What is maritime development and why is it important? Isn’t one of the biggest challenges the failure to appreciate the value of the maritime sector? These are the questions being raised by IMO at the Growing Blue Conference in Maputo, Mozambique (23-24 May).
“Ultimately, more efficient shipping, working in partnership with a port sector supported by governments, will be a major driver towards global stability and sustainable development for the good of all people” said IMO’s Chris Trelawny, speaking at a side event on maritime development.
IMO’s Maritime Development programme is assisting countries to grow sustainable blue economies and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by working to help IMO Member States to develop innovative policies and strategies to respond to the needs of countries at the national, regional and global levels. This includes supporting development of national port and shipping sectors, promoting seafaring and shipping-related work as viable employment options for young people, both male and female, and facilitating regional trade by sea to foster manufacturing and export of finished products in addition to raw materials, with resulting benefits including increased and sustainable employment opportunities ashore.
More than 500 participants, including UN Special Envoy for Oceans, Peter Thomson, various Ministers and the Presidents of Mozambique and the Seychelles took part in the Conference. It builds on the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference held in Kenya in November 2018, which featured forward-looking IMO side events on the sustainable blue economy; integrating women in the maritime sector; and reducing GHG emissions from ships.
Find out more about IMO and the Sustainable Development Goals, here.
Discussions on oil pollution prevention, preparedness and response took centre stage this week (20-24 May) at the latest edition of Spillcon 2019 in Perth, Australia.
The forum included sessions on cause and prevention, response management and environmental issues.
A raft of high calibre national and international speakers addressed the conference on their particular areas of expertise. However, this year, the audience also invited 12 to 15 years olds to join the event to learn more about issues related to environmental protection, oil and chemical pollution, preparedness and response. The curious students took part in a range of activities prepared by IMO to educate them on the issue.
Other senior participants at the conference gained knowledge with a view to improving their respective technical competencies and developing capacity at the national level.
Spillcon, which is part of a conference series partly organized by IMO, enhances regional and global knowledge on the issues surrounding global oil spill. The Conferences also provided a venue for international experts in oil spill prevention, preparedness, response and restoration to share information in a common forum.
IMO sponsored 10 participants* from Asia and the Pacific to attend the event.
* Federate States of Micronesia, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Malaysia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Timor Leste, Tonga
Auditing IMO Member States to assess how effectively they enforce key IMO treaties is an important part of the Organization's work to ensure its regulatory framework is universally adopted and implemented.
IMO's Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS) is the subject of a national workshop taking place in Yaoundé, Cameroon (13-17 May).
The participants are made up of senior administration personnel involved in preparing audits for their government. Participants also received specific training on documentation needed to conduct an audit.
The scheme became mandatory in January 2016. To date, 65 mandatory audits have been carried out, with a further 12 planned for later year. All Member States are required to undergo a mandatory audit within the seven-year audit cycle.
The workshop was organized by IMO and hosted by the Ministry of Transport of Cameroon.
Saint Kitts and Nevis is the latest country to benefit from IMO’s work promoting good maritime governance practice – through a National Maritime Transport Policy (NMTP) workshop, underway in Basseterre (14-16 May).
The event brought together participants from over 30 institutions, including ministries, State and stakeholder agencies to work towards a policy to help achieve the maritime vision of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Creating a NMPT policy will help the country’s maritime transport sector to be governed in a coordinated, efficient, sustainable, safe and environmentally-sound manner –contributing to the country’s sustainable socio-economic development and achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Find out more about the National Maritime Transport Policy concept, what it is and how it works, by watching IMO’s NMTP video, here.
The workshop was organized by IMO, in cooperation with the Department of Maritime Affairs of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Posts, Urban Development and Transport of Saint Kitts and Nevis, with support from the World Maritime University (WMU).
Malta is the latest country to accede to IMO's treaty for safe and environmentally-sound ship recycling – the Hong Kong Convention.
