Tag: IMO

IMO's on-going project on domestic ferry safety IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu has offered his condolences and sympathies to the families of all those who lost their life aboard the passenger ferry Shariatpur-1, which sank yesterday (13 March 2011) after being hit by a small cargo ship in the Meghna River, south-west of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.Speaking to the Organization's Sub-Committee on Radiocommunications and Search and Rescue (COMSAR), in session today, the Secretary-General also expressed the solidarity of IMO, at these difficult times, with the Government of Bangladesh. He reiterated IMO's readiness to respond to any request from Bangladesh for assistance for technical co-operation.This latest incident comes in the wake of the Costa Concordia incident earlier this year, in the aftermath of which the Secretary-General included an item on "Passenger ship safety" on the agenda of the Maritime Safety Committee. He also urged the Italian Maritime Administration to carry out its investigation into the casualty and to report its findings to IMO as soon as possible. Furthermore, following the sinking in February of the MV Rabaul Queen and upon request of the Government of Papua New Guinea, a team of two IMO officers have carried out a needs assessment mission to ...

It is estimated that more than 50,000 vessels will require retrofitting to meet new provisions The Maritime Environmental Protection Committee of the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) has granted Siemens Final Approval for its Sicure ballast water management system. The Final Approval is based on a directive issued by the IMO, a specialized agency of the United Nations, which requires all deep-sea vessels to operate IMO-approved ballast water management systems. The objective is to avoid the spread of alien aquatic organisms and pathogens carried in untreated ballast water. The IMO directive will come into force in the near future and will entail retrofitting approximately 50,000 sea-going vessels worldwide.The Maritime Environmental Protection Committee of the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO) has granted Siemens Final Approval for its Sicure ballast water management system.For its Sicure system, the Siemens Industry Automation Division received Basic Approval back in 2010, as the first leg of a two-tier certification process by the IMO. By granting Final Approval, the IMO confirms the new Siemens ballast water management system's environmental compatibility and compliance with the safety standards. The Sicure system is a further development of the Chloropac system, which has seen 35 years of successful ship-board ...

MBM to curb shipping emissions The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is making little headway on market-based measures to curb carbon dioxide emissions from international shipping, putting it on a policy collision course with the European Union, observers said.A committee of the 170-member United Nations shipping body was unable to make "tangible progress" after a week of talks that ended late on Friday, a delegate told Reuters.An IMO spokeswoman said discussions on market-based measures, such as a levy on CO2 emissions and a cap-and-trade scheme, will resume in October when the Marine Environment Protection Committee meets again.International shipping accounts for around 3 percent of the world's emissions of the greenhouse gas that is widely blamed for global warming, and this share could go to 18 percent by 2050 if regulation is not in place, according to the IMO.The European Union executive of the 27-nation European Union bloc has threatened to enforce its own shipping regulations if the IMO fails to act, as it has with aviation."While we have a clear preference for global action on measures to reduce emissions from shipping, we don't see the IMO on track to deliver reductions consistent with the globally accepted maximum two degrees Celsius objective," ...

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IMO adopts important guidelines to support implementation of mandatory energy efficiency measures An important series of guidelines to support the uniform implementation of mandatory measures to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from international shipping was adopted by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), when it met for its 63rd session from 27 February to 2 March 2012, at IMO Headquarters in London, paving the way for the regulations to be smoothly and uniformly implemented by Administrations and industry.The MEPC also continued its intensive discussion on market-based measures for greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping. During the busy session, the MEPC also adopted amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) relating to regional arrangements for port reception facilities; and adopted guidelines related to the implementation of the revised MARPOL Annex V (Garbage) and the Hong Kong Convention for the recycling of ships.The MEPC also granted basic and final approval to a number of ballast water management systems that make use of active substances.Guidelines for implementation of energy efficiency measures adoptedThe MEPC adopted four sets of guidelines intended to assist in the implementation of the ...

