IMO’s Facilitation Committee addresses the efficiency of shipping by dealing with all matters regarding the facilitation of international maritime traffic, including the arrival, stay and departure of ships, persons and cargo from ports. The Committee is meeting for its 43rd session, from 8 to 12 of April, coinciding with the entry into force of new requirements for all public authorities to introduce electronic exchange of information between ships and ports.
Along with other agenda items, the Committee is expected to continue its current work on harmonization and standardization of electronic messages and develop Guidelines for creating a single window system in maritime transport.
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A mandatory requirement for national governments to introduce electronic information exchange between ships and ports comes into effect from 8 April 2019. The goal is to make cross-border trade simpler and the logistics chain more efficient, for the more than 10 billion tons of goods which are traded by sea annually across the globe.
The Committee will also receive an update on a successful IMO maritime single window project, which has been used in Antigua and Barbuda by Norway. The source code developed for the system established in Antigua and Barbuda will be made available to other interested Member States.
In addition, a special event on ‘Women, ports and facilitation’, co-sponsored by IMO and WISTA, will reflect on the 2019 World Maritime Day theme, ‘Empowering women in the maritime community’, on 10 April.
Finally, a seminar on making cross border trade simpler, on 11 April is co-sponsored by IMO and the International Port Community Systems Association (IPCSA), covering ‘Values and benefits of a Port Community System, links to Single Window and WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement’.