The Convention covers the design, construction, operation and maintenance of ships, and preparation for ship recycling in order to facilitate safe and environmentally sound recycling, without compromising the safety and operational efficiency of ships.
Under the treaty, ships to be sent for recycling are required to carry an inventory of hazardous materials, specific to each ship. Ship recycling yards are required to provide a "Ship Recycling Plan", specifying the manner in which each ship will be recycled, depending on its particulars and its inventory.
H.E. Mr. Victor Camilleri, Permanent Representative of Malta to IMO, met IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim at IMO Headquarters, London (14 May) to deposit the instrument of accession.
Twelve contracting States party to the Convention now represent more than 28.8% of world merchant shipping tonnage.
IMO’s key environment protection meeting has opened for its 74th session (13-17 May). The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships is a key agenda item, following up on the initial IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships. A working group is expected to be established, continuing the work of an intersessional meeting which met last week (7-10) May. The fourth IMO GHG study is expected to be initiated, the procedure for assessing the impact on States of new measures will be considered and possible short-term measures will be discussed.
A set of draft guidelines and guidance documents to support the implementation of the 0.50% sulphur limit from 1 January 2020 are set to be approved this week. The new limit will have major health and environmental benefits.
Other important agenda items include: the adoption of MARPOL amendments to strengthen requirements regarding discharge of high-viscosity substances, such as certain vegetable oils and paraffin-like cargoes; the follow up on the IMO Action Plan to address marine plastic litter from ships; implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention; and approval, for future adoption, of draft amendments to the International Convention for the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships (AFS), to include controls on the biocide cybutryne.
Further information on the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), 74th session agenda can be found here. The MEPC was opened by Secretary-General Kitack Lim and is being chaired by Mr. Hideaki Saito (Japan). Click for photos.
Ten years after the adoption of IMO’s Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, in May 2009, there has been progress with voluntary application of its requirements, but the treaty needs to enter into force for it to be widely implemented. “I urge Member States who have not yet done so to ratify the Convention at the earliest opportunity, in order to bring it into force as soon as possible,” said IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim, speaking at an International Seminar on Ship Recycling: Towards the Early Entry into Force of the Hong Kong Convention (10 May). The seminar was organized by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan in cooperation with the IMO Secretariat.
Speakers from industry and national authorities, including ship recycling countries, are addressing the seminar, which aims to highlight how to promote sustainable ship recycling and discuss what is necessary to move forward for the early entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention.
The Hong Kong Convention covers the design, construction, operation and maintenance of ships, and preparation for ship recycling in order to facilitate safe and environmentally sound recycling, without compromising the safety and operational efficiency of ships. Under the treaty, ships are required to carry an Inventory of Hazardous Materials, specific to each ship. Ship recycling yards are required to provide a "Ship Recycling Plan", specific to each individual ship to be recycled, specifying the manner in which each ship will be recycled, depending on its particulars and its inventory.
Secretary-General Lim highlighted the work already done by IMO to develop guidelines to assist in implementation, with a range of awareness-raising workshops, training and other similar projects, to help build capacity in ship recycling countries and establish the conditions that will enable those which have not yet done so, to ratify or accede to the Convention. In particular, the ongoing project on "Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling in Bangladesh" (SENSREC), funded by the Government of Norway and jointly implemented by IMO, the Government of Bangladesh and the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS), is in its second phase, focusing on building the country's institutional capacity and implementing the training materials based on Phase I. Meanwhile, the Government of Japan has been working with relevant stakeholders to improve ship recycling in South Asia.
To date, the Hong Kong Convention has been ratified or acceded by eleven States: Belgium, Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Estonia, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Serbia and Turkey. The combined merchant fleets of these eleven States constitute 23% of the gross tonnage of the world’s merchant fleet and their combined ship recycling volume constitutes about 1.6 million gross tonnage (about 0.56% of the gross tonnage of the eleven contracting States' merchant fleet). Entry into force requires 15 States, 40% of the world's merchant fleet and their ship recycling volume constituting not less than 3% of the gross tonnage of these contracting States' merchant fleet.
