UN IMO AND FIVE YEAR ELECTION OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

Introduction

The IMO is an agency of the United Nations and has been charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the safety, security and pollution of international waters are kept under control. The body was established in the year 1948 but officially began their task in 1959. As a presidential candidate for such an agency, one must be in a position to work hand in hand with all the constituent members of the IMO. Some of them include; sixty five nongovernmental organisations, forty two international governmental organisations, one hundred and sixty member states and a secretariat. Examples of these non governmental bodies include INTERCARGO, ILAMA, ICS and Interferry.

History of the IMO
In order to understand the challenges that lay ahead of us, it is essential to look at some of the enormous changes that the maritime industry has undergone and how these relate to IMO. IMO was initially concerned with prevention of marine pollution, safety regulations and development of international legislations. These activities went on and by the nineteen seventies, all the latter objectives had not been achieved. This led to the intense concentration of the agency’s work on legislation as a special issue. So far, as a result of the legislation developed by IMO, almost ninety eighty percent of international shipping merchants adhere to their expected tonnage. (ANAVE, 2007)

The nineteen seventies were a particularly important time for the International Maritime Organisation because of the fact that this was the point in history where huge bulk carriers began appearing. Most of them focused on both wet and dry cargo. These carriers necessitated new rules and regulations by the IMO and these regulations have been the framework against which the IMO operates in present day. Because of rapid ship building, tonnage increased and some of the ships were in danger of exceeding their tonnage. This was where tonnage concerns began arising. This formed the need for special shipping policy to tackle that challenge in shipping.

It should also be noted that in nineteen eighties, the IMO was instrumental in establishing greater technical cooperation. They were able to achieve this through a series of methodologies some of which included creation of a university in Sweden. Through the university, women and men from different parts of the world could be taught about maritime, policy and then translate back to their respective countries. (Kihu, 2008)

In the nineteen nineties, the issue of safety and pollution became paramount to IMO, the reason behind this was a spill that had occurred in eighty nine and another incident in the late nineties in Valdez and France respectively. As a consequence of these issues, the IMO decided to phase out single hull tankers. A number of protocol issues have been set up by IMO to wash oil tanks and this has proved effective at minimising pollution.

In this millennium however, the IMO has shifted towards more people matters rather than technical issues. This will be the major approach or strategy in the coming five years. Greater emphasis will be given to the safety and technological maters that involve shipping entities. The plan will be an integration of current technological and safety concerns.

Components of the manifesto
As president of the IMO, shipping policy for the IMO will entail a series of issues that are designed to curb some of the inefficiencies in the past and also to promote further growth in the future. Between the years 2009 and 2013, The IMO will engage in intense consultation with other non governmental bodies that form part of its membership. This is due to the realisation that there are enormous skills and knowledge that can only be obtained through the help of these experts. Additionally, these bodies represent a huge chunk of the population that may be affected by the activities of IMO. (Roe, 2008)

As a president of IMO in the coming five years, it will be essential to coordinate well with some of the member groups within the agency. In the past, these groups have been dwelling on their respective duties and responsibilities. However, in order to achieve the goals and objectives of IMO, a presidential candidate ought to look for ways in which they can bring everything together. For instance the MSC is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that shipping occurs safely. The latter group can coordinate with the LEG which is responsible for all the legal issues. Through heightened interagency corporations, all the member groups can adopt a long term perspective for the IMO and this will enhance its ability to meet its objectives.

It is also essential to note that the structure of IMO itself may not permit this kind of flexibility. Consequently, commitment from the top will be essential in ensuring that this kind of approach to work can be instrumental. Emphasis should been on integrating both the horizontal and vertical structures within the organisation.

Since NGOs are not recognised as members of IMO, then they are not in a position to contribute to IMO agenda. However, their potential has not yet been fully tapped in past regimes. It is essential for more NGOs to exert their influences through indirect methodologies. They need to step up their submission during meetings held by the body. Member states realise the importance of NGO opinions on certain matters and this is particularly important owing to the fact that NGOs are expected to be highly objective in their issuance of opinions. However, much has to be done about how NGOs give their contributions to the public. For example, the role played by this group in the past has been mostly reactive rather than proactive. In fact, the public considers maritime issues as something that does not affect them directly yet this informative role is something that NGOs can change during the 2009 and 2013 term. NGOs need support from member states in order to exert any meaningful influence. On the other hand, member states also need the expertise that NGOs can offer them. As a presidential candidate, it will be my priority to ensure that this ultimate level of cooperation has been achieved. (IMO, 2008)

In the past, IMO regulations and polices and polices have been relatively workable. It will be my duty to ensure that this continues into the future. Consequently, the culture of unanimous decision making by the body will go on. However, there is a need to ensure that the decisions made by these member groups will be adhered to by each ship. In the past, this has been the case, however, with time, more can be done to ensure that every single ship implements the regulations.

