The Secretary-General of International Maritime Organisation, Koji Sekimizu, describes the main goals to move towards sustainable maritime development. He points out IMO´s various competencies as proof of its role as the most appropriate international body to deal with safety standards and to take swift action in this field
Mr Sekimizu, the first six months of your term as the Secretary-General of IMO are over. What do[ds_preview] you see as the most urgent topics for IMO in the nearer future?
Koji Sekimizu: My long-term goal is to move towards sustainable maritime development, through the development of Sustainable Maritime Development Goals. IMO will undertake this effort in parallel with the development of the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations (UN), as part of the outcome of the recent Rio+20 Conference.
Shipping is an essential component of any programme for sustainable development. The world relies on a safe, secure and efficient international shipping industry, and this is ensured by the comprehensive regulatory framework developed and maintained by IMO.
The development and implementation, through IMO, of global standards covering maritime safety, environmental protection, maritime security and the facilitation of maritime traffic, will underpin green and sustainable shipping and confirm IMO’s ability to provide the appropriate institutional framework for sustainable maritime development.
Through its technical co-operation programme, IMO helps build maritime capacity in developing countries – and strengthening this aspect of IMO’s work will also be a priority during my tenure. Safety of life at sea remains IMO’s core objective.
The loss of the »Costa Concordia« earlier this year focused our attention on passenger ship safety and I am pleased with the response so far. IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), at its 90th session in May:
• identified immediate measures of an operational nature, including the adoption of an MSC circular recommending early implementation of these measures;
• adopted an MSC resolution encouraging Member States and the passenger ship industry to take the necessary actions to ensure that their current safety standards and procedures are fully and effectively implemented; and
• agreed on an action plan for the long-term work on passenger ship safety, which will be further updated at MSC 91, pending the submission of the official casualty investigation report on the »Costa Concordia«.
This outcome demonstrates, once more, IMO’s competence as the most appropriate international body to deal with safety standards for ships and that IMO can take swift action.
Piracy continues to be a high priority and, again, I was pleased with the results produced by the recent MSC’s high-level segment on arms onboard in the piracy high-risk area. The high-level policy statements provided a view from various perspectives (flag states, port states, coastal states and seafaring nations) and a basis and framework on which the Committee and working groups were able to proceed with the development of interim guidance for private maritime security companies. We will continue to work at all levels with other UN organizations and the industry to tackle the piracy issue.
On the environmental side, we have seen the adoption of technical and operational measures on energy efficiency for ships, which should contribute to the reduction
of emissions of greenhouse gases, notably CO2, from international shipping. Our priority now is to ensure the smooth implementation of these new regulations.
The revised MARPOL Annex VI limits the sulphur content of ships´ fuel. In your opinion, what other steps are necessary to implement sustainable development for environmental protection?
Sekimizu: In my view, quality, safety and environmental issues are intertwined and no one element can be achieved without the others.
At Rio+20, IMO hosted a side event in conjunction with the shipping industry. Together, we took the opportunity to highlight how, through its regulatory and technical co-operation work, IMO plays a critical role in creating the conditions in which shipping will be able to play its part in a future green economy, and provides the ideal institutional framework for sustainable maritime development.
I strongly believe that establishing a sustainable maritime transportation sector is essential to the sustainable development and growth of the world’s economy as we move forward.
To achieve sustainable development in shipping, it is important to establish a coordinated and integrated approach to maritime policy and programmes. Energy efficiency, new technology and innovation, maritime security, maritime education and training, maritime traffic management and the development of maritime infrastructure are key elements of sustainable shipping, and these must be underpinned by global standards – standards developed and adopted by IMO.
Under such a concept, Governments, the shipping and maritime industries and the world community at large should work together to take necessary actions to ensure that shipping can continue to be environment-friendly, properly supported and protected from security and other risks.
The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) is a shared responsibility for several UN-agencies. How do you think co-operation within the United Nations could be intensified in the future?
Sekimizu: There has been a lasting and ongoing co-operation between IMO and its sister agencies on issues of mutual concern, as they arise.
An example of the close co-operation between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and IMO has been the joint IMO / ILO Ad Hoc Expert Working Group, which developed guidance on financial security for seafarers and their dependents in case of abandonment, personal injury to, or death of seafarers, which was adopted by both IMO and ILO, in 2001.
Another recent example of co-operation can be seen in the five strategic partnership agreements IMO signed in May with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS); the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); the World Food Programme (WFP); and the European Union, acting through the European External Action Service (EEAS). These partnerships were signed following a Conference on Capacity Building to Counter Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, held at IMO Headquarters in London on 15 May 2012.
Those agreements reaffirm the joint commitments to combat piracy in the western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden area through improving coordination at all levels and across all relevant programmes and activities, with a view to strengthening the anti-piracy and maritime capacity of States in the region and developing viable and sustainable alternatives to piracy in Somalia.
