Structure

&
Functions
of IMO
TL 4030: Transport
Safety & Insurance

Lahiru Silva - 071439A

 Structure & Functions of IMO 071439A

IMO, International Maritime Organization as the regulator for global maritime industry,
plays a majour role laying down the standards and monitoring maritime safety in the world. IMO
is a specialized agency of the United Nations with 169 Member States and three Associate
Members. If we consider the Structure and the functions of IMO, they are as follows.

1.1 Structure of IMO:

IMO

Assembly Council

Basically IMO is governed by an Assembly of members and is financially administered

by a Council of members elected from the Assembly and headed by a Secretary-General. The
work of IMO is conducted through five committees and these are supported by technical
subcommittees.

Five main Committees of IMO are,

 Maritime Safety Committee

 Marine Environment Protection Committee
 Legal Committee
 Technical Co-operation Committee
 Facilitation Committee

1.1.1 Assembly:

This is the highest Governing Body of the Organization. The Assembly is responsible for
approving the work program, voting the budget and determining the financial arrangements of
the Organization. The Assembly also elects the Council and it consists of all Member States. It
meets once every two years in regular sessions, but may also meet in an extraordinary session if
necessary.

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1.1.2 Council:

The Council is the Executive Organ of IMO and is responsible, under the Assembly, for
supervising the work of the Organization. The Council is elected by the Assembly for two-year
terms beginning after each regular session of the Assembly. Between sessions of the Assembly
the Council performs all the functions of the Assembly, except the function of making
recommendations to Governments on maritime safety and pollution prevention which is reserved
for the Assembly.

1.1.3 Secretary General and Secretariat

The IMO Secretariat is headed by the Secretary General, who is assisted by a staff of
some 300 international civil servants. The Secretary-General is appointed by the Council, with
the approval of the Assembly.

1.2 Functions of IMO:

The IMO's primary function is to develop and maintain 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. IMO is
governed by an Assembly of members and is financially administered by a Council of members
elected from the Assembly. The basic functions of IMO are conducted through five committees
which are mentioned above and these are supported by technical subcommittees. Basic
description and functions and objectives of these five technical subcommittees are as follows.

1.2.1 Maritime Safety Committee (MSC):

The MSC is the highest technical and it is the most senior body of the Organization. It’s
stated in the IMO official web site that the functions of the Maritime Safety Committee are to
“consider any matter within the scope of the Organization concerned with aids to navigation,
construction and equipment of vessels, manning from a safety standpoint, rules for the
prevention of collisions, handling of dangerous cargoes, maritime safety procedures and
requirements, hydrographic information, log-books and navigational records, marine casualty
investigations, salvage and rescue and any other matters directly affecting maritime safety”.

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The Committee is also required to provide machinery for performing any duties assigned
to it by the IMO Convention or any duty within its scope of work which may be assigned to it by
or under any international instrument and accepted by the Organization. The expanded MSC
adopts amendments to conventions such as SOLAS and includes all Member States as well as
those countries which are Party to conventions such as SOLAS even if they are not IMO
Member States.

1.2.2 The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC):

This committee was established by the Assembly in November 1973 and responsible for
coordinating the Organization’s activities in the prevention and control of pollution of the marine
environment from ships. The MEPC, which consists of all Member States, is empowered to
consider any matter within the scope of the Organization concerned with prevention and control
of pollution from ships. In particular it is concerned with the adoption and amendment of
conventions and other regulations and measures to ensure their enforcement.

Sub-Committees of MEPC:

The MSC and MEPC are assisted in their work by nine sub-committees which are also open
to all Member States. They deal with the following subjects:

 Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG)

 Carriage of Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and Containers(DSC)
 Fire Protection (FP)
 Radio-communications and Search and Rescue (COMSAR)
 Safety of Navigation (NAV)
 Ship Design and Equipment (DE)
 Stability and Load Lines and Fishing Vessels Safety (SLF)
 Standards of Training and Watch keeping (STW)
 Flag State Implementation (FSI) 

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1.2.3 Legal Committee:

The Legal Committee was originally established to deal with the legal problems arose
from the Torrey Canyon accident of 1967, but it was subsequently made a permanent committee.
The Legal Committee is empowered to deal with any legal matters within the scope of the
Organization. The Committee consists of all Member States of IMO. The Legal Committee is
also empowered to perform any duties within its scope which may be assigned by or under any
other international instrument and accepted by the Organization.

1.2.4 Technical Co-operation Committee:

The Technical Co-operation Committee consists of all Member States of IMO, was
established in 1969 as a subsidiary body of the Council, and was institutionalized by means of an
amendment to the IMO Convention which entered into force in 1984.
The Technical Co-operation Committee is responsible for coordinating the work of the
Organization in the provision of technical assistance in the maritime field, in particular to
developing countries. The Technical Co-operation Committee is required to consider any matter
within the scope of the Organization concerned with the implementation of technical co-
operation projects for which the Organization acts as the executing or co-operating agency and
any other matters related to the Organization’s activities in the technical co-operation field.

1.2.5 Facilitation Committee:

The Facilitation Committee was established as a subsidiary body of the Council in May
1972, and became fully institutionalized in December 2008 as a result of an amendment to the
IMO Convention. The Facilitation Committee is responsible for IMO’s activities and functions
relating to the facilitation of international maritime traffic. These are aimed at reducing the
formalities and simplifying the documentation required of ships when entering or leaving ports
or other terminals.

It consists of all the Member States of the Organization and deals with IMO’s work in
eliminating unnecessary formalities and “red tape” in international shipping by implementing all
aspects of the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic 1965 and any matter

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within the scope of the Organization concerned with the facilitation of international maritime
traffic. In particular in recent years the Committee's work, in accordance with the wishes of the
Assembly, has been to ensure that the right balance is struck between maritime security and the
facilitation of international maritime trade.

1.3 Summary:

The IMO's structure comprises the Assembly, the Council, and the sub committees the
Maritime Safety Committee, the Marine Environment Protection Committee, the Legal
Committee, the Technical Cooperation Committee, and the secretariat, headed by a Secretary
General.
IMO's primary function is to develop and maintain 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.
Followed by above mentioned basic functions, IMO has promoted the adoption of about
fifty conventions and protocols and adopted more than thousands of codes (Dangerous Goods
Code, Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes, International Code of Signals, Code for the
Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk, Code of Safe
Practice for Ships Carrying Timber Deck Cargoes and etc.) and recommendations concerning
maritime safety and security, the prevention of pollution and related matters. Most importantly
IMO’s first conference adopted the International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)
which covered a wide range of measures designed to improve the safety of shipping. Other than
this, some important conventions adopted by IMO are International Convention on Load Lines,
1966, the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969, the Convention on
International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG), 1972, the International
Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, 1979, International Convention for the Prevention
of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).