Currently, the IMO has been working on a series of issues. For instance, they have been focusing on air emissions. As a president of the body, its sulphur based emission will be top on the agenda and this will necessitate cooperation with SECA. Additionally, the issue of ballast water management will be dealt with more intensely. On top of these, recycling of ships will form an important part of the policy agenda in the next five years. One of the greatest sources of natural resource depletion is the issue of ship construction. If raw materials required for this process are
not recycled, then the maritime environment could be one of the most demanding industries in terms of material consumption.

In this current regime, IMO has been looking at how coating standards can be enhanced. This will form an important agenda aspect in shipping policy in the next five years. Additionally, bulk safety issues need to be enhanced through adequate coordination with concerned parties. (European Federation for Transport and Environment, 2008)

Despite the latter collaboration, there are still many areas that need intense work in subsequent years. For instance, a number of ships are responsible for leaving cargo residues in waters. This has caused intense pollution. If there is greater emphasis on the marpol annex five agenda, then chances are that more ship will be obliged to wash water that has been contaminated by their residues. It should be noted that washing waters in special areas needs special emphasis especially because this has been particularly difficult to tackle in the past. Part of the reason for this observation is that there is a need for a goal based standard in this area of maritime policy. The latter issue will form an important part of the policy agenda. It should also be noted that most coastal states have not been included in the international policy agenda yet they are crucial in meeting the pollution prevention standards of IMO. Part of the next five years will be dedicated towards including these coastal states in the agenda formulation process.

This coming five years will see a radical approach to multi level governance. Because of greater international sourcing, many more countries participate in international markets. For instance, coffee is now being transported from South America and the West Indies, Oil is emanating from West Africa and Alaska and coal is from Poland, USA and Australia. Because of these respective interdependencies, it is necessary for greater globalisation of shipping policies. In line with this fact is speedier response to safety issue that arise out of greater inter-linkage between different countries. The IMO needs to place its foot forward here; this will be the case in the coming era if l get elected.

The maritime environment has adversely changed over the past few years thanks to greater physical and capital mobility. Officers and crew members are constantly operating in different nation states. Most of them do not even deal with domestic issues. Consequently, international policy makers such as IMO need to step up their initiatives. Taking the example of the European Union; the latter region has implemented policy at supranational level through the imposition of tonnage tax. It has managed to include some national preferences while at the same time including capital and physical mobility of items. (UN, 2007)

Given the latter facts, there is a need to change how national supranational and international bodies such as the IMO can work together. In the coming five years, greater emphasis will be given to the role that national governments play by provision of incentives that can improve safety. Additionally, supranational authorities will also be involved in the process of minimising some uncompetitive practices by certain ship owners. Lastly, IMO will also work hand in hand with other international bodies to ensure safety and efficient labour laws.

Conclusion
The International Maritime Organisation needs serious reorganisation in the coming. If elected as president, ii l enhance greater interagency cooperation, coordinate activities of NGOs and promote greater technical work.

References

ANAVE (2007): Developing Shipping policy and the IMO, retrieved from http://www.anave.es/
accessed on 18th Nov
Roe, M. (2008): Shipping policy and multilevel governance, Palgrave publishers
IMO (2008): Maritime Policy and Management, retrieved from http://www.imo.org/ accessed on 18th Nov
Kihu, M. (2008): UN sanctions action against pirates, Global Policy Forum Report, 1st July, no. 107
UN (2007): The UN Security Council, retrieved from http://www.globalpolicy.org accessed on 18th Nov
European Federation for Transport and Environment (2008): IMO’S decade on shipping emissions; retrieved from http://www.transportenvironment.org/ accessed on 18th Nov

The author of this article is a holder of Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard University and currently pursing PhD Program. He is also a professional academic writer. SuperiorWriters.Com>