[IMO决议、通函] Intro to IMO

The IMO Convention entered into force in 1958 and the new Organization met for the first time the following year.

IMO's headquarter in London:

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1.1 The purposes of the Organization

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.

1.1.1 Adopt Safety conventions

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.

1.1.2 Adopt Pollution conventions

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 Torrey Canyon disaster of 1967, in which 120,000 tonnes of oil was spilled, demonstrated the scale of the problem.

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.

IMO was also given the task of establishing a system for providing compensation to those who had suffered financially as a result of pollution. Two treaties were adopted, in 1969 and 1971, which enabled victims of oil pollution to obtain compensation much more simply and quickly than had been possible before. Both treaties were amended in 1992, and again in 2000, to increase the limits of compensation payable to victims of pollution.

1.1.3 Adopt Other legal conventions

IMO also developed a number of other legal conventions, most of which concern liability and compensation issues.

Shipping, like all of modern life, has seen many technological innovations and changes. Some of these have presented challenges for the Organization and others have presented opportunities. The enormous strides made in communications technology, for example, have made it possible for IMO to introduce major improvements to the maritime distress system.

1.1.4 Initiate Global search and rescue system

In the 1970s a global search and rescue system was initiated. The 1970s also saw the establishment of the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO), which has greatly improved the provision of radio and other messages to ships.

In 1992 a further advance was made when the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System began to be phased in. In February 1999, the GMDSS became fully operational, so that now a ship that is in distress anywhere in the world can be virtually guaranteed assistance, even if the ship's crew do not have time to radio for help, as the message will be transmitted automatically.

1.1.5 Adopt Crew standards convention

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.

But adopting treaties is not enough - they have to be put into effect. This is the responsibility of Governments and there is no doubt that the way in which this is done varies considerably from country to country.

1.1.6 Assistance to Flag states and Port States organizations

IMO has introduced measures to improve the way legislation is implemented, by assisting flag States (the countries whose flag a ship flies) and by encouraging the establishment of regional port State control systems. When ships go to foreign ports they can be inspected to ensure that they meet IMO standards. By organizing these inspections on a regional rather than a purely national basis resources can be used more efficiently.

1.2 Technical co-operation programme and education

IMO has also developed a technical co-operation programme which is designed to assist Governments which lack the technical knowledge and resources that are needed to operate a shipping industry successfully. The emphasis of this programme is very much on training, hence IMO has founded three maritime educational institutes. Among these Malmö, and Malta institutions are still in operation:

World Maritime University in Malmø, Sweden, was established in 1983 and provides advanced training for the men and women involved in maritime administration, education and management.

The IMO International Maritime Law Institute in Malta is an international centre for the training of specialists in maritime law.

1.3 Development, amendments to conventions

1.3.1 Human element

Two initiatives in the 1990s are especially important. On 1 July 1998 the International Safety Management Code entered into force and became applicable to passenger ships, oil and chemical tankers, bulk carriers, gas carriers and cargo high speed craft of 500 gross tonnage and above. It became applicable to other cargo ships and mobile offshore drilling units of 500 gross tonnage and above not later than 1 July 2002.

On 1 February 1997, the 1995 amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 entered into force. They greatly improve seafarer standards and, for the first time, give IMO itself powers to check Government actions.

It is expected that these two measures, by raising standards of management and shipboard personnel, will greatly improve safety and pollution prevention in the years to come.
The emphasis on the so-called "human element" remains paramount for IMO.

1.3.2 Security

Meanwhile, IMO has seen a renewed focus on security issues since the terrorist atrocities in the United States in September 2001.

A new, comprehensive security regime for international shipping is set to enter into force in July 2004 following the adoption by a week-long Diplomatic Conference in December 2002 of a series of measures to strengthen maritime security and prevent and suppress acts of terrorism against shipping. The Conference was of crucial significance not only to the international maritime community but the world community as a whole, given the pivotal role shipping plays in the conduct of world trade.

1.4 International memorial to seafarers

In September 2001 the international memorial to the worlds seafarers, past, present and future, was unveiled at IMO headquarters. The memorial, a seven-metre high, ten-tonne bronze representation of the bow of a cargo ship with a lone seafarer on the deck, is the work of internationally renowned sculptor Michael Sandle. Its dramatic configuration and massive scale have transformed the front of the IMO building and created a major new London landmark on the Thames riverfront.

Ship bow sculpture:

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1.5 Staff

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.

1.6 Challenges ahead

The challenge now facing IMO and its 169 (2010) Member States is how to maintain this success at a time when shipping is changing more rapidly than ever before.

2. What it is

When the establishment of a specialized agency of the United Nations dealing with maritime affairs was first proposed, the main concern was to improve safety at sea.

Because of the international nature of the shipping industry, it had long been recognized that action to improve safety in maritime operations would be more effective if carried out at an international level rather than by individual countries acting unilaterally and without co-ordination with others. Although a number of important international agreements had already been adopted, many States believed that there was a need for a permanent body which would be able to co-ordinate and promote further measures on a more regular basis.

It was against this background that a conference held by the United Nations in 1948 adopted a convention establishing the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as the first ever international body devoted exclusively to maritime matters.

In the 10-year period between the adoption of the convention and its entry into force in 1958, other problems related to safety but requiring slightly different emphases had attracted international attention. One of the most important of these was the threat of marine pollution from ships, particularly pollution by oil carried in tankers. An international convention on this subject was actually adopted in 1954, four years before IMO came into existence, and responsibility for administering and promoting it was assumed by IMO in January 1959. From the very beginning, the improvement of maritime safety and the prevention of marine pollution have been IMO's most important objectives.

The Organization is based at 4 Albert Embankment, London, and is the only United Nations specialized agency to have its headquarters in the United Kingdom. Its governing body is the Assembly, which meets once every two years. It currently consists of 169 Member States and 3 Associate Members (2010). Between sessions of the Assembly a Council, consisting of 40 Member Governments elected by the Assembly, acts as IMO's governing body. IMO is a technical organization and most of its work is carried out in a number of committees and sub-committees. The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) is the most senior of these.

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) was established by the Assembly in November 1973. It is responsible for co-ordinating the Organization's activities in the prevention and control of pollution of the marine environment from ships.

There are a number of sub-committees whose titles indicate the subjects they deal with:

Safety of Navigation (NAV); Radiocommunications and Search and Rescue (COMSAR); Training and Watchkeeping (STW); Carriage of Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC); Ship Design and Equipment (DE); Fire Protection (FP); Stability and Load Lines and Fishing Vessel Safety (SLF); Flag State Implementation (FSI); and Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG).

The Legal Committee was originally established to deal with the legal problems arising from the Torrey Canyon accident of 1967, but it was subsequently made a permanent committee. It is responsible for considering any legal matters within the scope of the Organization.

The Technical Co-operation Committee is responsible for co-ordinating the work of the Organization in the provision of technical assistance in the maritime field, in particular to developing countries.

The Facilitation Committee is responsible for IMO's activities and functions relating to the facilitation of international maritime traffic. These are aimed at reducing the formalities and simplifying the documentation required of ships when entering or leaving ports or other terminals.

All the committees of IMO are open to participation by all Member Governments on an equal basis.

The IMO Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General, who is assisted by a staff of some 300 international civil servants. The Secretary-General is appointed by the Council, with the approval of the Assembly.

3. What it does

In order to achieve its objectives, IMO has promoted the adoption of some 40 conventions and protocols and adopted well over 800 codes and recommendations concerning maritime safety, the prevention of pollution and related matters.

The initial work on a convention is normally done by a committee or sub-committee; a draft instrument is then produced which is submitted to a conference to which delegations from all States within the United Nations system including States which may not be IMO Members are invited. The conference adopts a final text, which is submitted to Governments for ratification.

An instrument so adopted comes into force after fulfilling certain requirements, which always include ratification by a specified number of countries. Generally speaking, the more important the convention the more stringent are the requirements for entry into force. Implementation of the requirements of a convention is mandatory on countries which are parties to it. Codes and recommendations which are adopted by the IMO Assembly are not binding on Governments; however, their contents can be just as important, and in many cases they are implemented by Governments through incorporation into domestic legislation.

3.1 IMO's Conventions - Safety

The first conference organized by IMO in 1960 was, appropriately enough, concerned with maritime safety. That conference adopted the International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which came into force in 1965, replacing a version adopted in 1948. The 1960 SOLAS Convention covered a wide range of measures designed to improve the safety of shipping. They included suBDIvision and stability; machinery and electrical installations; fire protection, detection and extinction; life-saving appliances; radiotelegraphy and radiotelephony; safety of navigation; carriage of grain; carriage of dangerous goods; and nuclear ships.

The 1960 Convention was amended several times. However, because of the difficult requirements for bringing amendments into force, none of these amendments actually became binding internationally. To remedy this situation and introduce needed improvements more speedily, IMO adopted a new version of SOLAS in 1974 which incorporated the amendments adopted to the 1960 Convention as well as other changes, including an improved amendment procedure. Under the new procedure, amendments adopted by the MSC would enter into force on a predetermined date unless they were objected to by a specific number of States. The 1974 SOLAS Convention entered into force on 25 May 1980.

Since then, the Convention has been modified on a number of occasions, some of which are indicated below:

1981: Chapters II-1 and II-2, which deal respectively with construction and fire safety, were virtually rewritten. Entered into force in 1984.

1983: Chapter III, which deals with life-saving appliances, was completely rewritten and changes were made to a number of other regulations. Entered into force in 1986.

1988 (April): Changes were introduced as a consequence of the capsizing of the ferry Herald of Free Enterprise; they were intended to improve the safety of roro passenger ships. Entered into force in 1989.

1988 (October): Amendments were adopted which also aimed to improve passenger ship safety. The most important change was designed to improve the stability of passenger ships after damage. Entered into force in 1990.

1988 (GMDSS): Amendments were adopted to introduce the global maritime distress and safety system (GMDSS), the biggest change to maritime communications since the introduction of radio. Entered into force in February 1992 but will not be finally phased in until 1999.

1989: The amendments mainly concerned watertight doors and fire safety. Entered into force in 1992.

1990: The amendments concerned the way in which the subdivision and damage stability of dry cargo ships was to be calculated. Entered into force in 1992.