Suriname is the latest country to benefit from IMO maritime security training. Participants at a workshop in Paramaribo, Suriname (7-8 May) took part in table-top contingency planning exercises involving a variety of maritime security issues. These included threats to cruise ships, border security issues involving ports, airports and land border crossing, as well as potential incidents involving proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and arms and drugs consignments.
The main objective of the exercise was to encourage a multi-agency, whole of government approach to maritime and port facility security and related maritime law enforcement issues – with participants working to identify gaps in national procedures or legislation, opportunities for improvement, and further needs for training or technical assistance.
The exercise took place following a request by Suriname to assist the country in strengthening its implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) – specifically those that fall within the scope of IMO’s SOLAS chapter XI-2 and the ISPS Code and/or the 1988 and 2005 SUA treaties (click for details of these treaties).
The workshop was organised in collaboration with the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC).
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been granted observer status at the Arctic Council. This will allow IMO to build on previous cooperation with the Arctic Council and engage in close collaboration on a range issues related to shipping in the Arctic, in particular, search and rescue, pollution response and maritime safety and protection of the marine environment.
IMO has adopted the Polar Code, which provides mandatory requirements for ships operating in the harsh environment of the Polar regions, to provide additional protection on top of existing mandatory rules, for ship design, construction, equipment, operational, training, search and rescue and environmental protection matters. IMO is currently developing develop measures to reduce the risks of use and carriage of heavy fuel oil as fuel by ships in Arctic waters.
IMO's "Guide on Oil Spill Response in Ice and Snow Conditions", approved in 2016, was developed in coordination with the Arctic Council's Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) Working Group.
The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental organization which promotes greater coordination and cooperation among the Arctic States, among other things. The members of the Arctic Council are Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden and the United States. IMO joins four other United Nations system bodies with observer status at the Arctic Council (UNDP, UN-ECE, UNEP and WMO). The 11th Arctic Council Ministerial meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland, welcomed IMO as an observer organization.
Data sharing is a prerequisite to enabling the successful implementation of “Just-In-Time” (JIT) operations – which can cut the time ships spend idling outside ports and help cut emissions as well as save on fuel costs. Participants at a roundtable meeting of IMO’s Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (GIA) at IMO Headquarters, London (1-2 May), agreed that increased transparency of information through data sharing was imperative, while this should be achieved through standardized functional and data definitions. More frequent exchange of information would lead to better predictability of when a berth is available. The roundtable identified the need for a global, neutral, not-for profit data sharing platform, to allow frequent updates from terminals and vessel service providers on completion times.
The roundtable also identified the potential benefits of regulating data sharing, while incentivising data quality.
The roundtable meeting is the latest in a series organized by the GIA, to identify and discuss the operational, contractual and regulatory barriers – and potential solutions – to the uptake of Just-In-Time operations. Operational measures can help to substantially cut greenhouse gas emissions from ships. In 2018, IMO adopted an initial IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships, setting out a vision which confirms IMO’s commitment to reducing GHG emissions from international shipping and to phasing them out as soon as possible.
The GIA is an innovative public-private partnership initiative of the IMO, under the framework of the GEF-UNDP-IMO Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships (GloMEEP) Project that aims to bring together maritime industry leaders to support an energy efficient and low carbon maritime transport system. The roundtable was attended by more than 30 GIA and non-GIA members (including shipping companies, ship agents, ship brokers, ports, terminals, bunker providers, nautical service provider, maritime organizations, maritime law firms).
Increased commercial and oil activity in Liberia's territorial waters has seen the number of tankers and other ships supporting the oil activities, rise significantly.
These activities are critical to the Liberian economy but pose a risk in the event of an oil spill. To address this issue, the Global Initiative for West, Central and Southern Africa (GI WACAF) has organized a workshop in Monrovia, Liberia (29 April – 2 May) which provided participants with incident management process information as well as an opportunity to test the newly learned material through an exercise.
