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53-573: The operations of the Norwegian Shipowners Association is executed in close relation to the industry. The organization is led by boards and councils appointed by its members, and an important part of the operations is carried out by groups and committees. The member organizations are divided into five different groups: Deep Sea, Short Sea, Group of Underwater entrepreneurs (GUE), Group of Offshore entrepreneurs (GOE) and Group of Offshore Service companies (GOS). The environmental vision of

106-665: A Secretary-General. The current Secretary-General is Arsenio Dominguez who took office for a four year term on 1 January 2024, having been elected in July 2023. The previous Secretary-General was Kitack Lim from South Korea elected for a four-year term at the 114th session of the IMO Council in June 2015 and at the 29th session of the IMO's Assembly in November 2015. His mandate started on 1 January 2016. At

159-585: A large purpose-built building facing the River Thames on the Albert Embankment , in Lambeth , London. The organisation moved into its new headquarters in late 1982, with the building being officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 May 1983. The architects of the building were Douglass Marriott, Worby & Robinson. The front of the building is dominated by a seven-metre high, ten-tonne bronze sculpture of

212-634: A member of the IMO, a state ratifies a multilateral treaty known as the Convention on the International Maritime Organization. As of 2024, there are 176 member states of the IMO, which includes 175 of the UN member states plus the Cook Islands . The first state to ratify the convention was Canada in 1948. These are the current members with the year they joined: The three associate members of

265-523: A need for further improvements in regards to oil pollution prevention at sea. This became increasingly apparent in 1967, when the tanker Torrey Canyon spilled 120,000 tons of crude oil when it ran aground entering the English Channel The Torrey Canyon grounding was the largest oil pollution incident recorded up to that time. This incident prompted a series of new conventions. IMO held an emergency session of its council to deal with

318-409: A resolution targeting "dark fleet" tankers that form a risk by undertaking illegal and unsafe activities at sea. Primarily working for Iran and Russia to breach international sanctions, the tankers, many of which are elderly and unreliable, often undertake mid ocean transfers in an attempt to evade sanctions. The resolution calls upon flag states to “adhere to measures which lawfully prohibit or regulate”

371-420: A tacit acceptance procedure – this allows an amendment to enter into force on a specified date, unless objections to an amendment are received from an agreed number of parties. The 1974 SOLAS came into force on 25 May 1980, 12 months after its ratification by at least 25 countries with at least 50% of gross tonnage. It has been updated and amended on numerous occasions since then and the Convention in force today

424-589: Is also a non-member. Taiwan is neither a member of the IMO nor of the UN, although it has a major shipping industry. IMO is the source of approximately 60 legal instruments that guide the regulatory development of its member states to improve safety at sea, facilitate trade among seafaring states and protect the maritime environment. The most well known is the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), as well as International Convention for

477-577: Is located in Rådhusgaten 25 in Oslo. Harald Solberg is the managing director and Synnøve Seglem is the president. The organization was founded on 15 September 1909 in Kristiania , under the name The Norwegian Shipowner Association , and changed to its current name in 1984. Association's first president was Christian Michelsen . The organization played an important role in the negotiation of shipping contracts with

530-558: Is one of few industrial areas that still commonly uses non- metric units such as the nautical mile (nmi) for distance and knots (kn) for speed or velocity. In 1982, IMCO was renamed as the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Throughout its existence, the IMO has continued to produce new and updated conventions across a wide range of maritime issues covering not only safety of life and marine pollution but also encompassing safe navigation, search and rescue, wreck removal, tonnage measurement, liability and compensation, ship recycling,

583-588: Is responsible for collective bargaining and the establishment of collective agreements for Norwegian and foreign seamen on a ship in the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS) and the Norwegian Ship Register (NOR), and for offshore activities. The association protects the members' employer relationship also through the contact and the influence of Norwegian and foreign authorities, and participate in international organizations like

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636-497: Is sometimes referred to as SOLAS, 1974, as amended. In 1975 the assembly of the IMO decided that the 1974 convention should in future use SI (metric) units only. In particular, amendments in 1988 based on amendments of International Radio Regulations in 1987 replaced Morse code with the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) and came into force beginning 1 February 1992. The issues covered by

689-453: Is supported by a permanent secretariat of employees who are representative of the organisation's members. The secretariat is composed of a Secretary-General who is periodically elected by the assembly, and various divisions such as those for marine safety, environmental protection and a conference section. IMO was established in 1948 following a UN conference in Geneva to bring the regulation of