1991: One group of amendments dealt with fire safety on passenger ships; the other extended chapter VI, which only dealt with grain, to other dry cargoes; a third dealt with pilot safety. Entered into force in 1994.

1992: The amendments, which were adopted in April and December, dealt principally with the stability of existing passenger roro ships and the fire protection of tankers and passenger ships. Entered into force in 1994.

1994: The Convention was increased to 11 chapters by the addition of chapters IX, Management for the Safe Operation of Ships; X, Safety of High-Speed Craft; and XI, Special Measures to Enhance Safety. Other amendments included provisions for mandatory ship reporting systems. Entered into force in 1996.

1995 (November): Changes were made to the requirements concerning the stability of passenger roro ships.

1996 (June): Chapter III was re-written and a new International Life-Saving Appliance Code introduced.

1997 (November): A new chapter XII was added, dealing with bulk carrier safety.

Additionally, two protocols have been adopted to the Convention: the 1978 Protocol, which modified inspection and survey procedures and introduced mandatory annual surveys and inspections for tankers (in force since 1984), and the 1988 Protocol, which introduced a harmonized system of survey and certification, among other things (in force since 2000).

In 1966 a conference convened by IMO adopted the International Convention on Load Lines. Limitations on the draught to which a ship may be loaded, in the form of freeboards, are an important contribution to its safety. An international convention on the subject had been adopted in 1930; the new instrument brought this up to date and incorporated new and improved measures. It came into force in 1968.

The tonnage measurement of ships has been one of the most difficult problems in international shipping. IMO began work on this subject soon after coming into being, and in 1969 the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships was adopted. It is an indication of the complexity of the matter that the Convention did not enter into force until 1982.

A Special Trade Passenger Ships Agreement to safeguard ships and passengers engaged in the pilgrim trade was adopted in 1971 and came into force three years later. A protocol to this agreement, adopted in 1973, came into force in 1977.

Among the most common accidents at sea are collisions. Regulations for preventing collisions were adopted by the 1960 SOLAS Conference and annexed to the Final Act of the Conference. However, these rules were not part of the SOLAS Convention and were therefore not legally binding internationally. In 1972 IMO adopted the Convention on International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG). This included a number of new features, including a provision which made traffic separation schemes adopted by IMO mandatory. Traffic separation schemes had been introduced, as recommendations, in several parts of the world where maritime traffic was particularly congested. The adoption of such schemes has considerably reduced the number of collisions in many areas, and the coming into force of the Convention in 1977 led to further improvements in the implementation of these schemes.

Another convention adopted by IMO in 1972 dealt with the safety of containers, which had become an important feature of international maritime trade. The International Convention on Safe Containers was designed both to facilitate this trade, by introducing uniform international regulations, and also to maintain a high level of safety in the carriage of containers by providing generally acceptable test procedures and related strength requirements. The Convention entered into force in 1977. That such a convention was considered necessary is an indication of the rate of change in shipping. Containers had scarcely been invented when IMO came into existence.

Another sign of IMO's response to changes in maritime transport was the adoption in 1976 of the Convention on the International Maritime Satellite Organization (INMARSAT) and its Operating Agreement. Conventional radio facilities have become increasingly congested in recent years and it is physically impossible to expand the number of wavelengths available. But by using space satellites these difficulties can be overcome. This is of great benefit for commercial and other aspects of ship operation, but its greatest advantage is in the field of safety. The Convention came into force in July 1979 and resulted in the establishment of the INMARSAT Organization which, like IMO, is based in London.

In contrast to space technology, fishing is one of the world's oldest industries. Yet it was not until 1977 that the first ever international convention dealing with the safety of fishing vessels was finally adopted. One of the reasons for this relative delay was the extremely varied and complex nature of the fishing industry. Fishing is so different from other forms of maritime activity that hardly any of the conventions of IMO could be made directly applicable to fishing vessels. The 1977 Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels was intended to remedy some of these problems, but technical difficulties meant that the Convention never entered into force. It was modified by a protocol in 1993.

Ultimately, safety rests very largely with the crews of ships rather than with the ships themselves. For this reason IMO has attached the utmost importance to the training of ships' personnel. In 1978 the Organization convened a conference which adopted the first ever Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers.

The Convention entered into force in April 1984. It established, for the first time, internationally acceptable minimum standards for crews. It is not intended as a model on which all States must necessarily base their crew requirements, for in many countries the requirements are actually higher than those laid down in the Convention.

The Convention was revised in 1995. Apart from bringing the Convention up to date from a technical point of view, the revision also gave IMO the power to audit the administrative, training and certification procedures of Parties to the Convention. The amendments entered into force in 1997.

In April 1979 IMO adopted the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue. As its title implies, this Convention is designed to improve existing arrangements for carrying out search and rescue operations following accidents at sea. Although many countries have their own established plans for such emergencies, this was the first time international procedures had been adopted. The Convention entered into force in 1985.

3.2 Preventing pollution ... providing compensation

The 1954 Oil Pollution Convention was the first major convention designed to curb the impact of oil pollution. But in the years that followed the pollution threat increased dramatically and, since coming into existence, IMO has devoted increasing attention to the problem of marine pollution. The 1954 Convention was amended in 1962, but the wreck of the Torrey Canyon in 1967 dramatically alerted the world to the great dangers which the transport of oil poses to the marine environment.

Following this disaster, IMO produced a series of conventions and other instruments, including further amendments to the 1954 Convention which were adopted in 1969.
In 1969 two conventions were adopted. One was the International Convention relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties, which established the right of coastal States to intervene in incidents on the high seas which are likely to result in oil pollution. It entered into force in 1975.

The second was the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, which dealt with the civil liability of the owner of a ship or cargo for damage suffered as a result of an oil pollution incident. The Convention is intended to ensure that adequate compensation will be readily available to victims of pollution, and places the obligation for paying such compensation on the shipowner. That Convention also entered into force in 1975.

It was felt by some Governments that the liability limits established by this system were too low, and that the compensation made available could, in some cases, prove to be inadequate. As a result, another conference was convened by IMO in 1971 which adopted the Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage. This Convention came into force in 1978.

Unlike the Civil Liability Convention, which puts the onus on the shipowner, the Fund Convention is designed to provide additional compensation to victims where an accident results in pollution damage which exceeds the compensation available under the Civil Liability Convention. Thus the burden of compensation is spread evenly between shipowners and cargo interests. The International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Fund is operated by the IOPC Fund Organization, which has its headquarters in London.

The limits of liability in the 1969 Civil Liability and 1971 Fund Conventions were increased in 1992 by means of protocols to amend them which were adopted by a conference convened by IMO. The protocols entered into force in July 1996 and increase the total amount of compensation payable to victims. The limits were further increased by amendments adopted in 2000.

In addition to the conventions dealing with the legal aspects of oil pollution, IMO gave attention to other aspects. The continuing boom in the transportation of oil and the increasing scale of oil pollution incidents resulted in serious international concern for the marine environment, not only as a result of accidents but also through routine tanker operations, such as the cleaning of cargo tanks.

In 1971 the 1954 Oil Pollution Convention was further amended to limit the hypothetical outflow of oil resulting from an accident and also to provide special protection for the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. It was generally felt, however, that a completely new instrument was required to control pollution of the seas from ships, and in 1973 IMO convened a major conference to discuss the whole problem of marine pollution from ships. It resulted in the adoption of the first ever comprehensive anti-pollution convention, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).

The Convention deals not only with pollution by oil, but also pollution from chemicals, other harmful substances, garbage and sewage. The MARPOL Convention greatly reduces the amount of oil which may be discharged into the sea by ships, and bans such discharges completely in certain areas (such as the Black Sea, Red Sea and other regions). It gives statutory support for such operational procedures as load on top (which greatly reduces the amount of mixtures which have to be disposed of after tank cleaning) and segregated ballast tanks.

Certain technical problems made it difficult for many States to ratify the Convention, and a series of tanker accidents in the winter of 1976/77 led to demands for further action. IMO convened the Conference on Tanker Safety and Pollution Prevention in 1978. This Conference adopted a protocol to the 1973 MARPOL Convention which introduced further measures, including requirements for such operational techniques as crude oil washing (a development of the earlier load on top system) and a number of modified constructional requirements such as protectively located segregated ballast tanks. The Protocol of 1978 relating to the 1973 MARPOL Convention in effect absorbs the parent Convention with modifications. This combined instrument is commonly referred to as MARPOL 73/78 and entered into force in October 1983. The Convention has been amended on several occasions since then.

In 1990 IMO adopted the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC). It is designed to improve the ability of nations to cope with a sudden emergency, such as a tanker accident. It entered into force in May 1995, but some of its provisions were used as the basis for IMO's response to the massive pollution of the Persian Gulf resulting from hostilities in the area in the spring of 1991. These measures, assisted by a special IMO fund, helped to save many ecologically important sites from major damage.

In 1996 IMO adopted the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea. The Convention establishes a two-tier system for providing compensation up to a total of around 250 million. It covers not only pollution aspects but other risks such as fire and explosion. It is not yet in force.

In 2001, IMO adopted the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001, which is intended to ensure that adequate, prompt, and effective compensation is available to persons who suffer damage caused by spills of oil, when carried as fuel in ships' bunkers.

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009, was adopted in May 2009. For further details, see IMO homepage.

3.3 Other matters

While safety and the prevention of pollution are IMO's chief concerns, the Organization is also involved in many other areas.

One of these is the facilitation of maritime traffic. In the past the lack of internationally standardized documentation procedures has imposed a heavy burden upon both shipborne and shore-based personnel and caused considerable delays.

A special IMO convention is designed to reduce unnecessary delays in maritime traffic and thereby improve port efficiency.

IMO started working on these problems soon after coming into existence and, in 1965, adopted the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic. Its primary objectives are to prevent unnecessary delays in maritime traffic, to aid co-operation between Governments, and to secure the highest practicable degree of uniformity in formalities and procedures in connection with the arrival, stay and departure of ships at ports. The Convention came into force in 1967.

IMO's work on establishing regimes of liability for pollution has already been referred to, but the Organization has also adopted various conventions dealing with other legal matters.

