• 2023 July 25 16:32

    IMO Council appoints Secretary-General, endorses 2024 theme

    The IMO Council has decided to appoint Mr. Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco (Republic of Panama) as IMO Secretary-General, for an initial four-year term from 1 January 2024, following a vote. The Council was meeting for its 129th session (17-21 July), according to IMO's release. The decision of the Council is subject to approval by the IMO Assembly, which meets for its 33rd session from 27 November to 6 December 2023.

    The Council endorsed the World Maritime Theme for 2024: "Navigating the future: safety first!". The theme reflects IMO's work to enhance maritime safety and security, in tandem with the protection of the marine environment, whilst ensuring its regulatory development process safely anticipates the fast pace of technological change and innovation.

    The Council decided to award the International Maritime Prize for 2022 to Ms. Anneliese Jost of Germany. The Council recognized Ms. Jost's invaluable contribution, extending over many years, to the work and objectives of the Organization and to the international maritime community as a whole. In addition, the Council decided to award Captain David J. F. Bruce of the Marshall Islands a special certificate to honour his contribution to the work of IMO.

    The Council decided to bestow the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea on Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Caleb Halle, Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, United States Coast Guard (USCG), nominated by the United States.  Mr. Halle will receive the Award in recognition of his outstanding courage, endurance and determination displayed in the rescue of seven crew members of the tugboat Legacy, which was disabled and adrift, in rough weather and heavy seas, in January 2023.

    Updated Assembly resolution on Special recognition for merchant vessels and their crew involved in the rescue of mixed migrants at sea
    The Council approved a revised draft Assembly resolution on Special recognition for merchant vessels and their crew involved in the rescue of mixed migrants at sea, to allow the submission of nominations by intergovernmental organizations in cooperation with IMO (IGOs) and NGOs as well as by Member States.

    The 2023 IMO Awards Ceremony is scheduled to take place on Monday 27 November, the first day of the 33rd session of the Assembly.

    The Council approved, in principle, the regular budget outline for the 2024-2025 biennium of £83,583,000, comprising an appropriation of £40,908,000 for 2024 and an appropriation of £42,675,000 for 2025. The proposed budget will be submitted to the IMO Assembly for adoption.

    The Council agreed, in principle, on the draft Strategic Plan for the six-year period 2024 to 2029 consisting of the mission statement, vision statement, overarching principles and strategic directions 1 to 8. The draft will be submitted to a Working Group on the Strategic Plan to meet during C 130, to finalize the draft for the C130 session. C 130 will then submit the plan to the IMO Assembly for adoption.

    The eight strategic directions are:
     SD 1 Improve implementation of IMO instruments supported by capacity development
     SD 2 Integrate new, emerging and advancing technologies in the regulatory framework
     SD 3 Respond to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping
     SD 4 Continue to engage in ocean governance
     SD 5 Enhance global facilitation, supply chain resilience and security of international trade
     SD 6 Address the human element
     SD 7 Ensure regulatory effectiveness of international shipping
     SD 8 Ensure organizational effectiveness

    The Council agreed, in principle, on the inclusion of relevant performance indicators, and agreed to finalize them at a Working Group during C 130.

    The Council invited the Joint ILO-IMO Tripartite Working Group, which is set to meet later in 2023, to explore potential ways to facilitate the collection of data on bullying and harassment, including sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH).

    The open-ended Working Group on Council Reform discussed measures to enhance access to information and transparency, including live streaming of IMO meetings.

    The Council endorsed the recommendation of the Group to recommend to the Assembly to decide to live-stream to the public its public plenary meetings, at the beginning of the Assembly 33rd session (27 November to 6 December 2023).

    The Council noted that further information was needed in order to develop criteria and procedures for the selection of meetings, or parts thereof, that should be live-streamed to the public. The Secretariat was requested to seek further information on rules and practices in other UN system organizations.

    The Council agreed a draft Assembly resolution on enhancing multilingualism at IMO, for adoption by the Assembly.

    The Council agreed to include on its agenda, a new output on "Consideration for the enhancement and improvement of multilingualism and the language services at IMO".

    Following a vote, a proposal to rescind the Council's decision to accept the offer made by the Islamic Republic of Iran to host the World Maritime Day Parallel Event in 2023 was approved.

    The Council was provided with an update on the situation of seafarers and shipping in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov and the disruption to the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

    The Council took note of the information provided by the Secretariat and the comments made by delegations in plenary, and expressed deep regret about the disruption to the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

    The Council welcomed the Secretary-General's ongoing support to the UN's efforts to find solutions to restore safe navigation in the North-Western part of the Black Sea, which is of critical importance to the global supply chain and food security.

    The Council welcomed the efforts of Ukraine aimed at safeguarding safety, stability and freedom of international navigation in the North-Western part of the Black Sea and preventing a global food crisis.

    The Council reiterated its call upon all parties to seek to resolve the crisis through peaceful dialogue and diplomatic channels and to work together to ensure the sustainability and continuity of international supply chains.

    The Council reiterated the actions reflected in the Maritime Safety Committee resolution MSC.531(107) on Strengthening measures for ensuring the safety of international shipping.

    The Council further urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to cease unannounced ballistic missile launches across international shipping lanes.




