Tag: IMO

Through its Women in Maritime programme, IMO is hosting a two-week training course for female officials from maritime and port authorities of developing countries in Le Havre, France. A total of 27 female officials from 18 developing countries are participating, to enhance their knowledge in port management and operational efficiency.

As the 2020 sulphur cap is nearing, oil markets are preparing to adapt to the new situation. Currently, the majority of refiners are planning to increase their production of middle distillates for about a decade, responding to projections of rising diesel demand.

Eagle Bulk Shipping will purchase 15 more scrubbers for its fleet. This comes after the company’s series of agreements for the purchase of up to 37 scrubbers, comprised of 19 scrubbers and up to 18 additional units. The completion of the 37 installations is expected by January 1, 2020.

During the STM Validation Project Final Conference at the IMO, in London, the IMO Secretary General Kitack Lim supported the STM. Specifically, Mr. Lim stated that STM goes hand in hand with IMO goals. Kitack Lim encouraged the project to submit its results to IMO at the next possible committee meeting.

The GloMEEP project delivered a training course to help maritime administrations and classification societies in collecting fuel consumption data from ships. The training took place in China, on 14 of November. Fuel consumption data from ships provide crucial information to support IMO’s  efforts to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping.

The Gulf of Guinea is one of the regions that has the most issues with piracy. In order to address these problems, a workshop for participants from the Gulf of Guinea, was held in Ghana, from 13 to 16 November. The workshop aims to improve national capacity to advance port security.

Conducting a vessel inspection is very important task. In order to keep a high level of safety in the Caribbean, a Regional Caribbean Ship Inspector Training course took place from 29 October to 16 November, in Trinidad and Tobago. The objective of the course is to prepare ship surveyors to be able to work in a Caribbean maritime administration.

The Bahamas Maritime Authority issued an alert regarding new escape route sign and equipment locations markings. Namely, all new vessels built from the 01 January 2019 should be provided with new ISO standard safety signs as described in Resolution A.1116(30).

Ahead of the 2020 sulphur cap, Transparency International said that the IMO should give the new working group a remit that allows it to effectively increase public scrutiny and civil society participation. The NGO is also worried that some of the Member States could obstruct IMO's reform.

On 14 November, the US Senate passed the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) as part of the USCG Reauthorization Act with a vote of 94 to 6, paving the way for the harmonization of state and federal regulations for vessel ballast water discharges in the United States. In the meantime, the move is considered as a means of harmonization of the USCG policy approach with that of IMO.