Shipbuilding, Machinery & Marine technology international trade fair in Hamburg Koji Sekimizu, the new Secretary-General of IMO (International Maritime Organization) has been in office for just under two months now. He gave an interview to Hamburg Fair in the run-up to the 25th SMM, shipbuilding, machinery & marine technology international trade fair Hamburg, to be held from 4 to 7 September, expressing his appreciation of the progress made by shipping towards more sustainability - "I am more than happy to talk about what activities the regulator of the international shipping industry has taken, as IMO has a very good story to tell in this respect."He then referred to the mandatory measures adopted by IMO in this context in the past year and added that, as soon as they have entered into force in 2013, they would require a progressive improvement in vessel efficiency and a consequent reduction in CO2 emissions. But he underlined the fact that it was left to industry to determine exactly how the defined targets are to be met - "It will be interesting to see which technologies find favour".Global application Mr. Sekimizu explained that, in parallel to the "Energy Efficiency Design Index" (EEDI) for new ships, ...

Energy Efficiency and GHG high on the agenda The 63rd session of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has been held this week in London. BIMCO representatives attended the weeklong meeting coming to closure later today.Ship energy efficiency and Green House Gasses (GHG) are high on the agenda and have been atthe core of the IMO's work this week trying to develop and enact regulatory measures aiming at reducing the emission of greenhouse gases and air pollutants.Recycling of shipsThe Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships was adopted in May 2009 by IMO at a diplomatic conference held in Hong Kong, and IMO is in the process of developing guidelines to assist stakeholders to fulfill the requirements in the convention.MEPC 63 finalised two IMO guidelines: Guidelines on safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships and Guidelines on the authorization of Ship Recycling Facilities. The Guidelines on safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships provide ship recycling facilities with recommendations for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships and implementation of the Hong Kong Convention. The guidelines on the Authorization of Ship Recycling Facilities gives administrations recommendations for establishing mechanisms for authorizing Ship ...

Fuel consumption of two identical ships can vary dramatically ICS is strongly opposed to a proposal from the Bahamas to IMO whereby governments would specify limits on the CO2 emissions of individual ships (as determined by fuel consumption) and which would subsequently be reduced over time.ICS is very concerned that if a ship's CO2 allowance was exceeded during the time period specified, it would have to go off-hire and a second ship chartered as a replacement.The problem is compounded by the reality that the fuel consumption of two identical ships can vary dramatically according to trading patterns and other variables such as weather.The Bahamas' proposal has been made with the apparent intention of being an alternative to other Market Based Measures that have been proposed at IMO, and which will be further considered by the next MEPC meeting.But there is a danger that some might see this as being a superficially attractive alternative to the adoption of an MBM, when it is simply a system of fuel rationing which would be highly damaging to large parts of the industry.Source: ICS

IMO's Marine and Environment Protection Committee will meet next week The International Maritime Organization will next week debate market-based measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions from ships, but the world's major shipping associations on Wednesday said the timing is not right for such measures to be applied.While the IMO's Marine and Environment Protection Committee is not expected to reach any conclusions on market-based measures at a week-long meeting in London, the U.N. agency has been under pressure to tackle international shipping emissions.The European Commission has threatened to take its own measures, such as including the shipping sector in its emissions trading scheme, if a solution to control rising shipping emissions by the IMO is not strong enough.Some of the carbon-cutting measures under IMO review include a contribution or levy on all carbon dioxide emissions from international shipping, an emissions trading system and schemes based on the operational and design efficiency of ships.But the so-called round table (RT) of leading shipping associations urged the IMO to postpone the introduction of market based measures and to instead focus on implementing mandatory energy efficiency design standards adopted last year."The RT is of the view that market based measures are not justified at this ...

Conference focused on the many problems currently afflicting Somalia, including piracy The outcome of a UK-hosted conference on Somalia has been welcomed by IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu. The conference, held at Lancaster House, London yesterday (Thursday 23 February), saw a wide-ranging examination of the many problems currently afflicting Somalia, including piracy. Convened by UK Prime Minister David Cameron, it dealt with issues such as security, local stability, counter-terrorism, humanitarian aspects, the political process and international co-operation.Mr. Sekimizu was part of a United Nations delegation to the London event headed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Speaking after the event, Mr. Sekimizu said, "Mention of the word 'Somalia' in a maritime context leads almost exclusively to thoughts of piracy. But, as this conference so clearly highlights, piracy is just one manifestation of the widespread and deep-rooted problems that beset that country and its people."A comprehensive and detailed communique adopted by the conference called for, among other things, full implementation of the IMO-led Djibouti Code of Conduct and the adoption of an Exclusive Economic Zone. It also welcomed current work on international guidance on the use of private armed security companies.Mr. Sekimizu said: "On the issue of piracy, the Conference agreed that ...