1. International Maritime Organization and How it works.
Edward Kleverlaan
IMO Technical Officer
Marine Environment Division

2. International Maritime Organization
Specialized United Nations agency
‘Safe, secure and efficient shipping on clean oceans’
Is the competent international organization for regulating shipping matters (e.g. UNCLOS Art 211)
Maintains balance between protection of the environment and navigation rights
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 also is 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 It currently has 167 Member States.

3. Global coverage 168 Member States All major ship owning nations
All major port & coastal states
Industry Peak bodies, and,
IGOs and NGOs
IMO now has 168 member states, which includes virtually all of the nations of the world with an interest in maritime affairs, be they involved in the shipping industry or coastal states with an interest in protecting their maritime environment.
In addition, a number of inter-governmental and non—governmental organizations, representing a wide variety of interests ranging from industry sectors to environmental groups, have consultative status with the Organization and can attend meetings. Their input to the whole process of developing and refining international standards for shipping is greatly valued.

4. Headquarters in London – United Kingdom

5. Headquarters in London – United Kingdom

6. International Maritime Organization
Develops global regulations - maintain safety and security of international shipping and to prevent marine pollution from ships
Involved in creating liability and compensation regimes
Adopts instruments (legislation) and guidelines at the intergovernmental level
Member Governments are responsible for implementing and enforcing the adopted regulatory framework.

7. Instruments Conventions or Protocols
Amendments to Conventions or Protocols
Resolutions, Codes, Guidelines, Recommendations, etc.
The phases from adoption to implementation and enforcement:
Adoption, after discussion in IMO
Entry into force internationally
Implementation (by flag States)
Enforcement (by port and coastal States)

8. IMO at work Assembly Council Committees Maritime Safety
Marine Environment Protection
Legal
Technical Cooperation
Facilitation

9. Key Committees Maritime Safety Committee
Safety pre-eminent importance
Navigation
Marine Environment Protection Committee
Focus pollution prevention and reposnse
Biological concerns with aquatic nuisance
species transferred through ballast water
and biofouling
Individual animal issues
Ship strikes of right whales

10. Sub-Committees Bulk Liquid and Gases
Carriage of Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers
Fire Protection
Flag State Implementation
Safety of Navigation
Ship Design and Equipment
Stability, Load Lines and Fishing Vessel Safety
Standards of Training and Watchkeeping

11. 168 Member States, meets every 2 years
ASSEMBLY
168 Member States, meets every 2 years
COUNCIL
40 States, every 6 months
TCC
FAL
MSC
MEPC
LEG
SUB-COMMITTEES
SLF
STW FP DE
COMSAR
NAV
DSC
BLG
FSI

12. Progress of measures at IMO - example
Proposal to IMO
Committee
Incident
Idea,
development
Discussion, refer
to Sub-Committee,
Working Group
Development of draft
Regulation, circular,
Code or resolution
Let me give you an idea of how measures progress through the IMO machinery.
Any IMO Member State can propose a new regulation or amendment to existing one. It might arise from an incident, or simply from an idea or technical development.
The Member State first puts its proposal to the relevant IMO Committee. The Committee would then discuss the proposal and, if it was considered to have merit, might decide to refer it to a sub-committee for more detailed consideration. For more complex issues, a working group or correspondence group might be established to work on the issue at an even more intense technical level.
After appropriate discussion in these fora, a detailed draft – whether it for a new measure, an amendment to an existing measure, a code of practice, guidelines or a circular – is drawn up, ready for consideration and approval at the appropriate level.
This explains the process in the simplest of terms. Depending on the complexity of the issue, some measures can be quickly agreed and adopted while others require more time.
IMO member states undertake to put into practice the measures they develop and adopt at IMO. That is why the Organization always aims to adopt measures by consensus as this way ensures the widest possible implementation by the member states.
Adoption of
new regulation

13. Respective Roles IMO - Develop safety and environment standards
Governments - Implement/Enforce the standards
Classification Societies - Survey and Certification
Shipping Companies - Apply the standards to their ships
Shipboard Personnel - Putting standards into operation

14. Application to real ships
Of course what really counts is the application of IMO measures aboard real ships, such as this bulk carrier, this general cargo vessel, this passenger ship or this tanker.

15. Application to real ships
More than 50 IMO Conventions
More than 100 protocols, guidelines, recommendations etc
Almost every aspect of shipping covered:
Design
Construction
Equipment
Maintenance
Crew
Discharges/emissions
Today there are more than 50 IMO treaty instruments and over 100 other measures such as protocols, guidelines, recommended practices and so on. Between them, they influence almost every aspect of shipping and ship operation, including ship design, construction, equipment, maintenance and manning.

16. Safety and security SOLAS (Safety of life at sea)
STCW (Training/Watch keeping)
Load lines (Cargo safety limits)
COLREGS (Collision avoidance)
SUA (Suppression of Unlawful Acts)
ISPS Code (Port Security)
Broadly speaking, the main IMO Conventions fall into four categories. Those dealing with safety and security include:
the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) which is generally considered to be the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships. Among the topics covered in its chapters are ship construction, subdivision and stability, fire protection, life saving appliances and arrangements, radiocommunications, safety of navigation, carriage of cargoes and dangerous goods, safe management and maritime security;
Others include the Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, the Load lines Convention, the Collision Regulations or COLREGS and the so-called SUA Conventions, which are legal instruments aimed at ensuring that appropriate action is taken against persons committing unlawful acts against ships such as the seizure of ships by force, acts of violence against persons on board ships and the placing of devices on board a ship which are likely to destroy or damage it.

