JAKARTA INDONESIA (ISL News) - IMO stands for International Maritime Organization is the International Maritime Organization which is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships. IMO's work supports the UN SDGs.
As a specialized agency of the United Nations, the IMO is the global standard-setting authority for the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping. Its primary role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and universally applied.
In other words, its role is to create a level playing field so that ship operators cannot solve their financial problems by simply cutting corners and sacrificing safety, security and environmental performance. This approach also encourages innovation and efficiency.
Shipping is a truly international industry, and can only operate effectively if its regulations and standards are agreed, adopted and implemented internationally. And the IMO is the forum where this process takes place.
International shipping carries more than 80 percent of global trade to people and communities around the world. Shipping is the most efficient and cost-effective method of international transportation for most goods; it provides a reliable and low-cost means of global transportation of goods, facilitating trade and helping to create prosperity among nations and peoples.
The world depends on a safe, secure and efficient international shipping industry – and this is provided by the regulatory framework developed and maintained by the IMO.
IMO measures cover all aspects of international shipping – including ship design, construction, equipment, manning, operation and disposal – to ensure that this vital sector remains safe, environmentally friendly, energy efficient and secure.
Shipping is an essential component of any programme for future sustainable economic growth. Through IMO, the organization’s member states, civil society and the shipping industry have worked together to ensure a continued and strong contribution to the green economy and sustainable growth. The promotion of sustainable shipping and sustainable maritime development is one of IMO’s key priorities in the years ahead.
As part of the United Nations family, IMO is actively working towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the related SDGs. Indeed, most elements of the 2030 Agenda will only be realized if sustainable transport supports world trade and facilitates the global economy. IMO’s Technical Cooperation Committee has formally endorsed the linkages between the organization’s technical assistance efforts and the SDGs. While the ocean goal, SDG 14, is central to IMO, aspects of the organization’s work can be linked to all of the individual SDGs.
Energy efficiency, new technologies and innovation, maritime education and training, maritime security, maritime traffic management and maritime infrastructure development: the development and implementation, through IMO, of global standards covering these and other issues will support IMO's commitment to provide the institutional framework necessary for an environmentally sound and sustainable global maritime transport system.
(ISL News Editorial Team/email:islnewstv@gmail.com).
