India re-elected to International Maritime Organisation Council

Context: India was re-elected to International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council with highest number of votes. This will allow India to be a member of IMO Council which is the executive body responsible for international shipping. The term of the IMO Council will be for biennium 2024-25. India has been elected under Category (B) of IMO Council which represent States with largest interest in international seaborne trade.

About International Maritime Organisation (IMO)

International Maritime Organisation is a specialized agency of the UN, which is responsible in the following:

1. Improving the safety and security of international shipping
2. Preventing marine and atmospheric pollution from ships.
3. Legal matters such as liability and compensation issues
4. Facilitation of international maritime traffic.

Established by means of Convention on International Maritime Organisation (CIMO), which entered into force in 1958.

Membership: Currently 175 countries are members of IMO. Many intergovernmental organisations and non-governmental organisations are members of IMO.

Structure of the International Maritime Organisation

1. IMO Assembly is the highest governing body. All member states of IMO are members of IMO Assembly and meets once in two years. It is responsible for approving the work program and budget and determining financial arrangements and electing IMO Council. 
2. IMO Council is the executive organ of IMO and is responsible to the IMO Assembly for supervising the work of IMO Council. The Council is made up of 40 Member States, elected by the Assembly for two-year terms. Between the sessions of the assembly, the Council performs the functions of IMO Assembly, except that of making recommendations to governments on maritime safety and pollution prevention.

Assembly of International Maritime Organisaton elects following States to be Members of IMO Council for two years:

• Category (A): 10 States with largest interest in providing international shipping.
• Category (B): 10 States with largest interest in international seaborne trade. India has been elected in this category.
• Category (C): 20 States not elected under Category (A) or (B), which have special interests in maritime transport or navigation and whose election to the IMO Council will ensure representation of all major geographical areas of the world.

3. Secretary General of IMO: IMO is led by the Secretary General supported by a Secretariat which is based a IMO headquarters in London, UK.
4. IMO has five main committees:
   • Maritime Safety Committee (MSC)
   • Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC)
   • Legal Committee 
   • Technical Cooperation Committee
   • Facilitation Committee

Key IMO Conventions

• International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS): This treaty was developed as a result of Titanic disaster in 1912. It applies to passenger ships carrying more than 12 passengers on international voyages.
• International Convention for Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 and its protocols (MARPOL)
• International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) and its Manila Amendments.
• Hong Kong International Convention for the Safety and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009. 

Other Key Initiatives

Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS): 

• GMDSS is an integrated communications system using satellite and terrestrial radio-communication systems.  
• GMDSS mandates all ships and cargo ships over 300 gross tonnages on international voyages to carry specified terrestrial and satellite radio-communications equipment for sending and receiving distress alerts and maritime safety information and for general communications. 
• Regulations covering GMDSSS are under chapter IV of International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974.

Key focus areas of IMO

• More than 80% of global trade is delivered by sea. This means critical goods such as food, fuel, medicine etc. are delivered by ships and seafarers. 
• Other modes of transport which don't have the required capacity and are not as carbon efficient as required for international shipping.
• There is a need for universal standards to regulate and develop international shipping in an orderly fashion. For these the key focus areas of IMO are:

1. Safety of life at sea: IMO, particularly through the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) has developed various codes, conventions and guidelines promoting safety of life at sea, lifesaving appliances, safety of ships in polar waters, guidelines on fatigue and communications etc.
2. Combating illicit maritime activities: Addressing maritime piracy, armed robbery of ships and human trafficking has been a key focus area for IMO. In 2009, IMO adopted Djibouti Code of Conduct to support repression of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. The scope of Djibouti code was expanded in 2017 to include organised crime in maritime sector, maritime terrorism, human trafficking and illegal unreported and unregulated fishing by the Jeddah Amendment to Djibouti Code of Conduct in 2017.
3. Curbing Air Pollution from Ships: IMO adopted Annex VI to its MARPOL Convention to address air pollution from ships. Initially main air pollutants contained in ships included sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrous oxide (NOx), deliberate emissions of ozone depleting substances, shipboard incineration, emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from tankers. In 2011, regulations were introduced to increase energy efficiency of ships to limit greenhouse gas emissions. In 2020, a new lower limit on sulphur content in fuel oil used on board ships was implemented (called 'IMO 2020' rule). The implementation of this rule in expected to result in 77% reduction in overall sulphur dioxide emissions from ships preventing many diseases and ocean acidification and other environmental benefits. 
4. Energy Efficiency of Ships: IMO has made it mandatory for all ships to calculate their Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) to measure their energy efficiency and to initiate collection of data for reporting of annual operational carbon intensity indicator (CII) and CII rating. 
5. Decarbonization of Shipping: IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) was introduced for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships under which IMO Member States have pledged to cut annual greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping by at least half by 2025, compared to 2008.
6. Regulating fishing: IMO has been implementing regulations in fishing through IMO treaty on training for fishers. IMO has negotiated Cape Town Agreement which will set minimum requirements on the design, construction, equipment and inspection of fishing vessels of 24 meters in length or equivalent in gross tons. Cape Town Agreement will provide safe, legal and sustainable shipping providing an internationally binding standardisation of fishing practices.
7. Protection of vulnerable ocean areas: Ocean areas of ecological or scientific significance are granted special protection status of a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA). PSSA cases require special protective measures which are agreed and adopted, such as compulsory routeing of ships to avoid these areas altogether. 
8. Biofouling: Biofouling refers to accumulation of various aquatic organisms on ships' hulls as a result invasive aquatic organisms can be introduced to new marine environments affecting marine biodiversity, coastal properties and infrastructure. To deal with biofouling, IMO is leading GloFouling Partnerships.
9. Recycling of Ships: Member states of IMO, NGOs, ILO and Basel Convention have together developed Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ship (Hong Kong Convention). The Hong Kong Convention is aimed at ensuring that ships, when being recycled do not pose any unnecessary risk to human health and safety to environment. This Convention will come into force in 2025. India has ratified the Hong Kong Convention.