742-659: The EU , ILO and IMO. Besides working with the Norwegian maritime schools, it also operate several international activities to ensure access and quality of foreign crew and officers serving on Norwegian-controlled ships. All potential recruitment countries are considered, and the main countries today is the Philippines, China and Russia. Here, the Norwegian Shipowners Association have activities in different degrees. Norwegian Shipowners' Association has approximately 160 members. The organization

795-537: The First World War . Further versions were adopted in 1929 and 1948. The 1960 Convention was adopted on 17 June 1960 and entered into force on 26 May 1965. It was the fourth SOLAS Convention and was the first major achievement for the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It represented a considerable step forward in modernizing regulations and keeping up with technical developments in

848-561: The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil (OILPOL) 1954. In January 1959, IMO began to maintain and promote the 1954 OILPOL Convention. Under the guidance of IMO, the convention was amended in 1962, 1969, and 1971. The first meetings of the newly formed IMCO were held in London in 1959. As oil trade and industry developed, many people in the industry began to recognise

901-534: The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG). The IMO has also enacted a Port state control (PSC) authority, allowing domestic maritime authorities such as coast guards to inspect foreign-flag ships calling at ports of the many port states. Memoranda of Understanding (protocols) were signed by some countries unifying Port State Control procedures among the signatories. Conventions, Codes and Regulations: Recent initiatives at

954-683: The United Kingdom in World War and World War II and several of the association's members were driving force in the organization of the Nortraship . International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization ( IMO ; French : Organisation maritime internationale ; Spanish : Organización Marítima Internacional ) is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating maritime transport . The IMO

1007-485: The sinking of the Titanic , the current version of SOLAS is the 1974 version, known as SOLAS 1974, which came into force on 25 May 1980, and has been amended several times. As of April 2022 , SOLAS 1974 has 167 contracting states, which flag about 99% of merchant ships around the world in terms of gross tonnage. SOLAS in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning

1060-522: The "appropriate international body to address greenhouse gas emissions from ships engaged in international trade". Nonetheless, there has been widespread criticism of the IMO's relative inaction since the conclusion of the Paris conference, with the initial data-gathering step of a three-stage process to reduce maritime greenhouse emissions expected to last until 2020. In 2018, the Initial IMO Strategy on

1113-456: The 176th Member State of the organization. Most UN member states that are not members of IMO are landlocked countries. These include Afghanistan, Andorra, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Eswatini, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The Federated States of Micronesia , an island-nation in the Pacific Ocean,

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1166-633: The 31st session of the Assembly in 2019 he was re-appointed for a second term, ending on 31 December 2023. The technical work of the International Maritime Organisation is carried out by five principal Committees. These include: It is regulated in the Article 28(a) of the Convention on the IMO: ARTICLE 28 (a) The Maritime Safety Committee shall consider any matter within the scope of

1219-500: The Agreement. SOLAS Convention The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea ( SOLAS ) is an international maritime treaty which sets out minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships . The International Maritime Organization convention requires signatory flag states to ensure that ships flagged by them comply with at least these standards. Initially prompted by

1272-625: The Assembly or the Council, or any duty within the scope of this Article which may be assigned to it by or under any other international instrument and accepted by the Organization. (c) Having regard to the provisions of Article 25, the Maritime Safety Committee, upon request by the Assembly or the Council or, if it deems such action useful in the interests of its own work, shall maintain such close relationship with other bodies as may further

1325-619: The IMO are the Faroe Islands , Hong Kong and Macau . In 1961, the territories of Sabah and Sarawak , which had been included through the participation of United Kingdom, became joint associate members. In 1963 they became part of Malaysia. The most recent members to join were Armenia and Nauru (which became IMO members in January and May 2018, respectively). Botswana , joined the IMO in October 2021. On 27 February 2024, Kyrgyzstan became

1378-809: The IMO facilitated the adoption of the International Grain Code . In December 2002, new amendments to the 1974 SOLAS Convention were enacted by the IMO. These amendments gave rise to the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code , which went into effect on 1 July 2004. The concept of the code is to provide layered and redundant defences against smuggling, terrorism, piracy, stowaways, etc. The ISPS Code required most ships and port facilities engaged in international trade to establish and maintain strict security procedures as specified in ship and port specific Ship Security Plans and Port Facility Security Plans. The IMO headquarters are located in

1431-659: The IMO have included amendments to SOLAS , which among other things, included upgraded fire protection standards on passenger ships , the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seamen(STCW) which establishes basic requirements on training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers and to the Convention on the Prevention of Maritime Pollution ( MARPOL 73/78 ), which required double hulls on all tankers . The IMO's e-Navigation system has harmonised marine navigation systems with supporting shore services, as available to seamen and shore-side traffic services called. An e-Navigation strategy

