IMO celebrates 70 years of regulating sector

TUESDAY last week was 70 years to the day since the treaty establishing what is now the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) was adopted. To mark the occasion, Queen Elizabeth II attended a celebration at IMO headquarters in London. Accompanied by IMO secretary-general Kitack Lim, the Queen unveiled a commemorative plaque and cut an anniversary cake. She also met some of the guests attending the event, including representatives of IMO member states, inter-governmental and international non-governmental organisations, and IMO secretariat staff.

The Convention on the International Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) was adopted on March 6, 1948 at the United Nations Maritime Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland. The convention entered into force 10 years later, on March 17, 1958, when the 21st state ratified the treaty. IMO's first meeting was held in London on Jan 6, 1959, at Church House in central London. The name was changed to the International Maritime Organization by amendments to the IMCO treaty in the 1970s.

As a specialised UN agency, IMO is the global standard-setting authority for the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping. Its main role is described as being to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and universally implemented.