indicators to assess the trends%
What aout &ariti&e security?
Maritie security is now an integral part of IMO#s responsi!ilities% ( coprehensi&e security regie for
international shipping entered into force on / 4uly C==2%
*he andatory security easures- adopted in "ece!er C==C- include a nu!er of aendents to the /102
Safety of 9ife at Sea .on&ention ?SO9(S@- the ost far-reaching of which enshrines the new International Ship
and 8ort :acility Security .ode ?IS8S .ode@- which contains detailed security-related reGuireents for
Go&ernents- port authorities and shipping copanies%
See the FAQ on &ariti&e security
What is IMO doing aout piracy?
(lthough piracy has existed alost as long as shipping and trade- it seeed !y the end of the /1th century that
it had !een eliinated% 8iracy cae to !e seen as an interesting historical pro!le- associated with the skull and
cross!ones flag- galleons of gold and &illains carrying cutlasses; with a dash of exciteent and e&en roance%
*he fact that piracy was always a crie- often &icious and usually urderous- was forgotten or ignored% <ut
piracy had not disappeared% "uring the /10=s and /13=s- attacks on erchant ships !egan to increase and it
!ecae a pro!le that soon could no longer !e ignored%
*he Maritie Safety .oittee ?MS.@- IMO#s senior technical !ody- re&iewed the situation in /13H and the IMO
(sse!ly in ,o&e!er that year adopted a resolution urging Go&ernents to take $all easures necessary to
pre&ent and suppress acts of piracy and ared ro!!ery fro ships in or ad)acent to their waters- including
strengthening of security easures%$ In (pril /132- the MS. esta!lished $8iracy and ared ro!!ery against
ships$ as a separate- fixed ite in its work prograe ?any acts of &iolence against ships- especially those that
occur in ports or territorial waters are not regarded as $piracy$ under international law% *hey are therefore
classified as $ared ro!!ery$%@
*he MS. also agreed on the need for an indication of the scale of the pro!le &ia reports on piracy and ared
ro!!ery against ships su!itted !y Me!er Go&ernents and international organizations% *he reports- which
include naes and descriptions of ships attacked- position and tie of attack- conseGuences to the crew- ship or
cargo and actions taken !y the crew and coastal authorities- are now circulated onthly- with Guarterly and
annual suaries%
IMO is ipleenting an anti-piracy pro)ect- a long-ter pro)ect which !egan in /113% 8hase one consisted of a
nu!er of regional seinars and workshops attended !y Go&ernent representati&es fro countries in piracy-
infested areas of the worldD while phase two consisted of a nu!er of e&aluation and assessent issions to
different regions% IMO#s ai has !een to foster the de&elopent of regional agreeents on ipleentation of
counter piracy easures%
*he Begional .o-operation (greeent on .o!ating 8iracy and (red Bo!!ery against ships in (sia ?B7.((8@-
which was concluded in ,o&e!er C==2 !y /6 countries in (sia- and includes the B7.((8 Inforation Sharing
.entre ?IS.@ for facilitating the sharing of piracy-related inforation- is a good exaple of successful regional co-
operation which IMO seeks to replicate elsewhere%
More recently- a prograe of su!-regional eetings was initiated to proote regional action to address piracy
and ared ro!!ery against ships in the wider context of aritie security% *he first of these was held in Sana#a-
Keen in (pril C==5 for States in the Bed Sea and Gulf of (den areas- with a follow-up e&ent planned for Oan
in 4anuary C==6% *he Meeting on the Straits of Malacca and Singapore; 7nhancing Safety- Security and
7n&ironental 8rotection- held in 4akarta- Indonesia in Septe!er C==5 also addressed the issues of piracy and
ared ro!!ery against ships% :urther initiati&es under this prograe are scheduled for the .ari!!ean- South
(sia- (sia 8acific and West and .entral (frica in early C==6% Missions to follow up these e&ents and eetings in
other regions will coence later in the year%
%o# can I eco&e a &e&er of IMO?
Only a country can !ecoe a Me!er of IMO% IMO currently has /66 Me!er States%
Shipping and other interests are represented at IMO through Inter-Go&ernental Organizations ?IGOs@ which
ha&e concluded agreeents of co-operation with IMO and ,on- Go&ernental Organizations ?,GOs@ in
.onsultati&e Status with IMO%
Indi&iduals wishing to raise an issue at IMO should approach their national aritie adinistration or appropriate
IGO or ,GO%
%o# can I get a -o at IMO?
.urrent &acancies are posted in the Working at IMO section%
What is technical co!operation?
*he *echnical .o-operation 8rograe is designed to assist Go&ernents which lack the technical knowledge
and resources that are needed to operate a shipping industry successfully% (ny Me!er State can apply to IMO
for assistance with specific pro)ects%
What is the "M'SS?
*he Glo!al Maritie "istress and Safety Syste ?GM"SS@ is an integrated counications syste using satellite
and terrestrial radiocounications to ensure that no atter where a ship is in distress- aid can !e dispatched%
+nder the GM"SS- all passenger ships and all cargo ships o&er H== gross tonnage on international &oyages ha&e
to carry specified satellite and radiocounications eGuipent- for sending and recei&ing distress alerts and
aritie safety inforation- and for general counications% *he GM"SS !ecae fully effecti&e fro / :e!ruary
/111%
See :reGuently (sked Luestions a!out the GM"SS
Where can I otain the text of the IMO con+entions?
*exts of IMO .on&entions can !e purchased &ia the 8u!lications section% *exts can also !e found in national
pu!lic li!raries and in the li!raries of aritie training institutes% On a trial !asis- a nu!er of texts are a&aila!le
to download%
:or legal purposes- only the authentic texts and certified copies of .on&entions and aendents should !e used%
8lease note that texts of IMO .on&entions found on external we!sites ay not !e up to date% Kou should also
contact your national aritie (dinistration%
.on&entions ratified !y a Go&ernent are adopted into national legislation and the national &ersion will !e
a&aila!le through the usual channels ?official !ulletins- etc@%
%o# can I contact IMO?
Indi&iduals wishing to raise an issue at IMO- or wanting inforation on ipleentation of IMO instruents in
their country or on their &essel- should approach their national aritie adinistration or appropriate IGO or
,GO%
*o contact IMO Secretariat- see the .ontact +s page%
I a& a student doing research ! ho# can I find &ore infor&ation?
See the Inforation Besources section as well as the other sections of the we!site% *he Site Index can help you
find inforation on a specific su!)ect while external search engines can also help%
While we will endea&our to answer specific Gueries we expect students to research thoroughly on the we!site
!efore eailing IMO%