IMO : International Maritime Organization

IMO is a UN specialized agency aiming at developing and maintaining a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping and its remit today includes safety, environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-operation, maritime security and the efficiency of shipping.

It was established in 1958 and groups up to now 167 Member States and 3 associated members (the Faroes Islands, Hong Kong, Macau).

Concerning the environment, topics are treated by IMO's senior technical body on marine pollution related matters, the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). It is aided in its work by a number of Sub-Committees, where representatives from IMO Member States and NGOs meet regularly.

IMO's structure

Illustration of IMO's main bodies
from WP6 report of the ABC Impacts project

After ratification at the simple majority, IMO standards of a new convention go into force and become binding once they are approved by at least 55 states that represent more than 55 percent of shipping tonnage by registered vessels, which can take many years. The modification of an existing convention is quite easier since IMO has a tacit acceptance principle, which means that the modification enters into force after a set time frame if no objection arises.

The most important environmental legislative texts adopted by IMO are the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 1973) and its modification Protocol (MARPOL 1978). The MARPOL 73-78 Convention is binding primarily for flag states but through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), it is also binding for port and coastal states.

Several annexes have successively been added to MARPOL.The last annex, Annex VI proposed in 1997 and entered into force on 19 May 2005, aims at limiting SO_x and NO_x emissions and prohibiting deliberate emissions of ozone depleting substances from ships. GHGs are not mentioned in this annex, nor in any other one.

Annex I : Regulations for the prevention of pollution by oil ;
Annex II : Regulations for the control of pollution by noxious liquid substances in bulk ;
Annex III : Prevention of pollution by harmful substances carried by sea in packaged form ;
Annex IV : Prevention of pollution by sewage from ships ;
Annex V : Prevention of pollution by garbage from ships
Annex VI : Prevention of air pollution from ships.

It is only in November 2003 that IMO adopted a specific resolution on the climate impacts of ships : "IMO policies and practices related to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships" (resolution A.963(23)), based on a background study. The content of this resolution focuses on the definition of an emission baseline, the methodology for monitoring GHG emissions through a GHG index, guidelines for implementing this GHG index, and the evaluation of different measures to reduce GHGs from ships.

The MEPC tried to develop in 2004 "Draft Guidelines on the CO₂ Indexing Scheme" in order to promote the use of a CO₂ index per ship (taking into account the six Kyoto GHGs according to their respective global warming potential) as a tool for environmental policies applied to ships in IMO Member States.

Interesting link : http://www.imo.org/Conventions/contents.asp?doc_id=678&topic_id=258

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