The workshop also provided Liberia with the opportunity to update its Incident Management System and strengthened its national oil spill preparedness and response system. Liberia is seeing a growing number of fishing communities along its coast and has a responsibility to protect the livelihood of these communities by having a robust oil spill preparedness and response plan in place.
The workshop was hosted by the Liberia Maritime Authority (LiMA).
Breaking down gender stereotypes in the maritime industry is not just important in its own right, it is also beneficial for the industry as a whole. That was one of the key messages to emerge from a special event held at IMO Headquarters in London yesterday, on International Labour Day (May 1).
In a year when IMO is highlighting its efforts to empower women in the maritime community, a panel discussion among five high level female maritime professionals and an invited audience of IMO delegates and other maritime representatives explored issues around female representation in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
Sakura Kuma (Executive Director of the Port of Yokohama), Fran Collins (CEO of Red Funnel Group), Katy Ware (Maritime Safety and Standards Director at the UK Maritime Coastguard Agency), Despina Theodossiou (CEO of Tototheo Maritime and President of WISTA International) and Kathi Stanzel, (MD of INTERTANKO) discussed what had inspired them to join the maritime profession and the barriers that still need to be tackled.
IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim confirmed that IMO is strongly committed to helping Member States achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting SDG 5 on gender equality as one of the key platforms on which a sustainable future can be built.
Four maritime NGOs (ICS, BIMCO, INTERTANKO and WISTA) combined to organise the event.
Hazardous shipwrecks can cause many problems. Depending on its location, a wreck may be a hazard to navigation, potentially endangering other vessels and their crews. IMO's Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention goes some way to resolving these issues. It covers the legal basis for States to remove, or have removed, shipwrecks, drifting ships, objects from ships at sea, and floating offshore installations. Canada has become the 44th State to accede to this important IMO treaty.
H.E. Janice Charette, High Commissioner & Permanent Representative of Canada to IMO, met IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim at IMO Headquarters, London (30 April 2019) to deposit the instrument of accession.
IMO model courses are valuable tools that assist Member States and other stakeholders to develop detailed training programmes, to effectively implement the provisions of the 1978 STCW Convention, as amended, and to achieve the knowledge and skills demanded by increasingly sophisticated shipping industry. Three new model courses and one revised model course have been put forward to the Sub-Committee on Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping (HTW 6, 29 April-3 May) for validation: draft new model courses on Advanced training for masters, officers, ratings and other personnel on ships subject to the International Code of Safety for Ship Using Gases or Other Low-flashpoint Fuels (IGF Code); Basic training for masters, officers, ratings and other personnel on ships subject to the IGF Code; and Passenger safety, cargo safety and hull integrity training; and the draft revised model course on Advanced training in firefighting. The Sub-Committee will also consider the conversion of IMO model courses to e-learning versions, if appropriate, taking into account costs and other implications, and refining the process to develop, revise and validate model courses. Amongst other items on the HTW 6 agenda, the Sub-Committee will continue its ongoing comprehensive review of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F), 1995, which entered into force in 2012. It is a key pillar among the international instruments on fishing vessel safety. Progress is expected with the review of all chapters and the preparation of an associated Code.
Under the agenda item on the “role of the human element”, the Sub-Committee is expected to look at developing guidance on the application of casualty cases and lessons learned to seafarers' education and training; and to consider reviewing and updating the Checklist for considering human element issues by IMO bodies (MSC MEPC.7/Circ.1).
Implementation of the 1978 STCW Convention, as amended, is on the agenda, specifically with reference to the list of compliant STCW Parties ("White List") and its review, based on the continuous compliance by Parties, as required by the Convention.
The Sub-Committee is expected to finalize draft amendments to table B-I/2 (List of certificates or documentary evidence required under the STCW Convention) of the STCW Code. The Sub-Committee will also consider developing a new joint ILO/IMO International Medical Guide for Ships (IMGS), as well as the establishment of a joint ILO/IMO Working Group for the development of guidelines on the medical examination of fishing vessels' personnel.