In 1971 IMO, in association with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Nuclear Agency of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, convened a conference which adopted a convention to regulate civil liability in respect of damage arising from the maritime carriage of nuclear substances.

In 1974 IMO turned its attention to the question of passengers and their luggage and adopted a convention, the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, which established a regime of liability for damage suffered by passengers carried on seagoing vessels. It makes the carrier liable for damage or loss suffered by passengers if the incident is due to the fault or neglect of the carrier. The liability is limited to amounts specified in the relevant provisions of the Convention. The compensation limits were raised substantially by means of a protocol adopted in 1990. It is not yet in force.

The general question of the liability of owners of ships was dealt with in a convention adopted in 1957. By the end of the 1960s, however, it had become clear that the limits of liability established in the 1957 convention were too low. In 1976 IMO convened a conference which adopted a new convention, the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, which raised the limits, in some cases by 300%. Limits are specified for two types of claim those for loss of life or personal injury and property claims, such as damage to ships, property or harbour works.

In 1988 the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation was adopted. It is intended to improve measures for dealing with incidents such as terrorist attacks on commercial shipping. It entered into force in March 1992.

For most of the century salvage at sea has been based on a formula known as no cure, no pay. While it has been successful in most cases, the formula does not take pollution into account:

a salvor who prevents massive pollution damage but does not save the ship and its cargo can expect no compensation. The 1989 International Convention on Salvage was adopted to remedy this defect. It entered into force in July 1996.

3.4 IMO's codes and recommendations

In addition to conventions and other formal treaty instruments, IMO has adopted several hundred recommendations dealing with a wide range of subjects.

Some of these constitute codes, guidelines or recommended practices on important matters not considered suitable for regulation by formal treaty instruments. Although recommendations whether in the form of codes or otherwise are not usually binding on Governments, they provide guidance in framing national regulations and requirements. Many Governments do in fact apply the provisions of the recommendations by incorporating them, in whole or in part, into national legislation or regulations. In some cases, important codes have been made mandatory by including appropriate references in a convention.

These recommendations are generally intended to supplement or assist the implementation of the relevant provisions of the conventions and, in some cases, the principal codes, guidelines, etc.

In appropriate cases the recommendations may incorporate further requirements which have been found to be useful or necessary in the light of experience gained in the application of the previous provisions. In other cases the recommendations clarify various questions which arise in connection with specific measures and thereby ensure their uniform interpretation and application in all countries.

Examples of the principal recommendations, codes, etc. adopted over the years are:

International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code first adopted in 1965);

Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes (BC Code 1965), latest amendment:  International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code 2008

International Code of Signals (all functions in respect of the Code were assumed by the Organization in 1965)

Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk (BCH Code 1971)

Code of Safe Practice for Ships Carrying Timber Deck Cargoes (1973)

Code of Safety for Fishermen and Fishing Vessels (1974)

Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk (1975)

Code of Safety for Dynamically Supported Craft (1977)

Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODU Code 1979)

Code on Noise Levels on Board Ships (1981)

Code of Safety for Nuclear Merchant Ships (1981)

Code of Safety for Special Purpose Ships (SPS Code 1983)

International Gas Carrier Code (IGC Code 1983)

International Bulk Chemicals Code (IBC Code 1983)

Code of Safety for Diving Systems (1983)

Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (1979 MODU Code)

International Code for the Safe Carriage of Grain in Bulk (International Grain Code 1991)

International management code for the safe operation of ships and for pollution prevention (International Safety Management Code (ISM Code 1993))

International Code of Safety for High-Speed Craft (HSC Code 1994)

International Life-Saving Appliance Code (LSA Code 1996)

The International Code for Application of Fire Test Procedures (FTP Code  1996)

Code of Safe Practice for the Carriage of Cargoes and Persons by Offshore Supply Vessels (OSV Code 1997)

Code for the investigation of marine casualties and incidents (1997)

Technical Code on Control of Emission of Nitrogen Oxides from Marine Diesel Engines (NOX Technical Code 1997)

Code for the implementation of mandatory IMO instruments (2007

Code of practice for the investigation of crimes of piracy and armed robbery against ships (2009).

Other important recommendations have dealt with such matters as traffic separation schemes (which separate ships moving in opposite directions by creating a central prohibited area); the adoption of technical manuals such as the Standard Marine Navigational Vocabulary, the IMO Search and Rescue Manual and the IMO Manual on Oil Pollution; crew training; performance standards for shipborne equipment; and many other matters. There are also guidelines to help the implementation of particular conventions and instruments. Many of the texts are available as an IMO publication.

The provisions of recommendations are sometimes incorporated into amendments to the relevant conventions. Recommendations enable provisions or requirements to be suggested relatively quickly to Governments for consideration and action. It is also easier for Governments to act on such matters than in respect of provisions in formal treaty instruments, which involve international legal obligations.

3.5 Dumping at sea

In addition to other aspects of marine pollution prevention, IMO also carries out Secretariat functions in connection with the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter. This Convention, now called the London Convention, was adopted in 1972 at a conference held under the auspices of the United Kingdom. It entered into force in 1975.

The Convention controls and regulates on a global level the disposal at sea of wastes and other material of any kind (including ships and platforms). The disposal of certain substances which from the environmental point of view are known to be particularly harmful (such as organohalogen compounds, mercury, cadmium, plastics, mineral oils and radioactive wastes) is prohibited.

The Convention also contains specific regulations concerning the dumping of several other materials which may present a risk to the marine environment and human health. In addition, it bans the incineration of wastes on board ships.

3.6 Technical assistance

While the adoption of conventions, codes and recommendations has in the past been IMO's most important function, in recent years the Organization has devoted increasing attention to securing the effective implementation of these measures throughout the world.

As a result, the Organization's technical assistance activities have become more and more important and in 1977 IMO took steps to institutionalize its Technical Co-operation Committee the first United Nations body to do so.

The purpose of the technical assistance programme is to help States, many of them developing countries, to ratify IMO conventions and to reach the standards contained in the SOLAS Convention and other instruments. As part of this programme, a number of advisers and consultants are employed by IMO to give advice to Governments, and each year the Organization arranges or participates in numerous seminars, workshops and other events which are designed to assist in the implementation of IMO measures. Some are held at IMO headquarters or in developed countries, others in the developing countries themselves.

In the field of environmental protection IMO has actively co-operated with the Regional Seas Programme of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the development of regional anti-pollution arrangements. A particularly interesting outcome of this co-operation is the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), which was established by IMO in conjunction with UNEP in 1976.

But the most important subject of all is training. IMO measures can only be implemented effectively if those responsible are fully trained, and IMO has helped to develop or improve maritime training academies in many countries around the world. Some of them cater purely for national needs. Others have been developed to deal with the requirements of a region a very useful approach where the demand for trained personnel in individual countries is not sufficient to justify the considerable financial outlay needed to establish such institutions. IMO has also developed a series of model courses for use in training academies.

While IMO supplies the expertise for these projects, the finance comes from various sources. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the most important of these, with other international bodies such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) contributing in some cases. Individual countries also provide generous funds or help in other ways for example, by providing training opportunities for cadets and other personnel from developing countries. This has enabled IMO to build up a successful fellowship programme which, over the years, has helped to train many thousands of people.

The most ambitious and exciting of all IMO's technical assistance projects is the World Maritime University in Malm, Sweden, which opened in 1983. Its objective is to provide high-level training facilities for people from developing countries who have already reached a relatively high standard in their own countries but who would benefit from further intensive training. Many of those currently at the University have served as captains or chief engineers at sea and have moved into administrative positions ashore. Others are teachers at maritime academies, examiners or surveyors, technical port managers, and so on.

The University can train about 200 students at a time on one- or two-year courses. The University is necessary because training of the specialized type provided at Malm is not available in developing countries or indeed anywhere else in the world. It has proved to be so successful that since 1985 a limited number of places have been made available to students from developed maritime nations.

The IMO International Maritime Law Institute, in Malta, provides specialist year-long training courses for maritime lawyers.

The International Maritime Academy (IMA) of Trieste is an international institution in the training field for postgraduate studies.

The International Maritime Organization works through a number of specialist committees and sub-committees. All these bodies are composed of representatives of Member States who discharge their functions with the assistance and advice of appropriate bodies of the United Nations or the specialized agencies, as well as international governmental and non-governmental organizations with which formal relationships have been established.

Formal arrangements for co-operation have been established with more than 30 intergovernmental organizations, while more than 50 non-governmental international organizations have been granted consultative status to participate in the work of various bodies in an observer capacity. These organizations represent a wide spectrum of maritime, legal and environmental interests and they contribute to the work of the various organs and committees through the provision of information, documentation and expert advice. However, none of these organizations has a vote.

5. The future

Over the years IMO has continually evolved to meet changing conditions and requirements. In its early days it concentrated on formulating international conventions and codes. Today, however, IMO is just as concerned to ensure that the conventions, codes and other instruments already adopted are effectively enforced and implemented.

There is significant evidence that IMO measures have already proved beneficial in many areas. Oil pollution of the sea, for example, is less of a threat now than it was 20 years ago and the number of collisions between ships has been greatly reduced in areas where IMO-approved traffic separation schemes have been introduced.

But because of economic factors, the average age of the world's ships has risen steadily over the same period and statistics show that old ships have more accidents than young ones. The fleets of the traditional maritime countries which tend to have good safety records have declined, while many of the flags that are growing most rapidly have relatively poor records.

As a result, nobody can afford to be complacent and IMO is concentrating not only on better implementation but also on improving such factors as management and training. All the evidence shows that most accidents happen because people do not obey the regulations, not because the regulations are themselves defective.

*

The texts of IMO conventions and other instruments as well as publications on other subjects and electronic publications may be obtained from the Publishing Service, IMO, 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR, United Kingdom.

6. List of Member States of IMO

7. Conventions

7.1 Introduction

The industrial revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the upsurge in international commerce which followed resulted in the adoption of a number of international treaties related to shipping, including safety. The subjects covered included tonnage measurement, the prevention of collisions, signalling and others.

By the end of the nineteenth century suggestions had even been made for the creation of a permanent international maritime body to deal with these and future measures. The plan was not put into effect, but international co-operation continued in the twentieth century, with the adoption of still more internationally developed treaties.

