{"id":48034,"date":"2025-07-12T21:17:26","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T15:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=48034"},"modified":"2025-07-22T18:05:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T12:35:18","slug":"international-maritime-organization-134th-council-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/12-07-2025\/international-maritime-organization-134th-council-session","title":{"rendered":"134th Session of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Security,&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India has reiterated its commitment to maritime safety and gender equality during the <strong>134th session<\/strong> of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council, held in London.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Key Interventions at the 134th IMO Session<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Call for IMO-Led Investigation into Maritime Incidents:<\/strong> India highlighted recent accidents, which caused container losses, and release of hazardous cargo such as;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sinking of <strong>MSC ELSA 3, <\/strong>a container ship carrying hazardous cargo, off the coast of Kochi, Kerala (in May 2025),<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fire and explosion on <strong>WAN HAI 503<\/strong> (in June 2025) off the Kerala coast.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India urged the IMO to:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Conduct comprehensive investigations<\/strong> into such incidents.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Review global standards<\/strong> governing the transport of hazardous goods, especially lithium-ion batteries and other items listed under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Improve international protocols<\/strong> on packaging, declaration, stowage, and monitoring of dangerous cargo.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India proposed IMO-led standardisation:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For incident response protocols.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To establish global best practices and enhance the operational safety of container ships.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India\u2019s \u201cSagar Mein Samman\u201d Initiative: <\/strong>India showcased<strong> &#8220;Sagar Mein Samman&#8221; <\/strong>(Honour at Sea), launched in <strong>2024<\/strong> by the <strong>Directorate General of Shipping<\/strong>. It aims to;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Promote a safe and inclusive maritime workplace.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Encourage women\u2019s participation at all levels\u2014from seafaring roles to leadership positions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India reported a <strong>650% increase<\/strong> in the number of <strong>Indian women seafarers.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Laws and Conventions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL):<\/strong> It was rolled out by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in <strong>1973<\/strong> and recognised the need for international coherent efforts for curbing oil spill.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India is a signatory<\/strong> to the MARPOL Convention.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006,<\/strong> Sets minimum working and living standards for seafarers globally. Covers aspects such as equal opportunity, safety, and gender inclusion on board vessels.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Merchant shipping Act, 1958: <\/strong>The Act, describes the power to give a notice to the owner, when the central government is satisfied the ship is not as per the prescribed rules.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>After notice, if the person fails to comply, the government can convict the person of an offense.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>IMO-Level Structural Reforms:<\/strong> Enhance compliance mechanisms for cargo safety.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Establish an international maritime incident investigation body.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technological Integration: <\/strong>Use of blockchain and AI for cargo tracking and declaration transparency.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Capacity Building and Training:<\/strong> Support to developing countries in implementing IMDG Code protocols.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Boosting Women\u2019s Participation:<\/strong> Replicate India\u2019s initiatives globally to promote gender inclusion in maritime sectors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>About the IMO<\/strong><br>&#8211; The<strong> International Maritime Organization (IMO)<\/strong> is a specialised <strong>UN agency <\/strong>responsible for regulating shipping.<br>&#8211; The IMO was established following agreement at a <strong>UN conference held in Geneva in 1948<\/strong> and the IMO came into existence ten years later, meeting for the first time in <strong>1958.<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Headquarters: <\/strong>London, United Kingdom<br>&#8211; <strong>IMO currently has 176 Member States<\/strong> and three Associate Members.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ddnews.gov.in\/en\/india-advocates-maritime-safety-and-gender-inclusivity-at-134th-imo-council-session-in-london\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>DD News<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India has reiterated its commitment to maritime safety and gender equality during the 134th session of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council, held in London.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Laws and Conventions<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL): It was rolled out by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in 1973 and recognised the need for international coherent efforts for curbing oil spill.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India is a signatory to the MARPOL Convention.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, Sets minimum working and living standards for seafarers globally. Covers aspects such as equal opportunity, safety, and gender inclusion on board vessels.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Merchant shipping Act, 1958: The Act, describes the power to give a notice to the owner, when the central government is satisfied the ship is not as per the prescribed rules.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/12-07-2025\/international-maritime-organization-134th-council-session\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48034"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48056,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48034\/revisions\/48056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}