17. Pollution prevention MARPOL 73/78 Intervention 69/73
London Dumping 72 and Protocol 96
Anti-fouling 2001
Ballast water management 2004
Wreck removal 2004
Ship Recycling 2009
Another set of Conventions are designed to prevent pollution of the marine environment. Prime among these is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, or MARPOL, which has six annexes, dealing with oil pollution, operational pollution, harmful substances in packaged form, sewage, garbage and air pollution.
Others include Conventions on the dumping of wastes at sea, on the rights of coastal states to intervene if their coastline is under threat of pollution following upon a maritime casualty, on the use of certain toxic substances in ships’ anti-fouling paint and on ballast water management.

18. Search and rescue/pollution response and compensation
SAR
OPRC (oil) -
OPRC-HNS Protocol
Liability and Compensation –
CLC; FUND; BUNKER; HNS Conv
Broadly speaking, the measures we’ve covered so far are designed to prevent accidents from occurring; But we have to recognise that despite everyone’s best efforts, accidents do occur. So another series of Conventions have been developed that are designed to ensure a proper response to minimise the negative repercussions when accidents do happen.
The most important consideration is the protection of human life, and to this end the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (the SAR Convention) enshrines an international SAR plan to ensure that, no matter where an accident occurs, rescue operations will be co-ordinated by a proper search and rescue organization and, when necessary, by co-operation between neighbouring SAR organizations.
Other measures in this category include the OPRC Convention (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation) which establishes measures for dealing with pollution incidents, either nationally or in co-operation with other countries, and its related protocol dealing with hazardous and noxious substances.

19. Uptake across the world
SOLAS % world tonnage
COLREGS 98.50%
STCW %
MARPOL(I&II) 98.34%
MARPOL(97 Prot) 74.73%
OPRC %
OPRC-HNS %
AFSC %
And we can see that, by adopting the consensus approach, the most important conventions covering maritime safety and the prevention of pollution are now applicable to almost 100 per cent of global tonnage.

20. Remember IMO instruments to protect the marine environment from shipping are:
SOLAS, COLREGS (safety)
MARPOL (operational/accidental discharges)
Intervention Convention (threats to coast)
Anti-fouling Systems Convention (toxic chemicals)
Ballast Water Management Convention
(invasive species)
OPRC (& HNS) – (oil/chemical spill) and the
London Convention/Protocol (dumping at sea of wastes)
International instruments encouraging the designation of certain areas in order to increase the level of environmental protection

21. MARPOL
6 annexes cover ship-generated pollution (oil, NLS, Sewage, Garbage and air emissions)
Ensures ships are adequately designed, equipped, certified and inspected
Requires States to deal with wastes – reception facilities
Applies to all ships (oil and gas exploration exempted)
The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of Ships, 1973 was adopted that same year. This Convention was subsequently modified by the Protocol 1978, which was adopted in The Protocol introduced stricter regulations for the survey and certification of ships. It is to be read as one instrument and is usually referred to as MARPOL 73/78.
This IMO Convention is the most important global treaty for the prevention of pollution from the operation of ships. It governs the design and equipment of ships, establishes a system of certificates and inspections and requires States to provide reception facilities for the disposal of oily waste and chemicals. It covers all technical aspects of pollution from ships, except the disposal of waste into the sea by dumping, and applies to ships of all types, although it does not apply to pollution arising out of the exploration and exploitation of sea-bed mineral resources.
Regulations covering the various sources of ship-generated pollution are contained in six annexes that are updated regularly. All Annexes I (oil), II (chemicals in bulk), III (chemicals in packaged form), IV (sewage), V (garbage), VI (air emissions) are in force.

22. AFS – Convention (2001)
AIM: to reduce or eliminate adverse effects on the marine environment and human health caused by anti-fouling systems
Convention entered into force on 17 September 2008

23. Ballast Water Management Convention (2004)
AIM:
Prevent, minimize and ultimately eliminate the risks to the environment, ……. arising from the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens.
….through the control and management of ships’ ballast water and sediments, ….
Convention is not yet in force

24. OPRC Convention and the OPRC-HNS Protocol
Basic Obligations under OPRC and Regional Agreement:
Establish and maintain a national response system
Exchange of information
Early notification/Reporting
Mutual assistance

25. Protect the marine environment from all sources of pollution
London Convention
Promote the effective control of all sources of marine pollution
Contracting Parties shall take effective measures to prevent pollution of the marine environment caused by dumping at sea.
1996 Protocol
Protect the marine environment from all sources of pollution
Contracting Parties shall take effective measures to prevent, reduce and where practicable eliminate marine pollution caused by dumping or incineration of wastes at sea.

26. Other International Agreements to protect marine environment:
Land-based pollution
Basel Convention 1989
Global Programme of Action 1995
Atmospheric pollution
Kyoto Protocol 1992
Stockholm Convention 2001
These are only examples. The United Nations Environment Program lists over 500 agreements between or among nations that deal with environmental issues, out of 40,000+ total international agreements.
Note for later:
LTRAP: Long Range Transport of Atmospheric Pollutants.
POP: Persistent Organic Pollutants.
OSPAR: the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, 1992.

27. Interplay between international agreements
Sea-based inputs
Land-based inputs
Atmospheric inputs
UNFCCC-
Kyoto
UNCLOS
Biodiversity
GPA
POP
Basel
IMO
ICRI
Regional agreements
MARPOL,OPRC, BWM, AFSC, etc
Healthy oceans

28. Summary IMO Is a specialized UN agency
Develops global regulations to ensure that shipping is safe, secure, efficient and environmentally friendly
With a global coverage for a truly global industry and the community as a whole

29. Thank you for your attention Any questions!