International
Shipping is perhaps the most international of all the world's great industries
and one of the most dangerous. It has always been recognized that the best way
of improving safety at sea is by developing international regulations that are
followed by all shipping nations and from the mid-19th century onwards a number
of such treaties were adopted. Several countries proposed that a permanent
international body should be established to promote maritime safety more
effectively, but it was not until the establishment of the United Nations
itself that these hopes were realized. In 1948 an international conference in 
was changed in 1982 to IMO).
The IMO Convention entered into force
in 1958 and the new Organization met for the first time the following year. The
headquarters are based in
The purposes of the
Organization, as summarized by Article 1(a) of the Convention, are "to
provide machinery for cooperation among Governments in the field of
governmental regulation and practices relating to technical matters of all
kinds affecting shipping engaged in international trade; to encourage and
facilitate the general adoption of the highest practicable standards in matters
concerning maritime safety, efficiency of navigation and prevention and control
of marine pollution from ships". The Organization is also empowered to
deal with administrative and legal matters related to these purposes.
IMO's first task was
to adopt a new version of the International Convention for the Safety of Life
at Sea (SOLAS), the most important of all treaties dealing with maritime
safety. This was achieved in 1960 and IMO then turned its attention to such
matters as the facilitation of international maritime traffic, load lines and
the carriage of dangerous goods, while the system of measuring the tonnage of
ships was revised.
But although safety
was and remains IMO's most important responsibility, a new problem began to
emerge - pollution. The growth in the amount of oil being transported by sea
and in the size of oil tankers was of particular concern and the
During the next few years IMO introduced a series of
measures designed to prevent tanker accidents and to minimize their
consequences. It also tackled the environmental threat caused by routine
operations such as the cleaning of oil cargo tanks and the disposal of engine
room wastes - in tonnage terms a bigger menace than accidental pollution.
The most important of
all these measures was the International Convention for the Prevention of
Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto
(MARPOL 73/78). It 
covers not only accidental and operational oil
pollution but also pollution by chemicals, goods in packaged form, sewage,
garbage and air pollution.
Other measures
introduced by IMO have concerned the safety of containers, bulk cargoes,
liquefied gas tankers and other ship types. Special attention has been paid to
crew standards, including the adoption of a special convention on standards of
training, certification and watchkeeping.
The adoption of
maritime legislation is still IMO's most important concern. Around 40
conventions and protocols have been adopted by the Organization and most of
them have been amended on several occasions to ensure that they are kept up to
date with changes taking place in world shipping.
Two initiatives in
the 1990s are especially important. On
On
With a staff of 300 people, IMO is one
of the smallest of all United Nations agencies. But it has achieved
considerable success in achieving its aim of "safer shipping and cleaner
oceans". Ship casualty rates have declined and the amount of oil entering
the sea from ships has been cut.
In front of the IMO Headquarters is the
International Memorial to the World's Seafarers (photo: Frank Mueller) to
commemorate all seafarers who have been lost at sea, but it is also a reminder
of the pivotal role seafaring plays in world trade and development. The statue
is made by sculptor Michael Sandle.
In 1983 the IMO established the
Links
The official IMO website.
IMO in Wikipedia.
Flag of IMO in Flags
of the World.
Website of the World Maritime University.
Related subjects
Stamp catalogue - 20th anniversary
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Stamp
catalogue - 30th anniversary
Niger
last revised: