What every mariner needs to know about the IMO

What every mariner needs to know about the IMO

By J. Michael Murphy

Wait! Don't turn the page. What follows is important to every Mariner.

A year ago, I would have turned right past this article because I considered the International Maritime Organization to be something that has only an indirect impact on me.

I would have been wrong.

The IMO is constantly addressing important issues that affect all of us as mariners. SOLAS, MARPOL, COLREGS, ISPS and STCW are just a few of the IMO conventions that affect our daily lives as mariners, and it behooves us all to understand how they are constructed and implemented-and how we, the American Maritime Officers, are playing a part in writing these conventions.

In May 2008, I participated in my first IMO meeting in London, England, along with Phil Shullo from the STAR Center. Phil had mentioned to me that the workload was increasing to the point where one attendee had difficulty keeping abreast of all the activities during meetings. Although I had no idea what he meant when I agreed to go (after approval by AMO officials), I began to understand when he sent me a disk with my "homework" of well over 100 documents to study before attending the meeting. Additionally, I needed to be accredited with one of the non-governmental organizations, since it is a long process to be placed in the official U. S. Delegation, which is headed by the Coast Guard. Phil and I both attended as delegates of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), an organization that represents more than 600 unions and 4.5 million workers worldwide.

In addition to trying to digest the multitude of issues to be addressed at the meeting, I also needed to understand the organization's structure and its processes. So, without going into great detail, I will outline some of the points I think every mariner should know about the IMO.

What is the IMO?

The International Maritime Organization is an agency of the United Nations, first conceived in 1948 but not fully operational until 1958. Old-timers probably remember it as the Intergovernmental Consultative Organization (IMCO). Its charter is to improve safety and prevent pollution at sea. However, the organization was marginally effective until it changed the way conventions and amendments were handled in 1968. Since that time it has grown to 167 member states and over 50 inter-governmental and non-governmental agencies. During the past 40 years, and most particularly the past 15 years, IMO has had a dramatic, long-term effect on our seagoing profession and on each of us as mariners. That impact is only going to increase with time.

How does IMO work?

The IMO establishes standardized maritime operational and administrative procedures primarily through international conventions (treaties). Conventions are binding on signatory states and include the International Conventions on Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG), the Standards for Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW), the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) and the International Safety Management Code (ISMC), to name a few of the most familiar.

IMO can also issue "codes" and "best practices," which are non-binding on states, but provide a standardized basis for national legislation or regulation.

Structure of the IMO

The organization is composed of six main bodies, including the assembly, council and four committees:

The assembly is composed of all member states and has the authority to ratify a convention. It also approves the high level working plan and the budget. It meets every two years.

The council is an elected, 40-member subset of the assembly that carries out all of the assembly's duties (except ratifying conventions) in between the full assembly meetings.

Committees: there are currently four standing committees. However, there are two primary committees that have a direct effect on mariners' lives. They are the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC). These committees normally meet once a year, but the recent volume of work has increased the frequency.

Working groups: there are nine permanent working groups that assist both MSC and MEPC. The most pertinent ones to mariners are the Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW), Fire Protection (FP), Safety of Navigation (NAV), Carriage of Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers (DSC) and Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLS).

How does IMO affect me as a Mariner?

Most recently, the IMO has implemented the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code. This convention was ratified in record time (nine months) and incorporated by the U.S. Coast Guard into the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, which now governs security in U.S. ships and port facilities.

Also, over the past ten years, most of us went through the tortuous implementation of the STCW and International Safety Management (ISM) Code. There is more to come. IMO's impact on mariners will continue to increase as new conventions come into force and old conventions are amended.

Why does AMO participate?

First and foremost in order to have input on issues that affect our membership. These conventions are constantly changing, often with tremendous implications for mariners. For example, the subcommittee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping is currently conducting a complete review of the STCW. This review is being led by our U.S. Coast Guard delegation, and while they represent us officially, we, along with two other U.S. maritime unions operating under ITF, feel that our participation is needed to ensure our mariners are not saddled with any more unneeded regulations at a time when we are already over-regulated.

During this session, we participated in a correspondence committee writing the amendments that cover the conduct of marine accident Investigations. As part of this amendment, we strongly supported the provision that mariners are to be advised of their rights and given the opportunity for legal counsel-a particularly relevant topic in light of the recent Cosco Busan allision in San Francisco. During the full committee session, only one country's delegation objected to this provision: the United States of America, led by the U.S. Coast Guard. Fortunately, the committee's hard work was rewarded by passage of this amendment.

Second, worldwide organized labor has only a few allies in the general body of the IMO. On the other hand, ship owners and managers have several participating non-governmental organizations and they band together with flag of convenience states to present a formidable voting bloc whenever they sense that organized labor is encroaching on their positions. A good example of this was a proposal by ITF to amend the ISM Code to require a ship's safety representative (SSR), who would be elected or appointed by the crew to represent their interests to the master. We participated in the working group that finalized the proposal, but the proposal was soundly defeated in the full committee because the ship owners organizations feared it would lead to organization of their crews. They were joined by all of the major flag of convenience states.

Observations

The majority of organizations-whether they are flag states, inter-governmental or non-governmental-have long -term representatives, some of whom have been attending for more than 35 years. This continuity allows them to establish solid working relationships with other members and this in turn facilitates the give-and-take necessary to work out problems with new proposals. New or rotating attendees are easily sidelined if they aren't "sponsored" by some of the "old timers," such those we have found in the ITF.

Working group chairpersons are typically selected from experienced IMO representatives. These chairpersons are key to getting your points included in any proposal and they listen closely to the more experienced delegates.

There are very few mariners represented in the overall population of the IMO. Most of the representatives are employees of governments, military, trade organizations or ship owners/managers. And, none of the few mariners I met had sailed in the past five years.

The IMO workload is increasing each year and it is now common for committees and working groups to work well into the night to meet deadlines. Delegates must arrive prepared and ready to work because the short meeting periods do not allow time for study and reflection after the meeting starts.

AMO Action

In order to protect the membership of American Maritime Officers, the AMO leadership is establishing a strategic plan to ensure that our interests are represented and protected at the IMO. IMO's direct impact on mariner credentialing, training, legal rights and medical fitness during the coming years requires our immediate and long-term participation to ensure our membership is properly represented.

Murphy, assigned in AMO's Washington, D.C., office as the Director of Government Relations, sailed as a master with Maersk Line Limited for the past 14 years following his retirement from active duty in Washington, D.C., as a U.S. Navy captain. He holds bachelor's degrees from the California Maritime Academy and California State University at San Diego. He also holds master's degrees from the University of Salve Regina and the senior course at the Naval War College. He has delivered and commanded three LMSRs and held aviation command in the Navy.

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