The International Maritime Organization is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating maritime transport. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference held in Geneva in 1948 and the IMO came into existence ten years later,meeting for the first time on 17 March 1958. Headquartered in London,United Kingdom,the IMO,in 2024,has 176 Member States and three Associate Members.
Maritime transport or more generally waterborne transport,is the transport of people (passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throughout recorded history. The advent of aviation has diminished the importance of sea travel for passengers,though it is still popular for short trips and pleasure cruises. Transport by water is cheaper than transport by air or ground,but significantly slower for longer distances. Maritime transport accounts for roughly 80% of international trade,according to UNCTAD in 2020.
Flag of convenience (FOC) is a business practice whereby a ship's owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners,and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country,called the flag state. The term is often used pejoratively,and although common,the practice is sometimes regarded as contentious.
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime treaty which sets out minimum safety standards in the construction,equipment and operation of merchant ships. The International Maritime Organization convention requires signatory flag states to ensure that ships flagged by them comply with at least these standards.
The World Maritime University(WMU),in Malmö,Sweden,is a postgraduate maritime university founded within the framework of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) - a specialized agency of the United Nations. Established by an IMO Assembly Resolution in 1983,the aim of WMU is to further enhance the objectives and goals of IMO and IMO member States around the world through education,research,and capacity building.
Pakistan Marine Academy (PMA) is located at Karachi,Sindh,Pakistan. It is a Seafarers Training Academy,working under Federal Ministry of Maritime Affairs,Government of Pakistan as an autonomous department. It is affiliated with NED University of Engineering and Technology and is also recognised by Higher Education Commission,Pakistan. Pakistan Marine academy covers an area of around 136 acres on the water front in Karachi Harbor,Hawksbay Road.
Chandrika Prasad Srivastava IAS (Retd.) was an Indian civil servant,international administrator,and diplomat.
The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) is an International Labour Organization (ILO) convention,number 186,established in 2006 as the fourth pillar of international maritime law and embodies "all up-to-date standards of existing international maritime labour Conventions and Recommendations,as well as the fundamental principles to be found in other international labour Conventions". The other pillars are the SOLAS,STCW and MARPOL. The treaties applies to all ships entering the harbours of parties to the treaty (port states),as well as to all ships flying the flag of state party (flag states,as of 2021:over 91 per cent).
Efthymios (Thimio) E. Mitropoulos was the seventh Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO),a United Nations agency. Mitropoulos was elected as Secretary-General on 18 June 2003 during the 19th session of the International Maritime Organization Council. His four-year term started on 1 January 2004,and then was extended until 31 December 2011 by the IMO Council on 9 November 2006. He was succeeded by Koji Sekimizu.
The International Federation of Shipmasters' Associations (IFSMA),is the international professional organisation that unites and represents the world's serving Shipmasters.
The Danish Maritime Authority is the agency of the Danish Government responsible for regulating and administrating Danish maritime affairs. The Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) is part of the Ministry of Industry,Business,and Financial Affairs. The Agency consists of the central authority and eight vision offices,including the office in Nuuk and the Centre for Maritime Health on Fanø. Its headquarters are in Korsør.
Mercantile Marine Department,Pakistan is an attached department of Ports and Shipping Wing,Karachi under the Ministry of Ports and Shipping,Government of Pakistan. The department was established in 1930 under the Merchant Shipping Act,1923,which was repealed and replaced with Merchant Shipping Ordinance No. L II of 2001 in 2001. The department is headed by the Principal Officer who is also Registrar of Ships and Superintendent of Light Houses in Pakistan.
Kitack Lim is a South Korean maritime official who served as a previous Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization.
Radhika Menon is an Indian female Merchant Navy officer currently serving as the captain of the Indian Merchant Navy. She is also the first female captain of the Indian Merchant Navy who also led the oil products tanker Suvarna Swarajya. In 2016,Radhika also became the first woman to receive the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea. She is well known for her rescue operation which she conducted successfully in June 2015 saving seven fishermen who were trapped for a week in a boat.
The Initial IMO Strategy on the reduction of GHG emissions from ships,or Initial IMO GHG Strategy,is the framework through which the International Maritime Organization (IMO) aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international maritime shipping. GHG emissions from shipping are about 3% of total GHG emissions,and under this strategy the IMO envisions their elimination within this century. However many companies and organizations say shipping should be decarbonized by 2050.
Koji Sekimizu is a Japanese official who was Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization between 2012 and 2015,as well as Chancellor of the World Maritime University.
Galaxy Leader is a roll-on/roll-off vehicle carrier built in 2002 at Stocznia Gdynia in Gdynia,Poland. It is owned by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen and Ray Shipping,the latter a company partly owned by Israeli businessman Abraham Ungar.
Nancy Karigithu is a Kenyan businesswoman and civil servant. She is the current Principal Secretary and State Department for Shipping and Maritime in the Ministry of Transport,Infrastructure,Housing,Urban Development as well as Public Works. From 2004 to 2005,Karigithu served as Transport Expert for the African Union.
MV Behshad is an Iran-flagged general cargo ship built in 1999 and owned by the Iranian company Rahbaran Omid Darya Ship Management Company. She is suspected of serving as a command post and spy ship for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,and a front for the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. For these reasons,she has been sanctioned by the United States Treasury. During the Red Sea crisis,she has been suspected of acting as a reconnaissance vessel for the Houthis in their attacks against shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waters.
On 12 June 2024,the Yemeni Houthi movement attacked the MV Tutor,a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier,in the southern Red Sea with an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) and an anti-ship missile,killing one crewmember. The vessel was seriously damaged,and later abandoned by her crew. She sank six days after the attacks. The attacks mark the first successful usage of a USV and the second sinking by the Houthis in the Red Sea crisis.
