IMO AND ITS FUNCTIONING

IMO AND ITS FUNCTIONING

IMO was founded in 1948 under the name IMCO (Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization) and was renamed in 1982 to the IMO (International Maritime Organization).

ROLE OF IMO

IMO’s role includes:
1. Development of international treaties (or Conventions) and other legislation concerning safety and marine pollution prevention.
2. It must keep legislation up to date and ensure that it is ratified by as many countries as possible.
3. The promotion of cooperation between States in the field of technical issues related to international shipping, in particular the safety of ships at sea and marine environmental protection.
4. It also organizes the constant exchange of information between IMO members.
5. It makes recommendations to member States on the regulations that have been passed for adoption into their own laws.
6. All International Conventions are kept at the IMO. (The IMO has no power or authority to enforce
Conventions. Enforcement of a specific Convention is the sole responsibility of the State that took the voluntary decision to adopt and integrate into their own laws).

The IMO has over a 170-member States who meet every 2 years at a General Assembly. 40 members of the Council are selected by the Assembly. The IMO Secretariat and various Committees come under the Council. The 5 Committees functioning under the Council include:

MSC Maritime Safety Committee & Sub-Committees for various areas of responsibility for ship safety. It deals with various matters such as draft amendments to SOLAS, Load Line, STCW, Tonnage, etc.

MEPC Marine Environment Protection Committee and Sub-Committees for issues relating to the prevention and control of marine pollution and amendments of the Conventions. It deals with matters such as draft amendments to MARPOL.

LEG Legal Committee for all legal matters

FAL Facilitation Committee for issues relating to the simplification of maritime traffic, including the standardization of ships’ papers.

TC Technical Cooperation Committee for matters relating to organization of development aid.

Other participating organizations include organizations such as:
OECD – Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development;
IACS – International Association of Classification Societies;
BIMCO – Baltic & International Maritime Council;
OCIMF – Oil Companies International Marine Forum;
EEC – Commission of the European Communities;
ICS – International Chamber of Shipping;
ISF – International Shipping Federation.

COMMON TERMS

Conventions, Protocols, Codes and Resolutions are terms that are extensively used in the shipping industry. It is important to understand differences between these terms.

CONVENTION:
        It is the framework of an agreement between countries. The adoption of a convention marks the conclusion of only the first stage of a long process. Before the convention comes into force - that is, before it becomes binding upon Governments which have ratified it - it has to be accepted formally by individual Governments.

Prior to creation of IMO, several important international conventions such as the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil (OILPOL, 1954) had already been established to promote safe and secure shipping. IMO was made responsible for developing new Conventions as well as keeping existing Conventions up to date by making necessary amendments.

Majority of Conventions adopted by IMO usually fall into three main categories
- maritime safety,
- prevention of marine pollution, and
- liability and compensation, especially in relation to damage caused by pollution.

There are other minor Conventions dealing with facilitation, tonnage measurement, unlawful acts against shipping and salvage etc. These international regulations must be followed by all shipping nations to improve maritime safety and environment.

Before a Convention is adopted, a draft is produced by an IMO sub-committee and sent to the member States for examination. This draft is then revised by the MSC or MEPC whereupon it represents a base document for a diplomatic conference. The conference adopts the text of the Convention that is put to the States for ratification (acceptance and signature).

The Convention comes into force once it has met certain conditions, such as ratification by a defined number of States with a minimum percentage of world tonnage.

Application of the Convention may depend on varying factors such as date on which keel was laid, trading area, size, type and length or gross tonnage of the vessel, etc.

The first part of a Convention lists the Articles of the Convention covering formal issues such as date of entry into force, amendments, termination of agreements, etc. Regulations are generally technical provisions of the Convention. Some technical details are regulated in binding Codes.

PROTOCOLS:
           The Protocols to Conventions are used to react quickly to serious accidents at sea or to recent developments which call for a change. Protocols contain essential amendments to existing Conventions and generally have to be ratified separately (e.g. SOLAS Protocol 1988).

CODES: 
            These are used when it is not deemed expedient to adopt regulations in the form of a Convention. Codes can basically be divided into 2 groups:
• Binding Codes such as ISM Code;
• Recommended Codes such as the Code of Safety for Special Purpose Ships.
The integration of Codes into Conventions by means of references is particularly convenient. If amendments are needed only the Code has to be amended. It is via this route that Codes also become binding regulations.

RESOLUTIONS: 
             They are divided into:
Resolutions that have been adopted by diplomatic conferences: These are used to explain the Convention that has been adopted or to state declarations of intent to develop them.
Resolution developed by IMO bodies: This concerns resolutions of the assembly (A…), the MSC (MSC Resolution…) and the MEPC (MEPC Resolution…). They are primarily used to interpret and clarify Convention texts or to ensure that they are introduced on a standardized basis.

CIRCULARS:
               These are issued by Committees and Sub-Committees to clarify or interpret the rules of the Convention,
e.g. MSC/Circ. 917 – Guidelines on the safety construction in the accommodation areas.
COMPLIANCE: is a term generally used to indicate that requirements of a regulation are being fulfilled, e.g. A new certificate shall only be issued when the Government issuing the new certificate is fully satisfied that the ship is in compliance with the requirements of the relevant regulation. Different bodies such as Flag Administration, Classification Societies, etc. may demand and ensure compliance and may issue appropriate certificates to enable a ship to continue its operations.