By the time IMO came into existence in 1958, several important international conventions had already been developed, including the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea of 1948, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil of 1954 and treaties dealing with load lines and the prevention of collisions at sea.

IMO was made responsible for ensuring that the majority of these conventions were kept up to date. It was also given the task of developing new conventions as and when the need arose.

The creation of IMO coincided with a period of tremendous change in world shipping and the Organization was kept busy from the start developing new conventions and ensuring that existing instruments kept pace with changes in shipping technology. It is now responsible for more than 40 international conventions and agreements and has adopted numerous protocols and amendments.

7.2 Adopting a convention

This is the part of the process with which IMO as an Organization is most closely involved. IMO has six main bodies concerned with the adoption or implementation of conventions.  The Assembly and Council are the main organs, and the committees involved are the Maritime Safety Committee, Marine Environment Protection Committee, Legal Committee and the Facilitation Committee. Developments in shipping and other related industries are discussed by Member States in these bodies, and the need for a new convention or amendments to existing conventions can be raised in any of them.

Normally the suggestion is first made in one of the committees, since these meet more frequently than the main organs. If agreement is reached in the committee, the proposal goes to the Council and, as necessary, to the Assembly.

If the Assembly or the Council, as the case may be, gives the authorization to proceed with the work, the committee concerned considers the matter in greater detail and ultimately draws up a draft instrument. In some cases the subject may be referred to a specialized sub-committee for detailed consideration.

Work in the committees and sub-committees is undertaken by the representatives of Member States of the Organization. The views and advice of intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations which have a working relationship with IMO are also welcomed in these bodies. Many of these organizations have direct experience in the various matters under consideration, and are therefore able to assist the work of IMO in practical ways.

The draft convention which is agreed upon is reported to the Council and Assembly with a recommendation that a conference be convened to consider the draft for formal adoption.

Invitations to attend such a conference are sent to all Member States of IMO and also to all States which are members of the United Nations or any of its specialized agencies. These conferences are therefore truly global conferences open to all Governments who would normally participate in a United Nations conference. All Governments participate on an equal footing. In addition, organizations of the United Nations system and organizations in official relationship with IMO are invited to send observers to the conference to give the benefit of their expert advice to the representatives of Governments.

Before the conference opens, the draft convention is circulated to the invited Governments and organizations for their comments. The draft convention, together with the comments thereon from Governments and interested organizations is then closely examined by the conference and necessary changes are made in order to produce a draft acceptable to all or the majority of the Governments present. The convention thus agreed upon is then adopted by the conference and deposited with the Secretary-General who sends copies to Governments. The convention is opened for signature by States, usually for a period of 12 months. Signatories may ratify or accept the convention while non-signatories may accede. The drafting and adoption of a convention in IMO can take several years to complete although in some cases, where a quick response is required to deal with an emergency situation, Governments have been willing to accelerate this process considerably.

7.3 Entry into force

The adoption of a convention marks the conclusion of only the first stage of a long process. Before the convention comes into force - that is, before it becomes binding upon Governments which have ratified it - it has to be accepted formally by individual Governments.

Each convention includes appropriate provisions stipulating conditions which have to be met before it enters into force. These conditions vary but generally speaking, the more important and more complex the document, and the more stringent are the conditions for its entry into force. For example, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, provided that entry into force requires acceptance by 25 States whose merchant fleets comprise not less than 50 per cent of the world's gross tonnage; for the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969, the requirement was acceptance by 25 States whose combined merchant fleets represent not less than 65 per cent of world tonnage.

When the appropriate conditions have been fulfilled, the convention enters into force for the States which have accepted - generally after a period of grace intended to enable all the States to take the necessary measures for implementation.

In the case of some conventions which affect a few States or deal with less complex matters, the entry into force requirements may not be so stringent. For example, the Convention Relating to Civil Liability in the Field of Maritime Carriage of Nuclear Material, 1971, came into force 90 days after being accepted by five States; the Special Trade Passenger Ships Agreement, 1971, came into force six months after three States (including two with ships or nationals involved in special trades) had accepted it.

For the important technical conventions, it is necessary that they be accepted and applied by a large section of the shipping community. It is therefore essential that these should, upon entry into force, be applicable to as many of the maritime states as possible. Otherwise they would tend to confuse, rather than clarify, shipping practice since their provisions would not apply to a significant proportion of the ship they were intended to deal with.

Accepting a convention does not merely involve the deposit of a formal instrument. A Government's acceptance of a convention necessarily places on it the obligation to take the measures required by the convention. Often national law has to be enacted or changed to enforce the provisions of the convention; in some case, special facilities may have to be provided; an inspectorate may have to be appointed or trained to carry out functions under the convention; and adequate notice must be given to shipowners, shipbuilders and other interested parties so they make take account of the provisions of the convention in their future acts and plans.

At present IMO conventions enter into force within an average of five years after adoption. The majority of these instruments are now in force or are on the verge of fulfilling requirements for entry into force.

7.4 Acceptance of treaties

The terms signature, ratification, acceptance, approval and accession refer to some of the methods by which a State can express its consent to be bound by a treaty.

7.4.1 Signature

Consent may be expressed by signature where:

the treaty provides that signature shall have that effect;

it is otherwise established that the negotiating States were agreed that signature should have that effect;

the intention of the State to give that effect to signature appears from the full powers of its representatives or was expressed during the negotiations (Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 1969, Article 12.1).  

A State may also sign a treaty "subject to ratification, acceptance or approval". In such a situation, signature does not signify the consent of a State to be bound by the treaty, although it does oblige the State to refrain from acts which would defeat the object and purpose of the treaty until such time as it has made its intention clear not to become a party to the treaty (Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Article 18(a))

7.4.2 Signature subject to ratification, acceptance or approval

Most multilateral treaties contain a clause providing that a State may express its consent to be bound by the instrument by signature subject to ratification.

In such a situation, signature alone will not suffice to bind the State, but must be followed up by the deposit of an instrument of ratification with the depositary of the treaty.

This option of expressing consent to be bound by signature subject to ratification, acceptance or approval originated in an era when international communications were not instantaneous, as they are today.
It was a means of ensuring that a State representative did not exceed their powers or instructions with regard to the making of a particular treaty. The words acceptance and approval basically mean the same as ratification, but they are less formal and non-technical and might be preferred by some States which might have constitutional difficulties with the term ratification.

Many States nowadays choose this option, especially in relation to multinational treaties, as it provides them with an opportunity to ensure that any necessary legislation is enacted and other constitutional requirements fulfilled before entering into treaty commitments.

The terms for consent to be expressed by signature subject to acceptance or approval are very similar to ratification in their effect. This is borne out by Article 14.2 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties which provides that "the consent of a State to be bound by a treaty is expressed by acceptance or approval under conditions similar to those which apply to ratification."

7.4.3 Accession

Most multinational treaties are open for signature for a specified period of time. Accession is the method used by a State to become a party to a treaty which it did not sign whilst the treaty was open for signature.

Technically, accession requires the State in question to deposit an instrument of accession with the depositary. Article 15 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties provides that consent by accession is possible where the treaty so provides, or where it is otherwise established that the negotiating States were agreed or subsequently agreed that consent by accession could occur.

7.5 Amendment

Technology and techniques in the shipping industry change very rapidly these days. As a result, not only are new conventions required but existing ones need to be kept up to date. For example, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1960 was amended six times after it entered into force in 1965 - in 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971 and 1973. In 1974 a completely new convention was adopted incorporating all these amendments (and other minor changes) and has itself been modified on numerous occasions.

In early conventions, amendments came into force only after a percentage of Contracting States, usually two thirds, had accepted them. This normally meant that more acceptances were required to amend a convention than were originally required to bring it into force in the first place, especially where the number of States which are Parties to a convention is very large.
This percentage requirement in practice led to long delays in bringing amendments into force. To remedy the situation a new amendment procedure was devised in IMO. This procedure has been used in the case of conventions such as the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 and SOLAS 1974, all of which incorporate a procedure involving the "tacit acceptance" of amendments by States.
Instead of requiring that an amendment shall enter into force after being accepted by, for example, two thirds of the Parties, the tacit acceptance procedure provides that an amendment shall enter into force at a particular time unless before that date, objections to the amendment are received from a specified number of Parties.

In the case of the 1974 SOLAS Convention, an amendment to most of the Annexes (which constitute the technical parts of the Convention) is `deemed to have been accepted at the end of two years from the date on which it is communicated to Contracting Governments...' unless the amendment is objected to by more than one third of Contracting Governments, or Contracting Governments owning not less than 50 per cent of the world's gross merchant tonnage. This period may be varied by the Maritime Safety Committee with a minimum limit of one year.
As was expected the "tacit acceptance" procedure has greatly speeded up the amendment process. The 1981 amendments to SOLAS 1974, for example, entered into force on 1 September 1984. Compared to this, none of the amendments adopted to the 1960 SOLAS Convention between 1966 and 1973 received sufficient acceptances to satisfy the requirements for entry into force.

7.6 Enforcement

The enforcement of IMO conventions depends upon the Governments of Member Parties

Contracting Governments enforce the provisions of IMO conventions as far as their own ships are concerned and also set the penalties for infringements, where these are applicable.

They may also have certain limited powers in respect of the ships of other Governments.

In some conventions, certificates are required to be carried on board ship to show that they have been inspected and have met the required standards. These certificates are normally accepted as proof by authorities from other States that the vessel concerned has reached the required standard, but in some cases further action can be taken.

The 1974 SOLAS Convention, for example, states that "the officer carrying out the control shall take such steps as will ensure that the ship shall not sail until it can proceed to sea without danger to the passengers or the crew".

This can be done if "there are clear grounds for believing that the condition of the ship and its equipment does not correspond substantially with the particulars of that certificate".

An inspection of this nature would, of course, take place within the jurisdiction of the port State. But when an offence occurs in international waters the responsibility for imposing a penalty rests with the flag State.

Should an offence occur within the jurisdiction of another State, however, that State can either cause proceedings to be taken in accordance with its own law or give details of the offence to the flag State so that the latter can take appropriate action.

