2. SAFETY
Committee on Navigation, Communications and
Search and Rescue (NCSR); Subcommittee on
Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR); SubCommittee on Ship Design and Construction
(SDC); Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and
Equipment (SSE); and Sub-Committee on Carriage
of Cargoes and Containers (CCC).
The Legal Commit tee was originally
established to deal with the legal problems
arising from the Torrey Canyon accident of 1967.
However, it was subsequently established as
a permanent Sub-committee responsible for
considering any legal matters within the scope of
the Organisation.
The Technical Co-operation Committee
is responsible for co-ordinating the work of
the Organisation in the provision of technical
assistance in the maritime field, in particular to
developing countries.
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.
All the technical bodies of IMO, and the IMO
Assembly, are open to participation by all Member
Governments on an equal basis.
1. WHAT IMO DOES
IMO has promoted the adoption of some 50
conventions and protocols and adopted more than
1,000 codes and recommendations concerning
maritime safety and security, the prevention of
pollution and related matters.
The first conference organised by IMO in 1960
was, appropriately enough, concerned with
maritime safety. That conference adopted the
International Convention on Safety of Life at
Sea (SOLAS), which came into force in 1965,
replacing a previous version adopted in 1948.
The 1960 SOLAS Convention covered a wide
range of measures designed to improve the
safety of shipping. They included sub-division and
stability; machinery and electrical installations;
fire protection, detection and extinction; life-saving
appliances; radiotelegraphy and radiotelephony;
safety of navigation; carriage of grain; carriage of
dangerous goods; and nuclear ships.
Other safety-related conventions adopted
by IMO include the International Convention
on Load Lines, 1966 (an update of a previous,
1930, convention); the International Convention
on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969; the
Convention on International Regulations for
Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREG)
which made traffic separation schemes adopted
by IMO mandatory and considerably reduced
the number of collisions in many areas; and the
International Convention on Maritime Search and
Rescue, 1979.
In 1976 IMO adopted the Convention on the
International Maritime Satellite Organisation
(INMARSAT) and its Operating Agreement. The
Convention came into force in July 1979 and later
resulted in the establishment of the International
Mobile Satellite Organisation (IMSO), which, like
IMO, is based in London. (Inmarsat is a commercial
company.)
3. MARITIME SECURITY
Maritime security issues first came to prominence
on the IMO agenda following the hijacking of
the Italian cruise ship Achilles Lauro, in October
1985. SS