Structure of IMO

The Geneva conference opened in February 1948 and on 6 March 1948 the Convention establishing the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) was adopted. (The name was changed in 1982 to International Maritime Organization (IMO).)

Convention on the International Maritime Organization Articles of the Convention - Summary

Part I - Purposes of the Organization

Article 1 - states the purposes of the organization are:

• To provide machinery for co-operation among Governments in the field of governmental regulation and practices relating to technical matters of all kinds affecting shipping engaged in international trade, and to encourage 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; and to deal with administrative and legal matters related to the purposes set out in this Article.
• To encourage the removal of discriminatory action and unnecessary restrictions by Governments affecting shipping engaged in international trade so as to promote the availability of shipping services to the commerce of the world without discrimination; assistance and encouragement given by a Government for the development of its national shipping and for purposes of security does not in itself constitute discrimination, provided that such assistance and encouragement is not based on measures designed to restrict the freedom of shipping of all flags to take part in international trade;
• To provide for the consideration by the Organization of matters concerning unfair restrictive practices by shipping concerns in accordance with Part II;
• To provide for the consideration by the Organization of any matters concerning shipping that may be referred to it by any organ or specialized agency of the United Nations;
• To provide for the exchange of information among Governments on matters under consideration by the Organization.

Part II - Functions

• Article 2 - states that IMO provides for the drafting of conventions, agreements or other suitable instruments; provides machinery for consultation among Members and exchange of information; facilitates technical co-operation.
• Article 3 - states that for matters "capable of settlement through the normal processes of international shipping business", the IMO should recommend their resolution in that manner.

Part III - Membership

• Articles 4-10 - give procedures for becoming a Member (or Associate Member) of IMO, by becoming Party to the IMO Convention.

Part IV - Organs

• Article 11 - states the Organization consists of an Assembly, Council, Maritime Safety Committee, Legal Committee, Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), Technical Co-operation Committee Facilitation Committee and "such subsidiary organs as the Organization may at any time consider necessary"; and a Secretariat.

Part V- The Assembly

• Articles 12-15 - give constitution (all Members) and functions of the Assembly.

Part VI – The Council

• Articles 16-26 - relate to composition, election procedures and functions of the Council.

Part VII - Maritime Safety Committee

• Articles 27-31 - give constitution (all Members) and functions/work of the Committee.

Part VIII - Legal Committee

• Articles 32-36 - give constitution (all Members) and functions/work of the Committee.

Part IX - Marine Environment Protection Committee

• Articles 37-41 - give constitution (all Members) and functions/work of the Committee.

Part X - Technical Co-operation Committee

• Articles 42-46 - give constitution (all Members) and functions/work of the Committee.

Part XI - Facilitation Committee

• Articles 47-51 - give constitution (all Members) and functions/work of the Committee.

Part XII - The Secretariat

• Articles 52-57 - give functions and duties of the Secretariat.

Part XIII- Finances

• Articles 58-61 - give financial obligations of the Member States

Part XIV - Voting

• Article 62 - Each Member has one vote, decisions shall be by a majority vote.

Part XV – Headquarters of the Organization

• Article 63 - The headquarters is established in London; the Assembly may by two-thirds majority vote change the site if necessary; sessions may be held in any place other than Headquarters if Council deems it necessary.

Part XVI - Relationship with the United Nations and other organizations

• Article 64 - relate to relationships and co-operation with the United Nations, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations.

Part XVII - Legal capacity, privileges and immunities

• Articles 69-70 - refers to the General Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Specialized Agencies of the United Nations and refers to
• Appendix II of the IMO Convention which gives provisions on legal capacity, privileges and immunities which should be applied by Members and by the Organization

Part XVIII - Amendments

• Articles 71-73- Amendments to the IMO Convention must be adopted by two-third majority vote of the Assembly and enter into force 12 months after acceptance by two-thirds of Member States.