Under the terms of the 1969 Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas, Contracting States are empowered to act against ships of other countries which have been involved in an accident or have been damaged on the high seas if there is a grave risk of oil pollution occurring as a result. The way in which these powers may be used are very carefully defined, and in most conventions the flag State is primarily responsible for enforcing conventions as far as its own ships and their personnel are concerned.

The Organization itself has no powers to enforce conventions.

However, IMO has been given the authority to vet the training, examination and certification procedures of Contracting Parties to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978. This was one of the most important changes made in the 1995 amendments to the Convention which entered into force on 1 February 1997. Governments will have to provide relevant information to IMO's Maritime Safety Committee which will judge whether or not the country concerned meets the requirements of the Convention.

7.7 Relation between Conventions and interpretation

Some subjects are covered by more than one Treaty. The question then arises which one prevails. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties provides in Article 30 for rules regarding the relation between successive treaties relating to the same subject-matter. Answers to questions regarding the interpretation of Treaties can be found in Articles 31, 32 and 33 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. A Treaty shall be interpreted in good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to the terms of the treaty in their context and in the light of its object and purpose. When a Treaty has been authenticated in two or more languages, the text is equally authoritative in each language, unless the treaty provides or the parties agree that, in case of divergence, a particular text shall prevail.

7.8 Uniform law and conflict of law rules

A substantive part of maritime law has been made uniform in international Treaties. However, not every State is Party to all Conventions and the existing Conventions do not always cover all questions regarding a specific subject. In those cases conflict of law rules are necessary to decide which national law applies. These conflict of law rules can either be found in a Treaty or, in most cases, in national law.

7.9 IMO conventions

The majority of conventions adopted under the auspices of IMO or for which the Organization is otherwise responsible fall into three main categories.

The first group is concerned with maritime safety; the second with the prevention of marine pollution; and the third with liability and compensation, especially in relation to damage caused by pollution. Outside these major groupings are a number of other conventions dealing with facilitation, tonnage measurement, unlawful acts against shipping and salvage.

7.10 Tacit acceptance procedure

The amendment procedures contained in the first Conventions to be developed under the auspices of IMO were so slow that some amendments adopted have never entered into force. This changed with the introduction of the "tacit acceptance" procedure.

Tacit acceptance is now incorporated into most of IMO's technical Conventions. It facilitates the quick and simple modification of Conventions to keep pace with the rapidly evolving technology in the shipping world. Without tacit acceptance, it would have proved impossible to keep Conventions up to date and the IMO's role as the international forum for technical issues involving shipping would have been placed in jeopardy.

In the spring of 1968, IMO - then still called IMCO, the Inter-Governmental Consultative Organization - celebrated the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the IMO Convention. It should have been an occasion for some congratulations. But all was not well. Many of the Organization's Member States were not happy with the progress that had been made so far.

Many were concerned about the Organization'  structure and its ability to respond to the changes taking place in shipping. In March, 1967, the oil tanker Torrey Canyon had gone aground off the coast of England, resulting in what was then the world's biggest oil spill. IMO was called upon to take action to combat oil pollution and to deal with the legal issues that arose. But would it be able to do so?

The general disquiet was summed up by Canada in a paper submitted to the 20th session of the IMO Council in May 1968. It stated that "the anticipations of twenty years ago have not been fulfilled" and went on to complain of the effort required by Member States in attending meetings and dealing with the technical problems raised by IMO. The paper was discussed by the Council which agreed to establish a working group to prepare a draft statement of the objectives of IMO and an inventory of further objectives which the Organization could usefully fulfil in the field of international maritime transport.

In November 1968 the working group reported back to the Council. It outlined a list of activities, far broader than the programmes undertaken by IMO so far. This was approved by the Council, which also agreed that IMO needed to improve its working methods.

The working group was asked to report to the Council again at its 22nd session in May 1969.This time it put forward a number of proposals for improving IMO's working methods, the most important of which concerned the procedures for amending the various Conventions that had been adopted under IMO's auspices.

The problem facing IMO was that most of its Conventions could only be updated by means of the "classical" amendment procedure. Amendments to the 1960 SOLAS Convention, for example, would enter into force "twelve months after the date on which the amendment is accepted by two-thirds of the Contracting Governments including two-thirds of the Governments represented on the Maritime Safety Committee. This did not seem to be a difficult target when the Convention was adopted, because to enter into force the Convention had to be accepted by only 15 countries, seven of which had fleets consisting of at least 1 million gross tons of merchant shipping.

But by the late 1960s the number of Parties to SOLAS had reached 80 and the total was rising all the time as new countries emerged and began to develop their shipping activities. As the number of Parties rose, so did the total required to amend the Convention. It was like trying to climb a mountain that was always growing higher and the problem was made worse by the fact that Governments took far longer to accept amendments than they did to ratify the parent Convention.

The Council approved the working group's proposal that "it would be a useful first step to undertake a comparative study of the conventions for which IMO is depositary and similar instruments for which other Members of the United Nations family are responsible." This proposal was endorsed by the 6th regular session of the IMO Assembly in October 1969 and the study itself was completed in time to be considered by the Assembly at its 7th session in 1971.

It examined the procedures of four other UN agencies:

the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),

the International Telecommunications Union (ITU),

the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and

the World Health Organization (WHO).

It showed that all of these organizations were able to amend technical and other regulations. These amendments became binding on Member States without a further act of ratification or acceptance being required.

On the other hand, IMO had no authority to adopt let alone amend conventions. Its mandate allowed it only to "provide for the drafting of conventions, agreements or other instruments and to recommend these to Governments and to intergovernmental organizations and to convene such conferences as may be necessary." Article 2 of the IMO Convention specifically stated that IMO's functions were to be "consultative and advisory".

The Organization could arrange a conference - but it was up to the conference to decide whether the Convention under discussion should or should not be adopted and to decide how it should be amended. The study concluded that "any attempt to bring the IMO procedure and practice into line with the other organizations would, therefore, entail a change either in the constitutional and institutional structure of the Organization itself or in the procedure and practice of the diplomatic conferences which adopt the conventions of IMO.

The first might involve an amendment to the IMO Convention itself. The second might require that diplomatic conferences convened by IMO should grant greater power to the organs of IMO in regard to the review and revision of the instruments."

The study was discussed at length by the Assembly. Canada pointed out that the amendments adopted to the 1960 SOLAS Convention in 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969 had failed to enter into force and this "sufficed to show that IMO would henceforth have to tackle serious institutional problems." A note submitted to the conference by Canada stated that "unless the international maritime community is sufficiently responsive to these changed circumstances, States will once again revert to the practice of unilaterally deciding what standards to apply to their own shipping and to foreign flag shipping visiting their ports."

The result was the adoption of resolution A.249(VII) which referred to the need for an amendment procedure "which is more in keeping with the development of technological advances and social needs and which will expedite the adoption of amendments." It called for the Legal Committee and Maritime Safety Committee to prepare draft proposals for consideration by the 8th Assembly. A growing urgency was added by the fact that IMO was preparing a number of new conventions for adoption during the next few years. Conferences to consider a new Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea and an International Convention for Safe Containers were both scheduled for 1972, a major Convention dealing with the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Ships for 1973 and a conference to revise SOLAS was scheduled for 1976. All of these treaties required a new, easier amendment procedure than the traditional method.

The MSC discussed the amendment question at its 25th session in March 1972. A working group was formed to discuss the matter in detail and concluded that at current rates of acceptance the requisite "two-thirds" target needed to amend SOLAS 1960 "will not be achieved...for many years, possibly never." Moreover, any future amendments would almost certainly suffer the same fate. This would include any amendments intended to improve the amendment procedure itself.

The working group reported:

"It follows that the only realistic way of bringing an improved amending procedure into effect within a reasonable period of time is to incorporate it into new or revised technical conventions.

A few weeks later, the Legal Committee held its 12th session. Among the documents prepared for the meeting was a report on discussions that had taken place at the MSC and a detailed paper prepared by the Secretariat. The paper analysed the entry into force and amendment processes of various IMO Conventions and referred to two possible methods that had been considered by the Assembly, for speeding up the amendment procedure. Alternative I was to revise each Convention so that greater authority for adopting amendments might be delegated to the appropriate IMO organs. Alternative II was to amend the IMO Convention itself and give IMO the power to amend Conventions.

The study then considered Alternative I in greater detail. The main reason why amendments took so long to enter into force was the time taken to gain acceptance by two-thirds of Contracting Governments. One way of reducing this period would be by "specifying a date ...of entry into force after adoption by the Assembly, unless that date of amendment is explicitly rejected by a certain number or percentage of Contracting Governments." The paper said that this procedure "has the advantage that all Contracting Governments would be able to advance the preparatory work for implementing the amended regulations and the industry would be in a position to plan accordingly."

The Committee established a working group to consider the subject and prepared a preliminary study based on its report, which again referred to the disadvantages of the classical amendment system. The study continued:

"The remedy for this, which has proved to be workable in practice, in relation to a number of conventions, is what is known as the ' tacit' or ' passive' acceptance procedure. This means that the body which adopts the amendment at the same time fixes a time period within which contracting parties will have the opportunity to notify either their acceptance or their rejection of the amendment, or to remain silent on the subject. In case of silence, the amendment is considered to have been accepted by the party...".

The tacit acceptance idea immediately proved popular. The Council, at its meeting in May, decided that the next meeting of the Legal Committee should consist of technical as well as legal experts so that priority could be given to the amendment issue. The Committee was asked to give particular attention to tacit acceptance.

The idea was given non-governmental support by the International Chamber of Shipping, which had consultative status with IMO and submitted a paper stating that the lack of an effective amendment procedure created uncertainties and was detrimental to effective planning by the industry. The classical procedure had also encouraged some governments to introduce unilateral legislation that, however well intentioned, was "seriously disruptive to international shipping services." The paper said that if other Governments did the same " the disruption to international shipping and the world trade which it serves would become increasingly severe. Such unilateral action strikes at the purpose of IMO."

By the time the Legal Committee met for its 14th session in September 1972, there was general agreement that tacit acceptance offered the best way forward. Other ideas, such as amending the IMO Convention itself, had too many disadvantages and would take too long to introduce. There was some concern about what would happen if a large number of countries did reject an amendment and the Committee members agreed that tacit acceptance should apply only to the technical content of Conventions, which was often contained in annexes. The non-technical articles should continue to be subject to the classical (or "positive") acceptance procedure.

