The Netherlands has once again been elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Council serves as the “executive board” of this UN maritime body and consists of forty of its 176 member states. Council members are elected every two years.
The Netherlands has been a near-continuous member of the Council since 1959. With this re-election, the country will continue to help shape how the IMO addresses the major challenges facing the maritime sector over the next two years.
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Sustainability and safety
And there are certainly challenges. Shipping faces a major task when it comes to sustainability, and this is a transition the sector cannot manage on its own. Only through international cooperation can the sector tackle the shift towards clean, sustainable shipping.
Safety is another concern. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, a shadow fleet has emerged that transports sanctioned Russian oil around the world. This is typically done using old, unsafe and uninsured vessels. Increasingly, these ships are sailing under false flags, including flags of other countries within the Kingdom.
These vessels pose a risk to maritime safety and the fragile marine environment. The Netherlands has been working internationally for years to address this practice, but the work is never finished.
Also read: IMO postpones decision on shipping’s Net-Zero Framework
A hand on the wheel
‘The Netherlands has a rich maritime history,’ says Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Robert Tieman. ‘A seat on the Council is important because it gives us a hand on the wheel in the IMO’s executive board. It also gives us a say in which topics will be on the agenda in the coming years.’
Picture by IMO.
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