Part XIX - Interpretation

• Articles 74-75 - questions or disputes over interpretation or application of the Convention shall be referred to the Assembly; if they cannot be settles, they must be referred to the International Court of justice for an advisory opinion.

Part XX - Miscellaneous Provisions

• Articles 76-78 - cover signature and acceptance; territories; withdrawal.

Part XXI - Entry into force

• Articles 79-82- entry into force provisions for the Convention.

The Organs of IMO

The Organization consists of an Assembly, a Council and five main Committees: 

• The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC); 
• The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC); 
• The Legal Committee (LEG); 
• The Technical Cooperation Committee (TCC) and 
• The Facilitation Committee (FAL).
• and a number of Sub-Committees support the work of the main technical committees.

 

Assembly:-
This is the highest Governing Body of the Organization. It consists of all Member States and it meets once every two years in regular sessions, but may also meet in an extraordinary session if necessary. 

The Assembly is responsible for 

• Approving the work programme, 
• Voting the budget 
• Determining the financial arrangements of the Organization. 
• The Assembly also elects the Council.

Council:-
The Council is elected by the Assembly for two-year terms beginning after each regular session of the Assembly. The Council is the Executive Organ of IMO and is responsible, under the Assembly, for supervising the work of the Organization. It consists of 40 member states divided into three categories A, B & C. Between sessions of the Assembly the Council performs all the functions of the Assembly, except the function of making recommendations to Governments on maritime safety and pollution prevention which is reserved for the Assembly.
Other functions of the Council are to:

• Coordinate the activities of the organs of the Organization;
• Consider the draft work programme and budget estimates of the Organization and submit them to the Assembly;
• Receive reports and proposals of the Committees and other organs and submit them to the Assembly and Member States, with comments and recommendations as appropriate;
• Appoint the Secretary-General, subject to the approval of the Assembly;
• Enter into agreements or arrangements concerning the relationship of the Organization with other organizations, subject to approval by the Assembly.

Maritime Safety Committee (MSC)
The MSC is the highest technical body of the Organization. It consists of all Member States. The functions of the Maritime Safety Committee are to consider any matter within the scope of the Organization concerned with 

• aids to navigation, 
• construction and equipment of vessels, 
• manning from a safety standpoint, 
• rules for the prevention of collisions, 
• handling of dangerous cargoes, 
• maritime safety procedures and requirements, 
• hydrographic information, 
• log-books and navigational records, 
• marine casualty investigations, 
• salvage and rescue and 
• any other matters directly affecting maritime safety.

The Committee is also required to provide machinery for performing any duties assigned to it by the IMO Convention or any duty within its scope of work which may be assigned to it by or under any international instrument and accepted by the Organization. 

It also has the responsibility for considering and submitting recommendations and guidelines on safety for possible adoption by the Assembly.
The expanded MSC adopts amendments to conventions such as SOLAS and includes all Member States as well as those countries which are Party to conventions such as SOLAS even if they are not IMO Member States.

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC)
The MEPC, which consists of all Member States, is empowered to consider any matter within the scope of the Organization concerned with prevention and control of pollution from ships. In particular it is concerned with the adoption and amendment of conventions and other regulations and measures to ensure their enforcement.
The MEPC was first established as a subsidiary body of the Assembly and raised to full constitutional status in 1985.

Sub-Committees
The MSC and MEPC are assisted in their work by a number of sub-committees which are also open to all Member States:

• Sub-Committee on Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping (HTW);
• Sub-Committee on Implementation of IMO Instruments (III);
• Sub-Committee on Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue (NCSR);
• Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR);
• Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC);
• Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment (SSE); and
• Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC).

Legal Committee(LEG)
The Legal Committee is empowered to deal with any legal matters within the scope of the Organization. The Committee consists of all Member States of IMO. It was established in 1967 as a subsidiary body to deal with legal questions which arose in the aftermath of the Torrey Canyon disaster. The Legal Committee is also empowered to perform any duties within its scope which may be assigned by or under any other international instrument and accepted by the Organization.

