THE Heads of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the World Customs Organization (WCO) met recently in London to discuss supply chain security and related matters, which cut across the mandates of the organisations.
IMO Secretary-General, Koji Sekimizu welcomed his counterparts, Raymond Benjamin, Secretary-General, ICAO, and Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary-General, WCO, to IMO Headquarters where the three considered the further enhancement of collaboration between the Organisations in the fields of aviation, border and maritime security and facilitation.
ICAO and the IMO perform their roles as specialised agencies of the United Nations, while the WCO is an independent intergovernmental body.
“A sustainable maritime transportation system is reliant on a smooth and efficient supply chain and it is essential that we work together to mitigate any potential threats,” IMO Secretary-General Sekimizu said, adding that “a key element of this is building partnerships to support technical assistance and cooperation, particularly in the developing countries and in any high-risk areas, to address vulnerabilities in global supply chain security and create opportunities to enhance trade facilitation.”
ICAO Secretary-General Benjamin said: “ICAO recognises and fully supports that effective cooperation is the basis for realising the objectives of our Organisations. The constantly evolving threats posed by global terrorism must be met with highly coordinated transportation security and border control measures in order to minimise adverse impacts on international passenger and trade flows.”
Secretary-General Mukuriya of the WCO highlighted that: “Meaningful, dynamic and effective partnerships at the international level are critical to how all our Organisations meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities presented by the 21st century border and trade environment. Today’s globalised trade and travel requires new thinking, coordinated approaches and connectivity between all stakeholders to efficiently secure and facilitate legitimate trade, support economic competiveness and provide protection to societies.”
The Secretaries General exchanged information on progress in further developing and harmonising the international frameworks for aviation, border and maritime supply chain security and facilitation under their respective instruments.
They acknowledged the potential impact of major disruption at critical transport nodes on global supply chains and expressed the need to manage risks in a holistic and system-oriented manner.
The Secretaries General underlined the need for joint technical assistance and cooperation efforts to address vulnerabilities in global supply chain security and grasp opportunities to enhance trade facilitation. They undertook to promote dialogue at State level between transport security and Customs authorities to enhance information sharing, align national legal frameworks and requirements, and maximise synergies.
The Secretaries General agreed to meet again in a trilateral setting to review progress in this area.
IMO and WCO co-operate in the fields of maritime and supply chain security, facilitation of international maritime transport, and maritime law enforcement as well as on countering maritime terrorism. IMO and ICAO co-operate on a number of matters, including search and rescue, supply chain security, and facilitation. The ICAO/IMO Joint Working Group on Harmonization of Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue holds regular meetings.
Meanwhile, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of the founding of the World Maritime University (WMU), which is based in Malmö, Sweden, with a special event, which included speeches from the current and former WMU Chancellors and the WMU President.
For 30 years, WMU has performed, and delivered, at the very highest level. It has achieved everything its founders could ever have envisaged, and much, much more. It has grown into an institution of truly world class, with an international presence and a global outreach,” said Sekimizu, who also read out messages of support from Mr. Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of the Nippon Foundation, which has given much support to WMU over the years, in terms of sponsorship and financial assistance, and from the ”founding father” of WMU, IMO Secretary-General Emeritus Dr. C.P. Srivastava, KCMG, who was instrumental in establishing WMU when he was IMO Secretary-General.
WMU was established at the beginning of the 1980s, when IMO identified a shortage of well-qualified, highly-educated maritime experts, particularly in lesser developed nations.
It was to address this gap that IMO founded an institution to support Member States with the high level education necessary to implement international conventions.
IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) recently agreed to a restructuring of IMO’s sub-Committees, in order to deal more effectively with the technical and operational issues covered by IMO regulations, in line with a review and reform process initiated by Sekimizu.
The restructuring will see the number of Sub-Committees reduced from nine to seven, with their terms of reference covering the following issues: Sub-Committee on Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping (HTW): to address issues relating to human element training and watch keeping, including minimum international standards for training and certification of seafarers and fishing vessel personnel; and technical and operational issues related to maritime safety, security, and environmental protection, to encourage a safety culture in all ship operations; safe manning; the review, updating and revision of IMO model courses; and promotion and implementation of the Organisation’s human element strategy.
Sub-Committee on Implementation of IMO Instruments (III): to address the effective and consistent global implementation and enforcement of IMO instruments concerning maritime safety and security and the protection of the marine environment, including: comprehensive review of the rights and obligations of States emanating from the IMO treaty instruments; assessment, monitoring and review of the current level of implementation of IMO instruments by States in their capacity as flag, port and coastal States and countries training and certifying officers and crews.
Others include identification of the reasons for the difficulties in implementing provisions of relevant IMO instruments; consideration of proposals to assist States in implementing and complying with IMO instruments; analyses of investigations reports into marine casualties and incidents; review of IMO standards on maritime safety and security and the protection of the marine environment, to maintain an updated and harmonised guidance on survey and certification related requirements; and promotion of global harmonisation of port State control activities.
Sub-Committee on Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue (NCSR): to consider technical and operational matters related to the obligations of Governments and operational measures related to safety of navigation, including hydrographic and meteorological services, ships’ routing, ship reporting systems, aids to navigation, radio-navigation systems, vessel traffic services, and pilotage; operational requirements and guidelines relating to navigational safety and associated issues, such as regulations for the prevention of collisions and groundings, bridge procedures, voyage planning, avoidance of dangerous situations, places of refuge including maritime assistance services and relevant aspects of maritime security; carriage requirements, performance standards and operational guidelines for the use of shipborne navigational equipment and other navigational requirements.
Other issues are obligations of Governments and operational measures related to the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), development and maintenance of the global search and rescue (SAR) Plan and the Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) system; operational requirements and guidelines relating to radiocommunications and search and rescue, and, in co-operation with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the harmonisation of aeronautical and maritime search and rescue procedures; carriage requirements, performance standards and operational guidelines for the use of ship borne radiocommunications and search and rescue equipment; and liaison with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on maritime mobile radiocommunication matters.
Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR): to consider technical and operational matters related to: prevention and control of pollution of the marine environment from ships and other related maritime operations; safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships; evaluation of safety and pollution hazards of liquid substances in bulk transported by ships; control and management of harmful aquatic organisms in ships’ ballast water and sediments.
Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC): to consider technical and operational matters related to: design, construction, subdivision and stability, buoyancy, sea-keeping and arrangements, including evacuation matters of all types of ships, vessels, craft and mobile units covered by IMO instruments; testing and approval of construction and materials; load line matters; tonnage measurement matters; safety of fishing vessels and fishermen; and survey and certification.
Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment (SSE): to consider technical and operational matters related to: systems and equipment, including machinery and electrical installations, of all types of ships, vessels, craft and mobile units covered by IMO instruments; testing and approval of systems and equipment; life-saving equipment, appliances and arrangements; fire protection systems; and analyses of casualty and incident records relating to ship systems and equipment.
Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (CCC): to consider technical and operational matters related to: effective implementation of the relevant conventions, codes and other instruments, mandatory or recommendatory, as appropriate, dealing with cargo operations, which include packaged dangerous goods, solid bulk cargoes, bulk gas cargoes, and containers; evaluation of safety and pollution hazards of packaged dangerous goods, solid bulk cargoes and gas cargoes; survey and certification of ships carrying hazardous cargoes; further enhancement of the safety and security culture, and environmental consciousness in all cargo and container operations; and co-operation with other relevant UN bodies, IGOs and NGOs on international standards related to containers and to cargo operations.