The HTW 6 meeting was opened by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim and is being chaired by Ms. Mayte Medina (United States). Click for photos.
Better and stronger infrastructure for sharing information is vital to support maritime sector development and a sustainable blue economy. That was one of the key conclusions from a high-level workshop in Saudi Arabia for signatory states to the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC), the IMO-led cooperation agreement that has been instrumental in repressing piracy and armed robbery against ships in the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.
Participants agreed that, as a basis for effective regional cooperation, it was important to establish national information sharing centres to coordinate activities of national maritime security and law-enforcement agencies.
The workshop considered ways to enhance the existing regional information-sharing network to meet the increased requirements of the 2017 Jeddah Amendment, which significantly broadened the DCoC's scope to cover other illicit maritime activities such as human trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. It was agreed that the functions and capacities of the three information sharing centres established under the DCoC should be assessed to identify where capacity-building assistance might be needed.
Participants welcomed the capacity-building work of IMO and a host of other international organizations, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), INTERPOL, the European Union and several individual governments and NGOs, and invited other organizations to offer their assistance.
The workshop, at the Mohammed Bin Nayef Academy of Marine Science and Security Studies in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, brought together 69 senior officials from 18 DCoC States* and supporting countries and organizations under the theme "Addressing maritime security challenges through regional cooperation and goodwill".
Workshop Chair, Vice Admiral Awwad Eid Al-Aradi Al-Balawi, Head of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Border Guard, reminded participants of the need to address the root causes of piracy and other crimes. He highlighted the achievements made in the region since the DCoC and the Jeddah Amendment were signed, in 2009 and 2017 respectively.
*Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, France, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen
News and information about IMO's Marine Environment Protection of the South-East Asian Seas (MEPSEAS) project can be found on the newly-launched website: mepseas.imo.org.
The project, launched last year, is improving the environmental health of the seas in the region by supporting seven participating developing countries* to implement key IMO marine environment protection treaties. These treaties include the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL); the Anti-Fouling Systems Convention; the London dumping of wastes at sea convention and protocol; and the Ballast Water Management Convention.
IMO is implementing the project, with funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).
*Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam
“Use your power to empower”. “Say what you’re thinking”. “Listen to the ‘yes’ voice in your head”. “Return every phone call every day”. “Believe in yourself”.
This was the advice given by a wide variety of inspiring maritime women sharing their experiences of entering, working and leading in the maritime world at a special event (photos) on "Women, ports and facilitation" at IMO Headquarters, London (10 April).
The speakers presented on, and answered questions about, their work and the future for women in the field – identifying a series of key issues and recommendations. These include the importance of promoting female role models; increased access to education; mentoring; and taking advantage of training – with the overriding point being that work promoting gender equality needed to be done by both men and women together.
In his introduction to the event, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim emphasized IMO’s commitment to empowering women in the maritime community – this year’s World Maritime Day theme – and the importance of getting “all hands on deck”, both male and female, for the maritime world to continue to carry the world’s goods in a clean safe and efficient manner.
The event, organized by IMO and WISTA*, took place in the margins of IMO’s Facilitation Committee, which, this week, has been addressing the efficiency of shipping by dealing with all matters related to the free flow of international maritime traffic.
* Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association
IMO training on the international treaty covering waste dumping at sea, the London Protocol, is underway for Algerian government officials and participants* from shipping companies and port authorities.
The workshop, held in Alger (9-10 April), is enabling cooperation between different sectors – allowing effective implementation of measures aimed at protecting the marine environment from dumping of harmful wastes at sea**.
Participants examined ways of effectively assessing the environmental impact of dumping of certain substances, including dredged material and effluents from desalination plants at sea. They also discussed the advantages of being part of the global network of experts and scientists linked to the London Protocol and their ongoing research on innovative sustainable techniques preventing marine pollution caused by dumping.
