The IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee

The safety of seafarers was the focus of a sequence of regulatory and guideline developments at this week’s IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 109).

The discussion on piracy and armed robbery at sea highlighted ever increasing levels of international cooperation that seek to address this matter. It was noted that the long-term trend of incidents remains downwards, with 72 incidents reported between January and June 2024, compared with 90 for the same period in 2023.

Turning to maritime security, the value of the IMO GISIS database on port security was highlighted to all those who plan the security element of port calls. In saying that, it was noted that 21% of ports globally need to update their port data, and all ports were encouraged to keep their information in GISIS current.

We were delighted that the Committee formally noted The Nautical Institute’s submission, highlighting our recent work with the OCEAN Navigation Awareness Project. The initiative developed and published online a suite of new Continuous Professional Development material, available for free to all.

A more detailed report about MSC 109 and the working groups on Alternative Fuel safety and Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships will be published in our members’ magazine, Seaways next month.  

Our delegation last week was headed by Chris O'Flaherty AFNI and supported by Capt. Robert McCabe FNI, Capt. Jeff Parfitt FNI, Capt. Aly Elsayed AFNI, Prof. Malek Pourzanjani CEng FRIN FNI, Ann P. CMMar, CMarTech FNI and Deirdre Lane Harbour Master FNI.