Archive 2023
Belize, Japan and Portugal join fishing vessel safety treaty
Belize, Japan and Portugal have become the latest countries to show their support for the safety of fishing vessels by becoming contracting parties to the fishing vessel safety treaty, the 2012 Cape Town Agreement. The 2012 Cape Town Agreement (CTA) will bring in mandatory safety requirements for fishing vessels when it enters into force. It now has 20 parties.
Supporting ballast water management in Samoa
A national workshop has been held in Apia, Samoa (27-28 March) to raise awareness amongst government officials of the actions Samoa should take at a national level to ratify, implement and enforce the BWM Convention.
Supporting maritime security in the Pacific
A joint IMO/Maritime New Zealand regional workshop on the IMO model on the Whole of Government Approach to Maritime Security is being hosted by the Government of New Zealand, in collaboration with IMO and the Pacific Community (SPC), is taking place in Rotorua, New Zealand (27-31 March).
IMO GHG working group progresses work on revision of IMO climate strategy
An IMO working group has made progress in developing the draft 2023 IMO Strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships. The
Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG
14) met 20-24 March.
Combating illicit activities - amendment to FAL Convention adopted
A new amendment to the FAL Convention which aims to address the need to combat illicit activities in the national facilitation programmes of Governments has been adopted by the Facilitation Committee (FAL 47). The Committee also adopted a resolution on recommended actions to accelerate the implementation of the maritime single window; approved a revised version of the IMO Compendium on Facilitation and Electronic Business; and approved Guidelines for harmonized communication and electronic exchange of operational data for port calls.
Supporting ballast water management in the Mediterranean Sea
Promoting the development of coordinated action throughout the Mediterranean Sea region to prevent and control marine biological invasions through ships’ ballast water was the focus of a regional workshop (20-21 March) and meeting (22-23 March) in Kappara, Malta
Marine geoengineering - assessing the impacts on the marine environment
Marine geoengineering techniques proposed for mitigating the effects of climate change could have adverse impacts on the marine environment. The Scientific Groups which report to the Parties to the treaties which regulate the dumping of wastes at sea agreed at their 2023 meeting (13-17 March) that four marine geoengineering techniques have the potential to cause deleterious effects that are widespread, long-lasting or severe.
IMO Secretary-General updated on Black Sea Grain initiative
IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim was updated on the Black Sea Grain initiative, during a meeting 22 March 2023 with Mr. Abdullah Abdul Samad Dashti of Kuwait, United Nations Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Workshop on domestic ferry safety in Eastern and Southern Africa
Representatives of maritime administrations and shipping companies from seven countries in the eastern and southern Africa region attended a sub-regional workshop on the safety of domestic vessels and passenger ferries held in Kampala, Uganda (13-17 March). The event forms part of IMO’s work to establish effective global safety standards for domestic passenger ferries.