The event was organized by IMO’s Office of the London Convention & Protocol and Ocean Affairs with the Directorate of Merchant Navy and Ports of the Algerian Ministry of Public Works and Transport, with support from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
* 35 participants from ministries and administrations responsible for transport, environment, fisheries, tourism and foreign Affairs, as well as shipping companies and port authorities
** as set out in the London Protocol and the Dumping Protocol of the Barcelona Convention – the regional convention for the protection of the Mediterranean Sea established under UN Environment’s Regional Seas Programme
The IMO treaty enhancing communication between ships and ports to help shipments move more quickly, more easily and more efficiently has been ratified by Malaysia. This brings the number of contracting States to the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL Convention) to 123.
Captain Haji Samad, Alternate Permanent Representative of Malaysia to IMO, met IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim at IMO Headquarters, London (10 April) to deposit the instrument of accession.
IMO’s Facilitation Committee is meeting for its 43rd session (8-12 April) this week, coinciding with the entry into effect of new requires for all public authorities to introduce electronic exchange of information between ships and ports (see details here).
Find out more about the FAL Convention, including why it is needed, advice for governments, here.
IMO’s Facilitation Committee addresses the efficiency of shipping by dealing with all matters related to 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 (8-12 April), coinciding with the entry into effect of new requires for all public authorities to introduce electronic exchange of information between ships and ports (see details here).
Alongside other agenda items, the Committee is expected to continue its ongoing work on harmonization and standardization of electronic messages and develop Guidelines for setting up a single window system in maritime transport. The Committee will also receive an update on a successful IMO maritime single window project, which has been implemented 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.
The Facilitation Committee was opened by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim and is being chaired by Mrs. Marina Angsell (Sweden). Click for photos.
The Facilitation Committee session sees two side events focusing on trade by ship. 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" (10 April). A seminar on making cross border trade simpler (11 April) is co-sponsored by IMO and the International Port Community Systems Association (IPCSA) and covers “Values and benefits of a Port Community System, links to Single Window and WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement”. Read more here.
Two important IMO treaties helping to protect the marine environment have been under the spotlight training workshops for Ukrainian officials in Kiev (1-5 April).
Participants took part in training on implementing and enforcing both the i) Ballast Water Management Convention (BWM), which aims to counter the threat to marine ecosystems by potentially invasive species transported in ships' ballast water, and ii) the Anti-Fouling Systems Convention (AFS), which prohibits the use of harmful organotins in anti-fouling paints and establishes a mechanism to prevent the potential future use of other harmful substances in anti-fouling systems. Participants were also introduced to ways in which to implement IMO’s Biofouling Guidelines.
The BWM workshop focused on compliance monitoring and enforcement, and provided training on how to plan and conduct port biological baseline surveys as well as risk assessments, including ship targeting for port State control and exemptions. The AFS-Biofouling workshop contributes to developing a national biofouling management strategy and action plan for Ukraine.
“Education is the greatest engine of personal development”, said Ms. Lorraine Masiza (from Namibia), Chair of the Association for Women in the Maritime Sector in Eastern and Southern Africa region (WOMESA), speaking at the first ever meeting of all seven IMO regional Women in Maritime Associations (WIMAS).
This historic meeting took place on the sidelines of the third World Maritime University (WMU) International Women’s Conference, Empowering Women in the Maritime Community, Malmö, Sweden (4-5 April).
WIMAFRICA and WMUWA also joined the gathering to share experiences and generate ideas for the future.
On the subject of education, Ms. Masiza also said that mentoring programmes were crucial in order to advance women and girls in the maritime sector. The key themes of training, visibility and recognition were echoed by representatives from the other WIMAS, who also highlighted the need for research and data, to help inform strategies to mainstream gender issues throughout the maritime sector.
Ms. Carol Schroeder of the WMU Women's Association (WMUWA) spoke about the network of past, current and prospective female students of the University. Recognizing the need to involve everyone in gender issues, the WMUMA currently has 11 male associate members.
The seven regional networks promote and improve gender balance in the shipping industry have been established, with support from IMO’s Women in Maritime programme.
