Marine Glossary

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International Maritime Organization

An international organization (abbreviated IMO) founded in 1958 to develop comprehensive international conventions, codes, and recommendations for international maritime affairs. It operates under formal arrangements with the United Nations. There are 147 member states and 98% of the world's merchant fleet operate under its guidelines. The governing body of the IMO is its Assembly which meets every two years. In between these meetings, a Council of 32 member states elected by the Assembly act as governing body.

Technical work of the IMO is carried out in several committees and their subcommittees. The Maritime Safety Committee has subcommittees on: safety of navigation, radio communications, life-saving, search and rescue, standards of training and watch-keeping, carriage of dangerous goods, ship design and equipment, fire protection, stability and load lines, fishing vessel safety, containers and cargoes, bulk chemicals, and flag state implementation. There is also a Marine Environment Protection Committee, and a Technical Cooperation Committee which helps with the implementation of adopted measures and a Facilitation Committee devoted to simplifying the documentation and formalities required in international shipping.

The IMO has some 300 employees, with headquarters in London, England. The IMO was originally called the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization and adopted their present name in 1982. The international rules of the road (formally called 72 COLREGS) was developed by the IMO as was the Global Marine Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). The IMO address is listed in the Source Book.