International Maritime Organization

IMO’s comprehensive Liability and compensation regime has been developed by the Legal Committee since its inception in 1967. It comprises Liability and compensation for pollution incidents, wreck removal and the carriage of passengers and their luggage.

In addition, the Legal Committee developed conventions relating to protection against pollution incidents, empowering coastal States to intervene on the high seas and determining uniform international rules regarding salvage operations. These conventions are closely linked to the Liability and compensation regime and have therefore also been included in this publication. This publication has been developed to assist Member States with the effective and uniform implementation of IMO’s Liability and compensation regime. It provides a practical and comprehensive reference book for administrations, non-governmental organizations and private companies alike.

This publication provides a very useful guide to identify the various problems that will affect fisheries and aquaculture enterprises in the event of an oil spill. This will be useful to spill responders and managers with responsibilities for protecting public health and those in the fisheries sector as well as consumers concerned about the safety and quality of seafood.

At its forty-first session, the Marine environment protection Committee tasked the OPRC Working Group to develop a guidance document for fisheries management during and after an oil spill incident. Dr. Tosh Moller, Technical Team Manager of the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd. (ITOPF), prepared the draft guidance document and submitted it at MEPC 42.

The objective of the Manual is to provide guidance on strategies that may be used to assess the damage and subsequent recovery of the environment resulting from marine pollution incidents. Available techniques are considered together with criteria to help judge the feasibility of such measures to bring about successful recovery of those environments.

The Manual emphasizes the importance of pre-spill planning and provides an overview of assessment techniques and restoration measure in various ecosystems. It also provides guidance on opportunities for compensation through the international oil compensation schemes. Practical examples of natural resource assessment and restoration are provided through a series of case studies.

IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS) contains all relevant resolutions adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in the process of the institutionalization of the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS), as well as other documents developed to support its effective implementation. It includes:

• Framework and Procedures for IMSAS
• IMO Instruments Implementation Code (III Code)
• 2013 non-exhaustive list of obligations under instruments relevant to the III Code
• Amendments to conventions making the use of the III Code mandatory in audits of Member States
• Other resolutions
• Auditor’s Manual for IMSAS.

The International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code (IMSBC Code), adopted on 4 December 2008 by resolution MSC.268(85), entered into force on 1 January 2011, from which date it was made mandatory under the provisions of the SOLAS Convention. The present edition incorporates Amendment 07-23, which may be applied from 1 January 2024 on a voluntary basis, anticipating its envisaged official entry into force on 1 January 2025.

This publication also presents additional information that supplements the IMSBC Code, such as the Code of Practice for the Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers (BLU Code), BLU Manual and recommendations on the safe use of pesticides in ships applicable to the fumigation of cargo holds. The IMSBC Code and supplement is commended to Administrations, shipowners, shippers and masters and all others concerned with the standards to be applied in the safe stowage and shipment of solid bulk cargoes, excluding grain.

The Code aims, among other things, to establish an international framework for co-operation between Contracting Governments, Government agencies, local administrations and the shipping and port industries to detect security threats and take preventive measures against security incidents affecting ships or port facilities used in international trade and to establish relevant roles and responsibilities at the national and international level.

This publication, which supersedes the 1983 edition, comprises five parts, containing the texts of the Guidelines for Inert Gas Systems and of relevant IMO documents.

The content of the guidelines is based on current general practice used in the design and operation of inert gas systems and incorporates amendments adopted by the Maritime safety Committee at its forty-second, forty-eighth and fiftieth sessions. Provisions of SOLAS covering application and technical requirements, together with recent developments on regulations for chemical tankers, are included.

This electronic publication is intended to assist port State control officers, Administrators and other parties involved in the conduct of port State inspections in an easy-to-use and portable format. It provides the full texts of the List of instruments relevant to Procedures for port State control, 2023 published in appendix 20 of Procedures for port State control, 2023.

This edition presents updates including the 2022 Guidelines for briefsampling of anti-fouling systems on ships (resolution MEPC.356(78)), the 2022 Guidelines for the development of a Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) (resolution MEPC.346(78)), and the List of certificates and documents required to be carried on board ships, 2022 (FAL.2/Circ.133, MEPC.1/Circ.902, MSC.1/Circ.1646 and LEG.2/Circ.4).

The International Code on Intact Stability, 2008 (2008 IS Code) presents mandatory and recommendatory stability criteria and other measures for ensuring the safe operation of ships, to minimize the risk to such ships, to the personnel on board and to the environment.

The 2020 Edition features:

• an update of the 2008 IS Code, including all amendments that will have entered into force on 1 January 2020;
• minor additions and amendments to the mandatory part A of the Code;
• amendments to the Code’s recommendatory part B, including substantial additions to chapter 2 on Recommended design criteria for certain types of ships and chapter 3 on Guidance in preparing stability information, as well as the provision of a new annex 3;
• criteria based on the best state-of-the-art concepts available at the time they were developed; and influences on intact stability, as contained in the previous edition; and
• Explanatory Notes and the Unified Interpretations to the 2008 IS Code. This publication should be of interest to maritime administrations, ship manufacturers, shipping companies, education institutes and others concerned with intact stability criteria.