IMO’s Women in Maritime Programme funded two representatives from each WIMA to attend the Malmö conference on Empowering Women in the Maritime Community. IMO's Women in Maritime Programme forms part of the Organization's strong commitment towards helping its Member States achieve the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 5 "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls".
Remove structural barriers, build good networks and support quality education to ensure no woman, no girl is left behind in the maritime sector – where women remain significantly under-represented. These were some of the themes reiterated by maritime leaders speaking on the first day of the third World Maritime University (WMU) International Women’s Conference, Empowering Women in the Maritime Community, Malmö, Sweden (4-5 April), reflecting this year’s World Maritime Day theme.
Opening the conference, WMU President Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry called on the whole maritime sector to “be bold for change” in order to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 5 on gender equality. “We need to ensure a quality education is made available to everyone, including and empowering women and girls. No one should be left behind,” she said.
“To make progress we need bold and innovative initiatives to ensure we progress gender diversity,” said Helen Buni, focal point for IMO’s Women in Maritime Programme, which supports women to access maritime training and other opportunities, including through gender-specific fellowships for high-level technical training. Through this programme, IMO has facilitated the establishment of seven women in maritime associations across the globe to provide networking, mentorship and other opportunities.
Heike Deggim, Director of IMO’s Maritime Safety Division said while there had been some progress in female representation at IMO meetings amongst national delegations, the maritime industry needed more women, particularly in leadership roles. “There are infinite possibilities for a more fair and equitable workplace that takes advantage of the strengths that both genders bring to management and leadership,” Ms Deggim said. ”IMO recognizes that the shipping industry must reach out to every sector of the community if it is to attract the very best people to pursue a maritime career. Employing and empowering more women will go a long way to solving the challenges faced by the maritime industry, especially the predicted shortage of skilled seafarers, in particular officers.”
In a video message to the conference, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said, “The maritime world needs all hands on deck, both male and female, to continue to carry the world’s goods in a clean safe and efficient manner.”
Follow the conference via #maritimewomen2019
Maritime users of the Global Positioning System Standard Positioning Service (GPS-SPS) are urged to check their systems ahead of the week counter roll over on 6 April 2019. Some outdated GPS receiver systems may cease to function properly - with potentially serious impacts on navigation.
The roll over occurs because the GPS system transmits time to GPS receivers using a format of time and weeks as a 10-bit value, which started from 6 January 1980, and can only count 1023 weeks. The previous roll over was on 21 August 1999, when systems reset and began counting towards week 1023 again. When the GPS system reaches week 1024, the system will revert back to week zero.
Some GPS receivers are known to be unable to make the transition from week 1023 to 1024. If the GPS receiver is outdated or has not been properly updated, the receiver will revert on 6 April 2019 to reading the week zero as August 1999. The internal clocks of these GPS receivers will experience a lack of absolute reference and may give the wrong time and position or may lock up permanently. Some of these GPS receivers are repairable with upgrades and others will become unusable.
Maritime users are advised to check the status of their receiver with their GPS manufacturer. IMO has issued a safety of navigation circular SN.1/Circ.182/Add.1 warning maritime users to take action for the roll over.
The GPS-SPS has been recognized by IMO as a component of the world-wide radionavigation system since 1996.
Georgia is the 112th State to accede to the International Convention on Load Lines (1988 Protocol). Limitations on the draught to which a ship may be loaded are included in the treaty, making a significant contribution to the ship's safety. These limits are given in the form of freeboards. The treaty takes into account the potential hazards present in different ocean zones and different seasons.
The 1988 Protocol updates and revises the earlier treaty. The technical annex contains several additional safety measures concerning doors, freeing ports, hatchways and other items. These measures help to ensure the watertight and weathertight integrity of ships' hulls below the freeboard deck. All assigned load lines must be marked amidships on each side of the ship, together with the deck line.
H.E. Tamar Beruchashvili, Ambassador of Georgia and Permanent Representative of Georgia to IMO, met IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim at IMO Headquarters in London (28 March) to deposit the instrument of accession.