IMO (International Maritime Organization)

• The International Maritime Organization (IMO) known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) until 1982 is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping.
  

• 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 1959.
  

• Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, the IMO currently has 174 member states and three associate members
  

• The IMO’s primary purpose is to develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping and its remit today includes safety, environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-operation, maritime security and the efficiency of shipping.
  
  
• IMO is governed by an assembly of members and is financially administered by a council of members elected from the assembly.
  
  
• The work of IMO is conducted through five committees and these are supported by technical subcommittees.
  
  
• As of 2020, there are 174 member states of the IMO, which includes 173 of the UN member states plus the Cook Islands.
  
  
• The first state to ratify the convention was the United Kingdom in 1949.
  
  
• The most recent members to join were Armenia and Nauru, which became IMO members in January and May 2018, respectively.
  
  
• The current Secretary-General is Kitack Lim (South Korea), elected for a four-year term at the 106th session of the IMO Council in June 2015 and at the 27th session of the IMO’s Assembly in November 2015. His mandate started on 1 January 2016.
  

SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea)

Adoption: 1 November 1974

Entry into force: 25 May 1980

The SOLAS Convention in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships.

The first version was adopted in 1914, in response to the Titanic disaster, the second in 1929, the third in 1948, and the fourth in 1960.

The 1974 version includes the tacit acceptance procedure – which provides that an amendment shall enter into force on a specified date unless, before that date, objections to the amendment are received from an agreed number of Parties.

Technical provisions:

• Chapter I – General Provisions

• Chapter II-1 – Construction – Subdivision and stability, machinery and electrical installations

• Chapter II-2 – Fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction

• Chapter III – Life-saving appliances and arrangements

• Chapter IV – Radiocommunications

• Chapter V – Safety of navigation

• Chapter VI – Carriage of Cargoes

• Chapter VII – Carriage of dangerous goods

• Chapter VIII – Nuclear ships

• Chapter IX – Management for the Safe Operation of Ships

• Chapter X – Safety measures for high-speed craft

• Chapter XI-1 – Special measures to enhance maritime safety

• Chapter XI-2 – Special measures to enhance maritime security

• Chapter XII – Additional safety measures for bulk carriers

• Chapter XIII – Verification of compliance 

• Chapter XIV – Safety measures for ships operating in polar waters

International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)

Adoption: 1973 (Convention), 1978 (1978 Protocol), 1997 (Protocol –  Annex VI)

Entry into force: 2 October 1983 (Annexes I and II).

The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) is the main international convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes.

The MARPOL Convention was adopted on 2 November 1973 at IMO.

The Protocol of 1978 was adopted in response to a spate of tanker accidents in 1976-1977.

As the 1973 MARPOL Convention had not yet entered into force, the 1978 MARPOL Protocol absorbed the parent Convention.

The combined instrument entered into force on 2 October 1983. In 1997, a Protocol was adopted to amend the Convention and a new Annex VI was added which entered into force on 19 May 2005. MARPOL has been updated by amendments through the years.

The Convention includes regulations aimed at preventing and minimizing pollution from ships – both accidental pollution and that from routine operations – and currently includes six technical Annexes.

Special Areas with strict controls on operational discharges are included in most Annexes.

• Annex I  Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Oil (entered into force 2 October 1983)

• Annex II  Regulations for the Control of  Pollution by Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk  (entered into force 2 October 1983)

• Annex III Prevention of Pollution by Harmful Substances Carried by Sea in Packaged Form (entered into force 1 July 1992)

• Annex IV Prevention of Pollution by Sewage from Ships  (entered into force 27 September 2003)

• Annex V Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships (entered into force 31 December 1988) 

• Annex VI Prevention of  Air Pollution from Ships (entered into force 19 May 2005)

International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW)

Adoption: 7 July 1978

Entry into force: 28 April 1984

Major revisions in 1995 and 2010

The 1978 STCW Convention was the first to establish basic requirements on training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers on an international level.

Previously the standards of training, certification and watchkeeping of officers and ratings were established by individual governments, usually without reference to practices in other countries.

As a result standards and procedures varied widely, even though shipping is the most international of all industries.

The Convention prescribes minimum standards relating to training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers which countries are obliged to meet or exceed.

The Manila amendments to the STCW Convention and Code were adopted on 25 June 2010, marking a major revision of the STCW Convention and Code.

The 2010 amendments entered into force on 1 January 2012 under the tacit acceptance procedure and are aimed at bringing the Convention and Code up to date with developments since they were initially adopted  and to enable them to address issues that are anticipated to emerge in the foreseeable future.

Directorate General of Shipping

The Directorate General of Shipping is an attached office of the Ministry of Shipping, Govt. of India and deals with all executive matters, relating to merchant shipping. Indian shipping remained a deferred subject till independence.

It was only there after, the development of shipping attracted the state policy. The subject of Shipping was, in the beginning, dealt with by the Ministry of Commerce, till 1949 and subsequently, in 1951, it was shifted to the Ministry of Transport and Shipping.

In 1947, the Government of India announced the National Policy on Shipping, aiming at the total development of the industry.

In order to accelerate the developmental efforts, the necessity for a centralized Administrative organization was felt and accordingly, it was in September 1949, the Directorate General of Shipping with its Headquarters at Bombay was established.

This Directorate deals with all matters concerning the Maritime Administration, Maritime Education and Training, development of Shipping Industry and other related subjects.

The initial objectives of the Directorate General of Shipping were :

• Matters affecting Merchant Shipping & navigation and administration of the Merchant Shipping Law

• Measures to ensure safety of life and ships at sea;

• Development of Indian Shipping;

• International Conventions relating to Maritime matters;

• Provision of facilities for training of Officers and ratings for Merchant Navy;