The Committee also generally agreed that alternative procedures for amending the technical provisions should be retained but it did not reach consensus on another issue:

should amendments be prepared and adopted by an appropriate IMO body, such as the Maritime Safety Committee - or by Contracting Parties to the Convention concerned? This was an important point at the time, since many Contracting Parties to IMO Conventions were not yet Members of IMO itself and might object to treaties they had ratified being amended without them even being consulted.

This issue was still unsettled when the Conference on Revision of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea opened in October 1972. The purpose of the conference was to update the Collision Regulations and to separate them from the SOLAS Convention (the existing regulations were annexed to SOLAS 1960).

The amendment procedure is contained in Article VI. Amendments to the Collision Regulations adopted by the MSC (by a two-thirds majority) have to be communicated to Contracting Parties and IMO Member States at least six months before being considered by the Assembly. If adopted by the Assembly (again by a two-thirds majority), the amendments enter into force on a date determined by the Assembly unless more than one third of Contracting Parties notify IMO of their objection. On entry into force, any amendment shall "for all Contracting Parties which have not objected to the amendment, replace and supersede any previous provision to which the amendment refers."

Less than two months later, on 2 December 1972 a conference held in Geneva adopted the International Convention for Safe Containers, article X of which contains procedures for amending any part or parts of the Convention. The procedure is the traditional "positive" acceptance system, under which amendments enter into force twelve months after being adopted by two-thirds of Contracting Parties.

However, Article XI contains a special procedure for amending the technical annexes which also incorporates tacit acceptance. The procedure is slightly different from that used in the Collision Regulations, one difference being that the amendments can be adopted by the MSC "to which all Contracting Parties shall have been invited to participate and vote." This answered the question of how to take into account the interests of Parties to Conventions that were not Member States of IMO.

The next Convention to be considered was the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which was successfully adopted in May 1973. It, too, incorporated tacit acceptance procedures for amending the technical annexes. In the meantime, IMO was preparing for a new SOLAS convention. This was considered necessary because none of the amendments adopted to the 1960 version had entered into force and did not appear likely to do so in the near future. The 1966 Load Lines Convention also contained a classical amendment procedure and the intention was to combine the two instruments in a new Convention, which was scheduled to be considered in 1976.

The MSC discussed this proposal at its 26th session in October-November, but it was clear that this would be a daunting and time-consuming task. The combined instrument might be a good idea for the future - but the real priority was to get the amendments to SOLAS 1960 into force as quickly as possible and to make sure that future amendments would not be delayed. A working group was set up to consider the various alternatives, but opinion began to move in favour of a proposal by the United Kingdom that IMO should concentrate on an interim Convention designed to bring into force the amendments adopted since 1960. The new Convention, it was suggested, would consist of the 1960 text with the addition of a tacit acceptance amendment procedure and the addition of amendments that had already been adopted.

Another advantage, the United Kingdom pointed out, was that the conference called to adopt the revised Convention "might be held considerably earlier than 1976 since comparatively little preparation would be needed." The subject was discussed again at the MSC's 27th session in the spring of 1973 and, although some delegations wanted a more comprehensive revision, others felt that the workload would be so great that the conference would be seriously delayed. By a vote of 12 in favour and four abstentions, the Committee decided to call a conference with limited scope, as proposed by the United Kingdom.

On 21 October, 1974, the International Conference on Safety of Life at Sea opened in London and on 1 November a new SOLAS Convention was adopted, which incorporated the tacit acceptance procedure.

The tacit acceptance amendment procedure has now been incorporated into the majority of IMO's technical Conventions and has been extended to some other instruments as well. Its effectiveness can be seen most clearly in the case of SOLAS 1974, which has been amended on many occasions since then. In the process, the Convention's technical content has been almost completely re-written.

8. Complete list of conventions, resolutions and other instruments

8.1 Maritime safety

International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974

International Convention on Load Lines (LL), 1966

Special Trade Passenger Ships Agreement (STP), 1971

Protocol on Space Requirements for Special Trade Passenger Ships, 1973

Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG), 1972

International Convention for Safe Containers (CSC), 1972

Convention on the International Maritime Satellite Organization (INMARSAT), 1976

The Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels (SFV), 1977

International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978

International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F), 1995

International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR), 1979

8.2 Marine pollution

International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (MARPOL 73/78)

International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties (INTERVENTION), 1969

Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (LDC), 1972

International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC), 1990

Protocol on Preparedness, Response and Co-operation to pollution Incidents by Hazardous and Noxious Substances, 2000 (HNS Protocol)

International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships (AFS), 2001

International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004

8.3 Liability and compensation

International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (CLC), 1969

International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage (FUND), 1971

Convention relating to Civil Liability in the Field of Maritime Carriage of Nuclear Material (NUCLEAR), 1971

Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea (PAL), 1974

Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC), 1976

International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea (HNS), 1996

International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001

8.4 Other subjects

Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL), 1965

International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships (TONNAGE), 1969

Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA), 1988

International Convention on Salvage (SALVAGE), 1989

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Source:

IMO's web pages www.imo.org

IMO-Vega Guide

IMO-Vega Note

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009, was adopted in May 2009. For further details, see IMO homepage.
IMO Member list updated with new member Uganda from 2009.
Number of members: 169, associated 3.
Amended member state names: Bolivia (Plurinational State of) and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
• Example of codes list updated

Pictures inserted: IMO's headquarter in London & Ship bow sculpture
• Cook Islands - IMO member from 2008.

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"What it is

When the establishment of a specialised agency of the United Nations dealing with maritime affairs was first proposed, the main concern was to evolve international machinery to improve safety at sea.

Because of the international nature of the shipping industry, it had long been recognised that Action to improve safety in maritime operations would be more effective if carried out at an international level rather than by individual countries acting unilaterally and without co-ordination with others. Although a number of important international agreements had already been adopted, many States believed that there was a need for a permanent body which would be able to co- ordinate and promote further measures on a more regular basis.

It was against this background that a conference held by the United Nations in 1948 adopted a convention establishing the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as the first ever international body devoted exclusively to maritime matters.

In the 10-year period between the adoption of the Convention and its entry into force in 1958, other problems related to safety but requiring slightly different emphasis had attracted international attention. One of the most important of these was the threat of marine pollution from ships, particularly pollution by oil carried in tankers. An international convention on this subject was actually adopted in 1954, four years before IMO came into existence, and responsibility for administering and promoting it was assumed by IMO in January 1959. From the very beginning, the improvement of maritime safety and the prevention of marine pollution have been IMO's most important objectives.

The Organization is based at 4 Albert Embankment, London, and is the only United Nations specialised agency to have its headquarters in the United Kingdom. Its governing body is the Assembly, which meets once every two years. It currently consists of 153 Member States and two Associate Members. Between sessions of the Assembly a Council, consisting of 32 Member Governments elected by the Assembly, acts as IMO's governing body.

IMO is a technical organization and most of its work is carried out in a number of committees and sub-committees. The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) is the most senior of these. It has a number of sub- committees whose titles indicate the subjects they deal with: Safety of Navigation (NAV); Radiocommunications and Search and Rescue (COMSAR); Training and Watchkeeping (STW); Carriage of Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC); Ship Design and Equipment (DE); Fire Protection (FP); Stability and Load Lines and Fishing Vessel Safety (SLF); Flag State Implementation (FSI); Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG).

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) was established by the Assembly in November 1973. It is responsible for co-ordinating the Organization's activities in the prevention and control of pollution of the marine environment from ships. The FSI and BLG Sub-Committees are also sub-committees of the MEPC.

The Legal Committee was originally established to deal with the legal problems arising from the Torrey Canyon accident of 1967, but it was subsequently made a permanent committee. It is responsible for considering any legal matters within the scope of the Organization.

The Technical Co-operation Committee is responsible for co-ordinating the work of the Organization in the provision of technical assistance in the maritime field, in particular to the developing countries. The importance of technical assistance in IMO's work is shown by the fact that it is the first organization in the United Nations system formally to recognise a Technical Co-operation Committee in its Convention.

The Facilitation Committee is responsible for IMO's activities and functions relating to the facilitation of international maritime traffic. These are aimed at reducing the formalities and simplifying the documentation required of ships when entering or leaving ports or other terminals. All the committees of IMO are open to participation by all Member Governments on an equal basis.

The IMO secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General, who is assisted by a staff of some 300 international civil servants. The Secretary- General is appointed by the Council, with the approval of the Assembly.

What it does

In order to achieve its objectives, IMO has, in the last 35 years, promoted the adoption of some 40 conventions and protocols and adopted well over 700 codes and recommendations concerning maritime safety, the prevention of pollution and related matters.

The initial work on a convention is normally done by a committee or sub-committee; a draft instrument is then produced which is submitted to a conference to which delegations from all States within the United Nations system - including States which may not be IMO Members - are invited. The conference adopts a final text, which is submitted to Governments for ratification.

An instrument so adopted comes into force after fulfilling certain requirements, which always include ratification by a specified number of countries. Generally speaking, the more important the convention the more stringent are the requirements for entry into force. Implementation of the requirements of a convention is mandatory on countries which are parties to it. Codes and recommendations which are adopted by the IMO Assembly are not binding on Governments; however, their contents can be just as important, and in most cases they are implemented by Governments through incorporation into domestic legislation.

IMO's conventions

Safety

The first conference organised by IMO in 1960 was, appropriately enough, concerned with maritime safety. That conference adopted the International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which came into force in 1965, replacing a version adopted in 1948. The 1960 SOLAS Convention covered a wide range of measures designed to improve the safety of shipping. They included subdivision and stability; machinery and electrical installations; fire protection, detection and extinction; life-saving appliances; radiotelegraphy and radiotelephony; safety of navigation; carriage of grain; carriage of dangerous goods; and nuclear ships.

The safety of ships and their crews is IMO's greatest concern. The 1960 SOLAS Convention was the basic international instrument dealing with matters of maritime safety and, in response to new developments, it was amended several times. However, because of the rather difficult requirements for bringing amendments into force, none of these amendments actually became binding internationally.