The Organizations pledged to work together to deliver effective assistance to those States under the framework of existing institutional arrangements as well as under new joint enterprises. Projects may be undertaken multilaterally or in conjunction with other international organizations.
In signing the partnership agreements, the Organizations stated their determination to make every effort to act in a coordinated and complementary manner in pursuit of common goals, with the aim of ensuring that their investments under the strategic partnerships make an effective and long-lasting contribution to capacity building in the region. I think these types of collaboration are very important and will continue in the future.
The 1977 Torremolinos Convention and its Amendment by the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol contain the requirements for construction and equipment for the safety of fishing vessels. However, neither the Convention nor its Protocol have entered yet into force. What can you say about the efforts of IMO in this question?
Sekimizu: This is being addressed. A diplomatic conference will be held in South Africa this year, from 9 to 11 October, for the purpose of adopting an Agreement on the Implementation of the 1993 Protocol relating to the 1977 Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels. The Agreement would amend the technical provisions of the 1993 Protocol, with the aim of bringing them into force as soon as possible thereafter.
The safety of fishermen and fishing vessels forms an integral part of the Organization’s mandate, but the instruments on fishing vessel safety which have previously been adopted by the Organization have not come into force due to a variety of technical and legal obstacles, and the fishing sector is still experiencing a large number of fatalities every year. Bringing into force a binding international safety regime is expected to play a part in helping reverse that trend.
The draft Agreement has been already endorsed by the MSC, following extensive work to review the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol and address impediments to its entry into force. The proposed draft amendments to the annex to the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol, which would be attached to the Agreement, have also been endorsed by the MSC.
Once the Agreement is in force, countries which are party to it could consider implementation of the technical requirements of the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol under the terms and conditions contained in the Agreement. The Agreement would be a new, legally binding instrument, offering a firm foundation to implement the amended technical provisions of the Torremolinos Protocol.
The Voluntary IMO Member State Audit Scheme (VIMSAS) is often seen as an instrument to protect governmental interest. On the other hand might a successful Audit Scheme have a positive impact on the implementation and enforcement of shipping regulations. Do you have any news on the role of VIMSAS in reaching a common goal of enhanced safety and environmental protection?
Sekimizu: The audit scheme is a key element in improving the capability and capacity of Member States to respond to the demands placed on them by the relevant IMO treaties, thereby assisting in the effective implementation of IMO regulations and standards.
So far, 67 Member States and two Associate Members have volunteered for audits, and 50 Member States, two Associate Members and five dependent territories have been audited already. Three further audits are scheduled for the remainder of this year. Valuable lessons are being learned as we move towards the mandatory scheme, and it is already clear how generic lessons learnt from audits can be provided to all Member States so that the benefits can be widely shared.
The work to institutionalize the audit scheme is progressing. The draft IMO Instruments Implementation Code (III Code), which sets the audit standard and is used to determine the extent to which Contracting Governments give full and complete effect to the provisions of key IMO international treaties, and draft amendments to the relevant IMO instruments to make the III Code and auditing mandatory will be submitted to the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 64, in October 2012) and MSC 91 (in December 2012), for consideration.
It is intended that the III Code will be adopted by the IMO Assembly, at its twenty-eighth session, in late 2013. Subsequently, the amendments to the treaty instruments could be adopted, to make the auditing and Code mandatory. This will be a significant step in the history of IMO.
The international goal-based ship construction standards (GBS) are intended to ensure that hull standards, developed by classification societies or other recognized organisations, conform to the safety goals and functional requirements established by the IMO. What are your comments on the process of implementing GBS or other safety-related instruments?
Sekimizu: With the successful finalization and adoption of goal-based ship construction standards by the MSC, IMO has entered new territory by setting, for the first time, comprehensive mandatory non-prescriptive requirements for the construction of ships, thereby expanding the already existing safety provisions contained in the SOLAS and Load Lines Conventions.
A five-tier system was agreed, consisting of goals, functional requirements, verification of conformity, rules and regulations for ship design and construction and industry practices and standards. The role of the classification societies, through their international association IACS, in the development of these new standards has been very important.
The next phase of developments includes the implementation of the GBS and the conduct of the GBS verification audits. While the Secretariat has started the necessary preparatory work, the development, by the IACS, of the Harmonized Structural Rules is a crucial factor in the timing of the implementation process.
As for other IMO safety measures, the implementation of the goal-based ship construction standards will rely on the enactment of appropriate legislation at national level. IMO can assist through its technical co-operation programme. The World Maritime University (WMU) in Malmö, together with the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), are also key players in training experts who will take up relevant positions in maritime administrations and contribute to the implementation of IMO standards.
Birgit Nolte-Schuster
