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 pollution from ships. It has an integral role in meeting the targets set out in United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
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 174 Member States.
IMO, has promoted the adoption of some 50 conventions and protocols and adopted more than 1000 codes and recommendations concerning maritime safety and security, the prevention of pollution from shipping and other related matters.
With regard to the protection of the marine environment, a series of conventions and other instruments, which are periodically updated and amended, have been adopted to address the prevention of pollution, preparedness and response to marine pollution incidents and compensation for pollution damage.
Regional Seas and IMO
IMO continues to support and is actively involved within the Regional Seas programmes. Examples of initiatives, projects and programmes include:
- The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) is administered by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in cooperation with the United-Nations Environment Programme / Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP).
- IMO has cooperated with UNEP in facilitating the application of the Nairobi Convention and its Emergency Protocol and has assisted Governments of the Eastern African region in the development of national contingency plans as well as in the training of personnel.
- South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have signed MoU (2012 and 2019) to enhance regional cooperation and preparedness in the event of an oil or chemical spill in the South Asian region. The MoU’s have supported the development and update of National and Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plans.
- CPPS is currently partnering with the Global Environmental Facility /UN Development Programme/International Maritime Organization-IMO on the GloFouling Partnerships a global initiative bringing together keypartners to respond to a global environmental problem, namely invasive aquatic species introduced via biofouling.
- IMO is the Secretariat for the International Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation Convention (OPRC 90), and has assisted the NOWPAP Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre (MERRAC) and NOWPAP Member States in the development of a NOWPAP Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan and an associated regional MoU as well as other activities which belong to the scope of MERRAC.
- IMO has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the OSPAR Commission on the promotion of the London Convention and London Protocol.
- Other regional seas Conventions which have established close working relations and collaboration with IMO include HELCOM, PERSGA, PAME, the Wider Caribbean region, COBSEA and the Black Sea Commission.
For more, please visit their website: https://www.imo.org/