To remedy this situation and maybe introduce the needed improvements more speedily, in 1974 IMO convened a conference to adopt a new international convention for the safety of life at sea which would incorporate the amendments adopted to the 1960 Convention as well as introduce other changes, including an improved amendment procedure. Under the new procedure, amendments adopted by the MSC would enter into force on a predetermined date unless they were objected to by a specific number of States. The 1974 SOLAS Convention entered into force on 25 May 1980. Since then, the Convention has been modified on a number of occasions.

In 1966 a conference convened by IMO adopted the International Convention on Load Lines. Limitations on the draught to which a ship may be loaded, in the form of freeboards, are an important contribution to its safety. An international convention on the subject had been adopted in 1930; the new instrument brought this up to date and incorporated new and improved measures. It came into force in 1968.

The tonnage measurement of ships has been one of the most difficult problems in international shipping. IMO began work on this subject soon after coming into being, and in 1969 the first ever international convention dealing with it was adopted. It is an indication of the complexity of the matter that the Convention did not enter into force until 1982.

A Special Trade Passenger Ships Agreement to safeguard ships and passengers engaged in the "pilgrim" trade was adopted in 1971 and came into force three years later. A Protocol to this agreement, adopted in 1973, came into force in 1977.

Among the most common causes of accidents at sea are collisions. Regulations for preventing collisions were adopted by the 1960 SOLAS Conference and annexed to the Final Act of the Conference. However, these rules were not part of the SOLAS Convention and were therefore not legally binding internationally. In 1972 IMO adopted the Convention on International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG).

This included a number of new features, including a provision which made traffic separation schemes adopted by IMO mandatory. Traffic separation schemes had been introduced, as recommendations, in several parts of the world where maritime traffic was particularly congested. The adoption of such schemes has considerably reduced the number of collisions in many areas, and the coming into force of the Convention in 1977 led to further improvements in the implementation of these schemes.

Another Convention adopted by IMO in 1972 dealt with the safety of containers, which had become an important feature of international maritime trade. The International Convention on Safe Containers was designed both to facilitate this trade, by introducing uniform international regulations, and also to maintain a high level of safety in the carriage of containers by providing generally acceptable test procedures and related strength requirements. The Convention entered into force in 1977. That such a convention was considered necessary is an indication of the rate of change in shipping. Containers had scarcely been invented when IMO came into existence.

Another sign of IMO's response to changes in maritime transport was the adoption in 1976 of the Convention on the International Maritime Satellite Organization (Inmarsat) and its Operating Agreement. Conventional radio facilities have become increasingly congested in recent years and it is physically impossible to expand the number of wavelengths available. But by using space satellites these difficulties can be overcome. This is of great benefit for commercial and other aspects of ship operation, but its greatest advantage is in the field of safety. The Inmarsat Convention came into force in July 1979 and resulted in the establishment of the Inmarsat Organization which, like IMO, is based in London.

In contrast to space technology, fishing is one of the world's oldest industries. Yet it was not until 1977 that the first ever international convention dealing with the safety of fishing vessels was finally adopted. One of the reasons for this relative delay was the extremely varied and complex nature of the fishing industry. Fishing is so different from other forms of maritime activity that hardly any of the conventions of IMO could be made directly applicable to fishing vessels. The 1977 Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels was intended to remedy some of these problems, but technical difficulties meant that the Convention never entered into force. It was modified by a Protocol in 1993.

Ultimately, safety rests very largely with the crews of ships rather than with the ships themselves. For this reason IMO has attached the utmost importance to the training of ships' personnel. In 1978 the Organization convened a conference which adopted the first ever Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers. The Convention entered into force in April 1984.

The Convention established, for the first time, internationally acceptable minimum standards for crews. It is not intended as a model on which all States must necessarily base their crew requirements, for in many countries the requirements are actually higher than those laid down in the Convention. The Convention was revised in 1995. Apart from bringing the Convention up to date from a technical point of view, the amendments also gave IMO the power to audit the administrative, training and certification procedures of Parties to the Convention. The amendments will enter into force in 1997.

In 1979 IMO adopted the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue. As its title implies, this Convention is designed to improve existing arrangements for carrying out search and rescue operations following accidents at sea. Although many countries have their own established plans for such emergencies, this is the first time international procedures have been adopted. The Convention entered into force in 1985.

Preventing pollution ... providing compensation

The 1954 Oil Pollution Convention was the first major convention designed to curb the impact of oil pollution. But in the years that followed the pollution threat increased dramatically and, since coming into existence, IMO has devoted increasing attention to the problem of marine pollution. The 1954 Convention was amended in 1962, but the wreck of the Torrey Canyon in 1967 dramatically alerted the world to the great dangers which the transport of oil poses to the marine environment. Following this disaster, IMO produced a series of conventions and other instruments, including further amendments to the 1954 Convention which were adopted in 1969.

In 1969 two conventions were adopted. One was the International Convention relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties, which established the right of coastal States to intervene in incidents on the high seas which are likely to result in oil pollution. It entered into force in 1975.

The second was the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, which deals with the civil liability of the owner of a ship or cargo for damage suffered as a result of an oil pollution incident. The Convention is intended to ensure that adequate compensation will be readily available to victims of pollution, and places the obligation for paying such compensation on the shipowner. That Convention also entered into force in 1975.

It was felt by some Governments that the liability limits established by this Convention were too low, and that the compensation made available could, in some cases, prove to be inadequate. As a result, another conference was convened by IMO in 1971 which adopted the Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage. This Convention came into force in 1978.

Unlike the Civil Liability Convention, which puts the onus on the shipowner, the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Fund is designed to provide additional compensation to victims where an accident results in pollution damage which exceeds the compensation available under the Civil Liability Convention. Thus the burden of compensation is spread evenly between shipowners and cargo interests. The Fund is operated by the IOPC Fund Organization, which has its headquarters in London.

The limits of liability in the 1969 Civil Liability and 1971 Fund Conventions were increased in protocols to amend them which were adopted by a conference convened by IMO in 1992. The protocols entered into force in July 1996 and will increase the total amount of compensation payable to victims of oil pollution to around 135 million.

In addition to the conventions dealing with the legal aspects of oil pollution, IMO gave attention to other aspects as well. The continuing boom in the transportation of oil and the increasing scale of oil pollution incidents resulted in serious international concern for the marine environment, not only as a result of accidents but also through routine tanker operations, notably the cleaning of cargo tanks. In 1971 the 1954 Oil Pollution Convention was further amended to limit the hypothetical outflow of oil resulting from an accident and also to provide special protection for the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

It was generally felt, however, that a completely new instrument was required to control pollution of the seas from ships, and in 1973 IMO convened a major conference to discuss the whole problem of marine pollution from ships. It resulted in the adoption of the first ever comprehensive anti-pollution convention, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). The Convention deals not only with pollution by oil, but also pollution from chemicals, other harmful substances, garbage and sewage.

The MARPOL Convention greatly reduces the amount of oil which can be discharged into the sea by ships, and bans such discharges completely in certain areas (such as the Black Sea, Red Sea and other regions). It gives statutory support for such operational procedures as "load on top" (which greatly reduces the amount of mixtures which have to be disposed of after tank cleaning) and segregated ballast tanks.

Certain technical problems made it difficult for many States to ratify the Convention. In the meantime, a series of tanker accidents in the winter of 1976/77 led to demands for further action. IMO responded to these demands and took rapid steps to convene the Conference on Tanker Safety and Pollution Prevention in 1978. This Conference adopted a Protocol to the 1973 MARPOL Convention which introduced further measures, including requirements for such operational techniques as crude oil washing (a development of the earlier "load on top" system) and a number of modified constructional requirements such as protectively located segregated ballast tanks. The Protocol of 1978 relating to the 1973 MARPOL Convention in effect absorbs the parent Convention with modifications. This combined instrument is commonly referred to as MARPOL 73/78 and entered into force in October 1983. The Convention has been amended on several occasions since then.

In 1990 IMO adopted the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC). It is designed to improve the ability of nations to cope with a sudden emergency, such as a tanker accident. It entered into force in May 1995, but some of its provisions were used as the basis for IMO's response to the massive pollution of the Persian Gulf resulting from hostilities in the area in the spring of 1991. These measures, assisted by a special IMO fund, helped to save many ecologically important sites from major damage.

In 1996 IMO adopted an international convention on liability and compensation for damage in connection with the carriage of hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) by sea. The Convention establishes a two- tier system for providing compensation up to a total of around 250 million. It covers not only pollution aspects but other risks such as fire and explosion. The Convention is not yet in force.

Other matters

While safety and the prevention of pollution are IMO's chief concerns, the Organization is also involved in many other areas.

One of these is the facilitation of maritime traffic. In the past the lack of internationally standardised documentation procedures has imposed a heavy burden upon both shipborne and shore-based personnel and caused considerable delays.

IMO started working on these problems soon after coming into existence and, in 1965, adopted the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL). Its primary objectives are to prevent unnecessary delays in maritime traffic, to aid co-operation between Governments, and to secure the highest practicable degree of uniformity in formalities and procedures in connection with the arrival, stay and departure of ships at ports. The Convention came into force in 1967.

IMO's work on establishing regimes of liability for pollution has already been referred to, but the Organization has also adopted various conventions dealing with other legal matters.

In 1971 IMO, in association with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Nuclear Agency of the Organization for Economic Co- operation and Development, convened a conference which adopted a convention to regulate civil liability in respect of damage arising from the maritime carriage of nuclear substances.

In 1974, IMO turned its attention to the question of passengers and their luggage and adopted a convention which established a regime of liability for damage suffered by passengers carried on seagoing vessels. It makes the carrier liable for damage or loss suffered by passengers if the incident is due to the fault or neglect of the carrier. The liability is limited to amounts specified in the relevant provisions of the convention. The compensation limits were raised substantially by means of a protocol adopted in 1990. It is not yet in force.

The general question of liability of the owners of ships was dealt with in a convention adopted in 1957. By the end of the 1960s, however, it had become clear that the limits of liability established in the 1957 convention were too low. In 1976 IMO convened a conference which adopted a new convention, the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, which raised the limits, in some cases by 300 per cent. Limits are specified for two types of claim - those for loss of life or personal injury and property claims, such as damage to ships, property or harbour works. A protocol adopted in 1996 will further increase the compensation limits.

