IMO: Shipping Regulation Must Be Sharper

zoom Unnecessary administrative difficulties must be weeded out before an international shipping regulation is adopted, according to the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). To that end, the Council reached an agreement at its meeting last week on a draft resolution establishing that international shipping regulation must be sharper imposing fewer administrative burdens for the benefit of seafarers, shipowners and administrations alike. The resolution lists five principles of better regulation: necessity, consistency, proportionality, flexibility and clarity. Bearing these principles in mind, all 171 IMO Member States are reminded of the obligation to carefully consider the situation before grabbing pen and paper and drawing up new regulations. Regulations should be goal-based and less prescriptive, according to the IMO. Denmark has actively kept the reduction of administrative burdens on the IMO agenda. In the Danish view, it is therefore positive that the IMO establishes the importance of better regulation through a resolution, Danish Maritime Authority said in a comment. The resolution is to be adopted by the IMO Assembly that is to meet in November 2015. The Council also approved the Secretary-Generals budget proposal for 2016-2017, covering a total of £92.1m. In general, the Member States expressed wide support for the initiatives launched by the Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu to tighten the budget of the organization and keep down the Member States contributions.