International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu opened the twenty-eighth session of the organisation's highest governing body in late November, outlining the achievements of the organsiation during the 2012 to 2013 biennium and stressing the work on passenger ship safety following the January 2012 'Costa Concordia accident'.
The secretary-general also discussed preparation for the introduction of the mandatory IMO audit scheme, the adoption of the Cape Town Agreement to implement fishing vessel safety regulations, work on maritime security and anti-piracy measures and progress in the preparation of the Polar Code.
In the environmental field he emphasised the implementation of the energy efficiency requirements, promotion of technical co-operation and transfer of technology relating to improvement of energy efficiency of ships, the designation of Saba Bank as a new particularly sensitive sea area, the Ballast Water Management Convention implementation plan and the adoption of six guidelines for the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.
Mr Sekimizu also focused on the challenges ahead, emphasising the finalisation of the Polar Code; preparation for the mandatory audit scheme and continuing the review and reform process for the IMO.
"In addition, our global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions must continue, implementation of EEDI (Energy Efficiency Design Index) must be progressed, development in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) must be closely monitored and further efforts should be made to highlight IMO's achievements and the real, substantial contribution from the shipping industry in the wider public.
"Furthermore, we must ensure IMO conventions dealing with protection of the marine environment, such as the Ballast Water Management Convention, will come into force," Mr Sekimizu continued.
The secretary-general referred to his objective to eradicate piracy and reduce maritime casualties by half: "On piracy, while we saw good results of our concerted efforts in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia, we are concerned about the situation in the Gulf of Guinea. We should make further efforts in this field," he said.
Referring efforts to reduce accidents, Mr Sekimizu said he appreciated progress by the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) to implement an Accident Zero Campaign, but said the issue of maritime migrants could not be neglected.
"Hundreds of people on board small boats and ships with no safety measures are my concern. On the rescue side, this field needs further work to improve the system to handle persons rescued at sea. The matter of migrants and asylum seekers are well beyond the remit of this organisation, but when it comes to hundreds of people on board small unseaworthy vessels crossing over oceans and losing their lives, we should seriously consider what we can do in the field of prevention.
"The IMO is dealing with capacity building for proper implementation of safety regulations and maritime security and I would like to further consider what we can do in this field in the coming biennium," Mr Sekimizu concluded.