1484-405: The Norwegian Shipowners Association is that Norwegian shipping and offshore entrepreneur operations will not have any environmentally damaging emissions at sea or in the air. One of the associations objectives is that climate emissions from shipping will be regulated through international regulations, preferably administrated by IMO . As an employer organization the Norwegian Shipowners Association

1537-532: The Organization concerned with aids to navigation, construction and equipment of vessels, manning from a safety standpoint, rules for the prevention of collisions, handling of dangerous cargoes, maritime safety procedures and requirements, hydrographic information, log-books and navigational records, marine casualty investigation, salvage and rescue, and any other matters directly affecting maritime safety. (b) The Maritime Safety Committee shall provide machinery for performing any duties assigned to it by this Convention,

1590-830: The Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). Others include the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC). It also functions as a depository of yet to be ratified treaties, such as the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, 1996 ( HNS Convention ) and Nairobi International Convention of Removal of Wrecks (2007). IMO regularly enacts regulations, which are broadly enforced by national and local maritime authorities in member countries, such as

1643-616: The bow of a ship, with a lone seafarer maintaining a look-out. The previous headquarters of IMO were at 101 Piccadilly (now the home of the Embassy of Japan ), prior to that at 22 Berners Street in Fitzrovia and originally in Chancery Lane . The IMO consists of an Assembly, a Council and five main Committees. The organization is led by a Secretary-General. A number of Sub-Committees support

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1696-447: The efficiency of shipping. IMO is governed by an assembly of members which meets every two years. Its finance and organization is administered by a council of 40 members elected from the assembly. The work of IMO is conducted through five committees and these are supported by technical subcommittees. Other UN organisations may observe the proceedings of the IMO. Observer status is granted to qualified non-governmental organisations. IMO

1749-565: The environmental threat caused by routine ship duties such as the cleaning of oil cargo tanks or the disposal of engine room wastes. By tonnage, the aforementioned was a bigger problem than accidental pollution. The most significant development to come out of this conference was the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 (MARPOL). It covers not only accidental and operational oil pollution but also different types of pollution by chemicals, goods in packaged form, sewage, garbage and air pollution. The original MARPOL

1802-523: The loaded container or weighing the cargo elements and packaging and adding this weight to the unladen container weight. Communicating a weight value has incurred a need to introduce a new Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) communication protocol called VGM (Verified Gross Mass) or VERMAS (Verification of Mass), and involves cooperation between ocean carriers , freight forwarders/NVOCCs , EDI providers as well as exporters. The regulation states that exporters (shippers) are ultimately responsible for obtaining

1855-401: The management of ships which will ensure that agreed operational procedures are in place and followed by the ship and shore-side staff. The MSC and MEPC are assisted in their work by a number of sub-committees which are open to all Member States. The committees are: The names of the IMO sub-committees were changed in 2013. Prior to 2013 there were nine Sub-Committees as follows: To become

1908-557: The mid to late 20th century, including the International Convention on Load Lines in 1966 (replacing an earlier 1930 Convention), the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea in 1972 (also replacing an earlier set of rules) and the STCW Convention in 1978. In 1975, the assembly of the IMO decided that future conventions of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and other IMO instruments should use SI units only. As such, sea transportation

1961-577: The minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships. The treaty includes articles setting out general obligations, etc., followed by an annexe divided into twelve chapters, two new chapters were added in 2016 and 2017. Of these, chapter five (often called 'SOLAS V') is the only one that applies to all vessels on the sea, including private yachts and small craft on local trips as well as to commercial vessels on international passages. Many countries have turned these international requirements into national laws so that anybody on

2014-544: The need to readdress regulations pertaining to maritime pollution. In 1969, the IMO Assembly decided to host an international gathering in 1973 dedicated to this issue. The goal at hand was to develop an international agreement for controlling general environmental contamination by ships when out at sea. During the next few years IMO brought to the forefront a series of measures designed to prevent large ship accidents and to minimise their effects. It also detailed how to deal with

2067-554: The purposes of the Organization The Maritime Safety Committee is the most senior of these and is the main Technical Committee; it oversees the work of its nine sub-committees and initiates new topics. One broad topic it deals with is the effect of the human element on casualties ; this work has been put to all of the sub-committees, but meanwhile, the Maritime Safety Committee has developed a code for

2120-461: The reduction of GHG emissions from ships was adopted. In 2021, The New York Times wrote that the IMO "has repeatedly delayed and watered down climate regulations". The IMO has also taken action to mitigate the global effects of ballast water and sediment discharge, through the 2004 Ballast Water Management Convention , which entered into force in September 2017. In December 2023 the IMO adopted