In 1988 the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation was adopted. It is intended to improve measures for dealing with incidents such as terrorist attacks on commercial shipping. It entered into force in March 1992.

For most of the century salvage at sea has been based on a formula known as "no cure, no pay". While it has been successful in most cases, the formula does not take pollution into account: a salvor who prevents massive pollution damage but does not save the ship and its cargo can expect no compensation. The 1989 International Convention on Salvage was adopted to remedy this defect. It entered into force in July 1996.

IMO's codes and recommendations

In addition to conventions and other formal treaty instruments, IMO has adopted several hundred recommendations dealing with a wide range of subjects.

Some of these constitute codes, guidelines or recommended practices on important matters not considered suitable for regulation by formal treaty instruments. Although recommendations - whether in the form of codes or otherwise - are not usually binding on Governments, they provide guidance in framing national regulations and requirements. Many Governments do in fact apply the provisions of the recommendations by incorporating them, in whole or in part, into national legislation or regulations. In some cases, important codes have been made mandatory by including appropriate references in a convention.

These recommendations are generally intended to supplement or assist the implementation of the relevant provisions of the conventions and, in some cases, the principal codes, guidelines, etc.

In appropriate cases the recommendations may incorporate further requirements which have been found to be useful or necessary in the light of experience gained in the application of the previous provisions. In other cases the recommendations clarify various questions which arise in connection with specific measures and thereby ensure their uniform interpretation and application in all countries. Examples of the principal recommendations, codes, etc., adopted over the years are:

International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code) (first adopted in 1965); Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes (1965); International Code of Signals (IMO took over responsibility for the Code in 1965); Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk (1971); Code of Safe Practice for Ships Carrying Timber Deck Cargoes (1973); Code of Safety for Fishermen and Fishing Vessels (1974); Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk (1975); Code of Safety for Dynamically Supported Craft (1977); Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (1979); Code on Noise Levels on Board Ships (1981); Code of Safety for Nuclear Merchant Ships (1981); Code of Safety for Special Purpose Ships (1983); International Gas Carrier Code (1983); International Bulk Chemicals Code (1983); Code of Safety for Diving Systems (1983); International Code for the Safe Carriage of Grain in Bulk (1991); International Safety Management Code (1993); International Code of Safety for High-Speed Craft (1994).

Other important recommendations have dealt with such matters as traffic separation schemes (which separate ships moving in opposite directions by creating a central prohibited area); the adoption of technical manuals such as the Standard Marine Navigational Vocabulary, the IMO Search and Rescue Manual and the IMO Manual on Oil Pollution; crew training; performance standards for shipborne equipment; and many other matters. There are also guidelines to help the implementation of particular conventions and instruments.

The provisions of recommendations are sometimes incorporated into amendments to the relevant conventions. Recommendations enable provisions or requirements to be suggested relatively quickly to Governments for consideration and action. It is also easier for Governments to act on such matters than in respect of provisions in formal treaty instruments, which involve international legal obligations.

Dumping at sea

In addition to other aspects of marine pollution prevention, IMO also carries out Secretariat functions in connection with the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter. This Convention, now called the London Convention, was adopted in 1972 at a conference held under the auspices of the United Kingdom. It entered into force in 1975.

The Convention controls and regulates on a global level the disposal at sea of wastes and other material of any kind (including ships and platforms). The disposal of certain substances which from the environmental point of view are known to be particularly harmful (such as organohalogen compounds, mercury, cadmium, plastics, mineral oils and radioactive wastes) is prohibited.

The Convention also contains specific regulations concerning the dumping of several other materials which may present a risk to the marine environment and human health. In addition, it bans the incineration of wastes on board ships.

Technical assistance

While the adoption of conventions, codes and recommendations has in the past been IMO's most important function, in recent years the Organization has devoted increasing attention to securing the effective implementation of these measures throughout the world.

As a result, the Organization's technical assistance activities have become more and more important and in 1977 IMO took steps to institutionalise its Technical Co-operation Committee - the first United Nations body to do so.

The purpose of the technical assistance programme is to help States, many of them developing countries, to ratify IMO conventions and to reach the standards contained in the SOLAS Convention and other instruments. As part of this programme, a number of advisers and consultants are employed by IMO to give advice to Governments and each year the Organization arranges or participates in numerous seminars, workshops and other events which are designed to assist in the implementation of IMO measures. Some are held at IMO headquarters or in developed countries, others in the developing countries themselves.

In the field of environmental protection IMO has actively co-operated with the Regional Seas Programme of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the development of regional anti-pollution arrangements. IMO is currently involved with programme development in all of the 11 seas covered by UNEP action plans. A particularly interesting outcome of this co-operation is the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC), which was established by IMO in conjunction with UNEP in 1976.

But the most important subject of all is training. IMO measures can only be implemented effectively if those responsible are fully trained, and IMO has helped to develop or improve maritime training academies in many countries around the world. Some of them cater purely for national needs. Others have been developed to deal with the requirements of a region - a very useful approach where the demand for trained personnel in individual countries is not sufficient to justify the considerable financial outlay needed to establish such institutions. IMO has also developed a series of model courses for use in training academies.

While IMO supplies the expertise for these projects, the finance comes from various sources. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has traditionally been the most important of these, with other international bodies such as UNEP contributing in some cases. Individual countries also provide generous funds or help in other ways - for example, by providing training opportunities for cadets and other personnel from developing countries. This has enabled IMO to build up a successful fellowship programme which, over the years, has helped to train many thousands of people.

The most ambitious and exciting of all IMO's technical assistance projects is the World Maritime University in Malmoe, Sweden, which opened in 1983. Its objective is to provide high-level training facilities for people from developing countries who have already reached a relatively high standard in their own countries but who would benefit from further intensive training. Many of those currently at the University have served as captains or chief engineers at sea and have moved into administrative positions ashore. Others are teachers at maritime academies, examiners or surveyors, technical port managers, and so on. The University can train about 200 students at a time on one or two-year courses. The University is necessary because training of the specialised type provided at Malmoe is not available in developing countries - or indeed anywhere else in the world. It has proved to be so successful that since 1985 a limited number of places have been made available to students from developed maritime nations.

How it works

The International Maritime Organization works through a number of specialist committees and sub-committees. All these bodies are composed of representatives of Member States who discharge their functions with the assistance and advice of appropriate bodies of the United Nations or the specialised agencies, as well as international governmental and non-governmental organisations with which formal relationships have been established.

Formal arrangements for co-operation have been established with more than 30 intergovernmental organisations, while nearly 50 non- governmental international organisations have been granted consultative status to participate in the work of various bodies in an observer capacity. These organisations represent a wide spectrum of maritime, legal and environmental interests and they contribute to the work of the various organs and committees through the provision of information, documentation and expert advice. However, none of these organisations has a vote.

The future

Over the years IMO has continually evolved to meet changing conditions and requirements. In its early days it concentrated on formulating international conventions and codes. Today, however, IMO is just as concerned to ensure that the conventions, codes and other instruments already adopted are effectively enforced and implemented.

There is significant evidence that IMO measures have already proved beneficial in many areas. Oil pollution of the sea, for example, is less of a threat now than it was 20 years ago and the number of collisions between ships has been greatly reduced in areas where IMO- approved traffic separation schemes have been introduced.

But because of economic factors, the average age of the world's ships has risen steadily over the same period and statistics show that old ships have more accidents than young ones. The fleets of the traditional maritime countries - which tend to have good safety records - have declined, while many of the flags that are growing most rapidly have relatively poor records.

As a result, nobody can afford to be complacent and IMO is concentrating not only on better implementation but also on improving such factors as management and training. All the evidence shows that most accidents happen because people do not obey the regulations, not because the regulations are themselves defective.

IMO Secretariat 29 May 1996.

RATIFICATION, ACCEPTANCE, APPROVAL AND ACCESSION

The terms signature, ratification, acceptance, approval and accession refer to some of the methods by which a State can express its consent to be bound by a treaty. But what do they all mean? This document explains.

Signature

Consent may be expressed by signature where. the treaty provides that signature shall have that effect; - it is otherwise established that the negotiating States were agreed that signature should have that effect; - the intention of the State to give that effect to signature appears from the full powers of its representatives or was expressed during the negotiations (Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 1969, Article 12.1).

A State may also sign a treaty "subject to ratification, acceptance or approval". In such a situation, signature does not signify the consent of a State to be bound by the treaty, although it does oblige the State to refrain from acts which would defeat the object and purpose of the treaty until such time as it has made its intention clear not to become a party to the treaty (Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Article 18(a)).

Signature subject to ratification, acceptance or approval

Most multilateral treaties contain a clause providing that a State may express its consent to be bound by the instrument by signature subject to ratification. In such a situation, signature alone will not suffice to bind the State, but must be followed up by the deposit of an instrument of ratification with the depositary of the treaty. This option of expressing consent to be bound by signature subject to ratification, acceptance or approval originated in an era when international communications were not instantaneous, as they are today. It was a means of ensuring that a State representative did not exceed his powers or instructions with regard to the making of a particular treaty. The words acceptance and approval basically mean the same as ratification, but they are less formal and non- technical and might be preferred by some States which might have constitutional difficulties with the term ratification. Many States nowadays choose this option, especially in relation to multinational treaties, as it provides them with an opportunity to ensure that any necessary legislation is enacted and other constitutional requirements are fulfilled before entering into treaty commitments. A treaty may additionally provide for consent to be expressed by signature subject to acceptance or approval. The terms are very similar to ratification in their effect. This is borne out by Article 14.2 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which provides that "the consent of a State to be bound by a treaty is expressed by acceptance or approval under conditions similar to those which apply to ratification."

Accession

Most multinational treaties are open for signature for a specified period of time. Accession is the method used by a State to become a party to a treaty which it did not sign whilst the treaty was open for signature. Technically, accession requires the State in question to deposit an instrument of accession with the depositary. Article 15 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties provides that consent by accession is possible where the treaty so provides, or where it is otherwise established that the negotiating States were agreed or subsequently agreed that consent by accession could occur."