Key Outcomes

The IMO Council met for its 132nd session from July 8 to 12, 2024, at IMO headquarters in London. This session saw several important decisions aimed at enhancing transparency, multilingualism, and the sustainability of various IMO schemes. Below are the key outcomes from this meeting:

Live-Streaming of Plenary Sessions

To enhance transparency, the Council decided to live-stream its plenary meetings to the public. Approved criteria, exemptions, and procedures ensure that:

• Vote casting, the appointment of the Secretary-General, and sensitive discussions will not be live-streamed.
• Working, drafting, review, expert, intersessional, and editing group meetings will not be included in the live-stream.
• Considerations are being made for live-streaming in all six working languages of the IMO as part of enhancing multilingualism.

Public Access to Council Documents

In a bid for more openness, the Council endorsed the release of Council documents to the public, with certain conditions:

• Documents from the Secretariat will be public unless the Council decides otherwise.
• Documents submitted by Member States, intergovernmental, or non-governmental organizations will be public unless privacy is requested at submission time.
• Summaries of decisions will be publicly available.

Multilingualism at IMO

The Council received updates on the Strategic Framework for Multilingualism, which includes a two-year road map that began in January 2024. Key points include:

• Development of specific action points and guidelines.
• Inclusion of United Nations’ six official languages’ dedicated dates in the Strategic Framework and IMO’s meeting calendar to promote linguistic and cultural diversity.

Hybrid Meeting Capabilities

The Council agreed to permanently establish hybrid capabilities for supporting in-person meetings, encouraging other IMO organs to adopt similar measures.

Support for the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS)

As the first seven-year audit cycle under IMSAS is expected to conclude in 2026, the Council:

• Encouraged audited Member States to release their audit reports.
• Discussed challenges and solutions from the first audit cycle.
• Re-established the Joint Working Group on the Member State Audit Scheme (JWGMSA) for reviewing and amending the current framework for the second cycle.

GISIS Enhancement

The Council noted progress in upgrading the Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS), with modernization efforts to proceed in two phases:

• Assessment of existing conditions and needs starting in September 2024.
• Using this assessment for developing technical specifications and tendering for system enhancements.

World Maritime Day Theme 2025

The Council endorsed “Our Ocean, Our Obligation, Our Opportunity” as the World Maritime Day theme for 2025, reflecting the ocean’s critical role in global trade and the shipping sector’s responsibility in marine environment protection. The Philippines will host the World Maritime Day Parallel Event in 2027.

IMO Awards

The Council awarded the International Maritime Prize for 2023 to Captain Ian Finley and the 2024 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea to:

• The Captain and crew of the oil tanker Marlin Luanda.
• The Captain and crew of the tugboat Pemex Maya.
  Certificates and letters of commendation will also be awarded to other notable acts of bravery. The awards ceremony is scheduled for December 2, 2024, in London.

Recognition of New Official Holidays

The Council recognized Eid al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha as official holidays at IMO, subject to Assembly approval and implementation.

Code of Conduct for Meeting Participants

A new Code of Conduct to prevent harassment at IMO meetings and events was adopted. A confidante will also be designated for reporting harassment cases.

Consultative Status for NGOs

Several organizations, including CIMAC, One Sea ry, the International Fertilizer Association Limited (IFA), and the Methanol Institute (MI), were granted consultative status, subject to classification reviews and provisional periods for new members.

Financial and Budget Reports

The Council reviewed and noted the financial reports and audited statements for 2023, highlighting a healthy financial position and an 8.61% revenue increase. The budget for 2024 stands at £59.13 million with a projected total expenditure of £56.54 million. As of July 2024, 68.47% of the year’s assessed Member State contributions have been received.

These decisions and discussions reflect the IMO Council’s ongoing commitment to transparency, modernization, and global maritime safety.