Technical Cooperation Committee(TCC)
The Technical Cooperation Committee is required to consider any matter within the scope of the Organization concerned with the implementation of technical cooperation projects for which the Organization acts as the executing or cooperating agency and any other matters related to the Organization's activities in the technical cooperation field.
The Technical Cooperation Committee consists of all Member States of IMO, was established in 1969 as a subsidiary body of the Council, and was institutionalized by means of an amendment to the IMO Convention which entered into force in 1984.

Facilitation Committee(FAL)
The Facilitation Committee was established as a subsidiary body of the Council in May 1972, and became fully institutionalized in December 2008 as a result of an amendment to the IMO Convention.  It consists of all the Member States of the Organization and deals with IMO's work in eliminating unnecessary formalities and "red tape" in international shipping by implementing all aspects of the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic 1965 and any matter within the scope of the Organization concerned with the facilitation of international maritime traffic. In particular in recent years the Committee's work, in accordance with the wishes of the Assembly, has been to ensure that the right balance is struck between maritime security and the facilitation of international maritime trade.

Secretariat
The Secretariat of IMO consists of the Secretary-General and some 300 international personnel based at the headquarters of the Organization in London.

Maritime Stakeholders

1. The IMO is a specialized agency of the UN, responsible for improving maritime safety, security and for preventing pollution from ships.
• It also deals with international aspects of civil liability and compensation and facilitates maritime traffic.
• IMO not only develops new conventions, but also ensures that the existing agreements are still effective.
• It has promoted around 40 conventions and protocols and adopted over 800 codes and recommendations.
2. The ILO is specialized agency of UN responsible for setting international labor standards. 
• ILO influences the maritime industry in two major areas namely manning and occupational health. ILO had adopted over 160 conventions out of which 30 are maritime conventions.
• Today IMO & ILO have a joint working group, which ensures that ILO's concern about labor standards and welfare are addressed in all instruments developed by the IMO.
• In order to achieve the objectives of IMO & ILO member countries develop & promote the adoption of conventions, codes, recommendations and guidelines.
• These instruments provides the means to address the concerns of the member states.
3. The flag state of a ship is the country where it is registered and whose merchant marine flag it is entitle to fly.
• A member state, as flag state, enforces the provision of IMO & ILO conventions on the ship registered under Its flag.
• National legislation can be in the form of a merchant shipping ACT or transport Act.
• A flag state can set penalties for infringements.
• When an infringement occurs in international waters, the responsibilities for imposing a penalty rests on the flag state. Port states are empowered to inspect visiting foreign flagged ships.
• UK, as a flag state, exercises its authority over ships flying its flag in matters regarding safety, security, pollution, administration, as well as, technical & labor matters.
• The parliament enacts primary legislations.
• They are then enforced by the department of environment transport and the regions through its executive agencies, namely the maritime coastguard agency (MCA) & the maritime accident investigation branch (MAIB).
4. The Company is the ship owner/manager who is responsible for the day to day operation of the ship. 
• The ism code lists the mandatory responsibilities of the company.
• The company should ensure that the office and ship complies with the requirements of its safety management system. It should also ensure that the ship is manned by crew, that the crew has a safe & healthy onboard working environment.
• Further the company should ensure that the ship neither poses a threat to the safety of those onboard or around, nor to the environment.
5. The ship staff headed by the master should comply with all relevant international and flag state legislation. 
• They are expected to show due diligence at all times to maintain the seaworthiness, safety and security of the ship.
6. The charter should only employ ship that comply with all relevant, international and flag state legislation.
• They play a vital role in weeding out substandard ships for e.g. Oil majors employs ships only after thorough vetting, which at time can be more stringent than flag state rules. 
7. The ship is inspected by port state, classification societies, insurers and other interested parties.
• These inspectors are equipped to study the ships maintenance and operation and to determine its condition.
• Port state may detain a ship for non-compliance with international laws.
• Classification society may withdraw the certificates of class if rules are not complied with.
• Insurers may withdraw or deny cover for an unseaworthy ship.