7/22/2023 0 Comments Imo abbreviation![]() As of May 2013, 152 states, representing 99.2 per cent of the world's shipping tonnage, are signatories to the MARPOL convention. The current convention is a combination of 1973 Convention and the 1978 Protocol. ![]() The original MARPOL was signed on 17 February 1973, but did not come into force due to lack of ratifications. 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 most significant development to come out of this conference was the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973. By tonnage, the aforementioned was a bigger problem than accidental pollution. It also detailed how to deal with the environmental threat caused by routine ship duties such as the cleaning of oil cargo tanks or the disposal of engine room wastes. 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. The goal at hand was to develop an international agreement for controlling general environmental contamination by ships when out at sea. In 1969, the IMO Assembly decided to host an international gathering in 1973 dedicated to this issue. IMO held an emergency session of its council to deal with the need to readdress regulations pertaining to maritime pollution. Ĭurrent Secretary-General Kitack Lim (left), with predecessor Secretaries-General O'Neill, Mitropoulos and Sekimizu This incident prompted a series of new conventions. 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. Īs oil trade and industry developed, many people in the industry began to recognise a need for further improvements in regards to oil pollution prevention at sea. The first meetings of the newly formed IMCO were held in London in 1959. Under the guidance of IMO, the convention was amended in 1962, 1969, and 1971. In January 1959, IMO began to maintain and promote the 1954 OILPOL Convention. When IMCO began its operations in 1959 certain other pre-existing conventions were brought under its aegis, most notable the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil (OILPOL) 1954. 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 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. 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. IMO was established in 1948 following a UN conference in Geneva to bring the regulation of the safety of shipping into an international framework. The headquarters of the IMO are located on Albert Embankment, Lambeth, London. 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 is supported by a permanent secretariat of employees who are representative of the organisation's members. ![]() Observer status is granted to qualified non-governmental organisations. Other UN organisations may observe the proceedings of the IMO. The work of IMO is conducted through five committees and these are supported by technical subcommittees. Its finance and organization is administered by a council of 40 members elected from the assembly. ![]() IMO is governed by an assembly of members which meets every two years. 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 the efficiency of shipping. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, IMO currently has 175 Member States and three Associate Members. The IMO 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 in 17 March 1958. The International Maritime Organization ( IMO, French: Organisation maritime internationale) is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. United Nations Economic and Social Council
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