2173-426: The safety of merchant ships. The non-parties to SOLAS 1974 include numerous landlocked countries, as well as El Salvador , Micronesia and East Timor . Some others including Bolivia , Lebanon and Sri Lanka , all considered flag of convenience states, are deemed to have "potentially negative performance" regarding ratification. SOLAS 1974 requires flag states to ensure that ships flagged by them comply with

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2226-648: The safety of shipping into an international framework. Hitherto such international conventions had been initiated piecemeal, notably the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS), first adopted in 1914 following the Titanic disaster. Under the name of the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO), IMO's first task was to update the SOLAS convention; the resulting 1960 convention

2279-403: The sea who is in breach of SOLAS V requirements may find themselves subject to legal proceedings. The first version of SOLAS Treaty was passed in 1914 in response to the sinking of RMS Titanic , which prescribed numbers of lifeboats and other emergency equipment along with safety procedures, including continuous radio watches. The 1914 treaty never entered into force due to the outbreak of

2332-489: The shipping industry. In 1974, a completely new Convention was adopted to allow SOLAS to be amended and implemented within a reasonable timescale, instead of the previous procedure to incorporate amendments, which proved to be very slow. Under SOLAS 1960, it could take several years for amendments to come into force since countries had to give notice of acceptance to IMO and there was a minimum threshold of countries and tonnage . Under SOLAS 1974, amendments enter into force via

2385-416: The technical basis for the reduction mechanisms that may form part of a future IMO regime to control greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping, and a draft of the actual reduction mechanisms themselves, for further consideration by IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). The IMO participated in the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris seeking to establish itself as

2438-588: The training and certification of seafarers, and piracy. More recently SOLAS has been amended to bring an increased focus on maritime security through the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code . The IMO has also increased its focus on smoke emissions from ships. In 1983, the IMO established the World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden and also facilitated the adoption of the IGC Code . In 1991,

2491-419: The transfer of cargoes at sea, known as ship-to-ship transfers. The IMO Cape Town Agreement is an international International Maritime Organization legal instrument established in 2012, that sets out minimum safety requirements for fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and over or equivalent in gross tons. As of 2022, the Agreement is not yet in force but the IMO is encouraging more member States to ratify

2544-639: The treaty are set out in the list of sections (above). Further amendments were made in May 2011. In 2015, the SOLAS Container Weight Verification Regulation VI/2 amended SOLAS. This regulation, implemented by the IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) , requires that the full (gross) weight of all loaded containers must be obtained prior to being loaded on board an ocean vessel. Weight can be calculated either by weighing

2597-456: The work of the main technical committees. The governing body of the International Maritime Organization is the Assembly which meets every two years. In between Assembly sessions a Council, consisting of 40 Member States elected by the Assembly, acts as the governing body. The technical work of the International Maritime Organization is carried out by a series of Committees. The Secretariat consists of some 300 international civil servants headed by

2650-576: Was established following agreement at a UN conference held in Geneva in 1948 and the IMO came into existence ten years later, meeting for the first time on 17 March 1958. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, the IMO, in 2024, has 176 Member States and three Associate Members. The IMO's primary purpose is to develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping and its remit today includes maritime safety , environmental concerns, legal matters , technical co-operation, maritime security and

2703-535: Was ratified in 2005, and an implementation plan was developed through three IMO sub-committees. The plan was completed by 2014 and implemented in November of that year. IMO has also served as a key partner and enabler of US international and interagency efforts to establish maritime domain awareness . The IMO has a role in tackling international climate change . The First Intersessional Meeting of IMO's Working Group on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships took place in Oslo, Norway (23–27 June 2008), tasked with developing

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2756-514: Was signed on 17 February 1973, but did not come into force due to lack of ratifications. The current convention is a combination of 1973 Convention and the 1978 Protocol. It entered into force on 2 October 1983. As of January 2018, 156 states, representing 99.42 per cent of the world's shipping tonnage, are signatories to the MARPOL convention. As well as updates to MARPOL and SOLAS, the IMO facilitated several updated international maritime conventions in

2809-472: Was subsequently recast and updated in 1974 and it is that convention that has been subsequently modified and updated to adapt to changes in safety requirements and technology. Since 1978, every last Thursday of September has been celebrated as World Maritime Day, commemorating the establishment of the International Maritime Organisation in 1958. When IMCO began its operations in 1959 certain other pre-existing conventions were brought under its aegis, most notable

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