2024 November 2

18:06 Singapore’s first fully electric cargo vessel wins Green Ship Award at SRS Forum
17:20 VTTI looks to buy into LNG terminals in Asia
16:48 Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding signs contracts for 12 large container ships in the past 10 days
16:32 CHIMBUSCO secures its first LNG refueling service in Europe
15:46 SLB OneSubsea awarded subsea boosting contract for bp’s Kaskida project in Gulf of Mexico
15:24 Wilson Sons to start construction of three new eco-friendly tugboats in 2025
14:57 Rem Offshore holds keel laying ceremony for REM Pioneer
12:30 World's first conversion of large container ship to run on methanol successfully completed
11:52 New offshore platform taps into potential of heavy-oil reserves in China
11:24 HRDD completes desulphurization tower system conversion for a PCTC
09:48 TOWT launches its first cargo sailing ship in Le Havre

2024 November 1

18:00 Marlink to deploy Sealink NextGen hybrid solution on 26 tankers for Transpetro
17:38 Austal Australia delivers 8th Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boat to Royal Australian Navy
17:23 Acteon and Applied Fiber enter MoU to collaborate on mooring solutions
16:54 KOTUG International and Maritalia S.A. secure major marine services contract for bp’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project
16:24 BW LPG takes delivery of vessel BW Chinook from Avance Gas
15:44 HD Hyundai may nearly double shipbuilding capacity in Vietnam
15:24 Samsung Heavy Industries secures $390 mln contract for four Suezmax tankers
14:36 EU imposes duties on unfairly subsidised electric vehicles from China
14:23 Port of Montreal workers at two terminals start new strike
13:41 Chinese ports container volume rises 7.7 % from January to September of 2024
13:22 MOL, COSCO Co-host 6th Shanghai International LNG Shipping Forum
12:43 Global schedule reliability drops to 51.4% in September 2024
12:22 GTT secures technical services contract with Maran Tankers for eight LNG Dual-Fuel Suezmax vessels
11:45 MSC inks up $2.1bn container ship at the reborn shipyard Rongsheng Heavy Industries
11:28 China's first 'smart factory' for offshore oil, gas equipment fully operational
10:43 Yanmar completes land-based demonstration testing of a hydrogen engine for power generation in coastal vessels
10:23 Samsung Heavy wins W358 bln LNG ship order in Asia
09:58 EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by over 8% in 2023

2024 October 31

18:00 MAN receives multiple orders for MAN B&W G95ME-LGIM Mk 10.5 methanol engines to power a series of VLCV
17:23 The Marechal Duque de Caxias platform ship starts producing in the pre-salt layer
17:06 IWS Seawalker CSOV makes it 1000 ship designs from Kongsberg Maritime
16:45 “K” Line Wind Service and Japan Marine United sign agreement for Phase 2 of NEDO’s Green Innovation Fund Project
16:04 Wärtsilä introduces its innovative NextDF feature for the Wärtsilä 25DF dual-fuel engine
15:45 MOL plans to change charter contract for vessels related to Russia business
15:44 MABUX: Bunker price trends in the world's four largest hubs, Oct 8 - Nov 1, 2024
15:23 HHLA raises expectations for fiscal year 2024
14:59 Major fire extinguished at UK nuclear submarine yard
14:16 AD Ports Group and Somali Ministry of Fisheries & Blue Economy sign MoU for maritime sector development
13:44 Maersk reports Q3 results
12:43 UECC orders four advanced multi-fuel battery hybrid pure car and truck carriers from China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Nanjing
11:39 Japanese сonsortium produces design concept for eco-friendly VLCC
11:12 TMC Compressors bags contract to supply four LNG carriers
10:46 Panama Canal operating costs down 5% in FY2024
09:29 HIF Global and Antarctica21 promote sustainable tourism with e-Fuels

2024 October 30

18:00 East Java Multipurpose Terminal partners with Sinarmas LDA Usaha Pelabuhan
17:22 Container traffic at Iranian ports up 5% in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year
17:06 CIMC SOE delivers second 7,600 cbm LNG bunkering vessel to Seaspan Energy
16:42 Klaveness Combination Carriers makes first move into wind with bound4blue eSAIL system on CABU III newbuild
16:23 Transport workers' strike in Argentina to affect port operations
15:59 South Korea's seaport container cargo up 3.5 pct in Q3
15:46 Stena Line marks significant milestones in build of NewMax ships, Stena Futura and Stena Connecta
14:55 DNV and LR grant AiP to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for ammonia duel-fuel large container vessel
14:45 Jiaxing Port adds a new sea-river intermodal operation area
13:32 Maersk signs long-term methanol sourcing deal
13:08 MOL and Pyxis sign Collaboration Agreement for development and market expansion of electric vessels in Singapore and Japan
12:40 AD Ports Group and the General Department of Vietnam Customs sign MoU
12:21 TE H2, CIP, and A.P. Møller Capital Partner for a large-scale project in the Kingdom of Morocco
11:40 ClassNK issues AiP for Autonomous Navigation Assistance System developed by Samsung Heavy Industries
11:20 MacGregor launches Carbon Calculator
10:55 Russian seaports in Q3, 2024: Infographics and Analytics
10:30 World's first ammonia-fuel dual-fuel bulk carrier begins construction
10:09 Erik Thun launches the next-generation Lake Vanern Max vessel
09:03 SCHOTTEL receives an order to supply azimuth thrusters for four new escort tugs for Saltchuk Marine

2024 October 29

18:00 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces selections for nearly $3 bln of investments in Clean Ports
17:34 Asyaport becomes first Turkish port to provide shore power to container ships
17:00 Port of Los Angeles awarded $412 million grant from U.S. EPA for zero-emission transformation
16:42 Oil spill occurred during bunkering operations at the Port of Singapore
16:10 World’s first electric hydrofoil ferry line takes off in Stockholm
15:46 Wallenius Wilhelmsen signs five-year, $766 million deal