This publication establishes a universal system of tonnage measurement for ships engaged in international voyages; it includes:

• Final Act of the Conference;
• International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships (Tonnage), 1969, including: Regulations for determining gross and net tonnages of ships and International Tonnage Certificate;
• Recommendations adopted by the Conference.

The Maritime Safety Committee, at its fifty-ninth session (May 1991), adopted a new International Code for the Safe Carriage of Grain in Bulk (International Grain Code). This replaced the original chapter VI of SOLAS, which contained detailed regulations on the carriage of grain in bulk, with more general requirements and placed the detailed provisions on grain in a separate mandatory code.

The third edition of the (ILO/IMO/WHO) International Medical Guide for Ships shows designated first-aid providers how to diagnose, treat, and prevent the health problems of seafarers on board ship. This edition contains fully updated recommendations aimed to promote and protect the health of seafarers, and is consistent with the latest revisions of both the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines and the International Health Regulations. The International Labour Organization’s Maritime Labour Convention 2006 stipulates that all ships shall carry a medicine chest, medical equipment and a medical guide.

This is a joint ICAO/IMO publication containing the signs and symbols for use at international airports and marine terminals.

The objective of this publication is to provide detailed step-by-step guidelines on the selection of dump-sites for the dumping of wastes and other matter at sea and on development of site management and monitoring plans to help manage dump-sites during and after use. These guidelines specifically address the wastes and other matter that may be considered for dumping at sea, listed in annex 1 of the London Protocol.

Les communications ayant trait à la navigation et à la sécurité entre le navire et la terre et inversement, entre les navires et à bord des navires doivent être précises, simples et sans ambiguïté, de façon à éviter les confusions et les erreurs; il est nécessaire de normaliser la langue utilisée.

En vertu de la Convention internationale de 1978 sur les normes de formation des gens de mer, de délivrance des brevets et de veille, telle que modifiée en 1995, l'aptitude à utiliser et comprendre les SMCP de l'OMI fait partie des compétences requises pour la délivrance du brevet d'officier chargé du quart à la passerelle à bord des navires d'une jauge brute égale ou supérieure à 500.

La presente publicación contiene los siguientes textos:

• Convenio sobre limitación de la responsabilidad nacida de reclamaciones de derecho marítimo, 1976
• Protocolo de 1996, enmendado mediante la resolución LEG.5(99)
• Texto refundido de las disposiciones sustantivas del Convenio de 1976 enmendadas por el Protocolo de 1996, incluidos los límites enmendados de responsabilidad

Amendments to increase the limits of liability in the 1996 Protocol to amend the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime claims, 1976 (LLMC Protocol 1996) entered into force on 8 June 2015, raising the amount claimable for loss of life or personal injury on ships (not exceeding 2,000 gross tonnage) to 3.02 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR), up from 2 million SDR (additional amounts are claimable on larger ships).

The 1976 LLMC Convention sets specified limits of liability for certain types of claims against shipowners: Claims for loss of life or personal injury; and Other claims, such as property claims (including damage to other ships, property or harbour works), delay, bunker spills, wreck removal, pollution damage, etc. The Convention also allows for shipowners and salvors to limit their liability except if ‘it is proved that the loss resulted from his personal act or omission, committed with the intent to cause such loss, or recklessly and with knowledge that such loss would probably result.

The course is essentially a practical one, and consists of a series of exercises structured around the operation of the cargo and ballast installation of a liquefied gas tanker and carried out in conjunction with a simulator.

This publication contains the full text of the Convention on the prevention of marine pollution by dumping of wastes and other matter at sea, 1972 (London Convention) and the 1996 Protocol (London Protocol), as amended. The following related resources are also included:

• A list of resolutions adopted under the two treaties
• Prospective amendments to the London Protocol that are pending entry into force
• Terms of reference for the subsidiary bodies under the London Convention and Protocol

The objective of this publication is to provide practical information about using low cost and low technology tools that are useful for monitoring of possible environmental impacts associated with disposal at sea of either Dredged material or inert, inorganic geological materials.

The primary audiences for this guidance are countries that are in the early stages of developing waste assessment and monitoring actions in concert with permit programmes for disposal of wastes and other matter at sea.

The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 (MARPOL Convention), is concerned with preserving the marine environment through the prevention of pollution by oil and other harmful substances and the minimization of accidental discharge of such substances. Its technical content is laid out in six Annexes, the first five of which were adopted by the 1973 Convention, as modified by a 1978 Protocol. These Annexes cover pollution of the sea by oil, by noxious liquid substances in bulk, by harmful substances in packaged form, by sewage from ships and by garbage from ships. Annex VI was adopted by a further Protocol in 1997 and covers air pollution from ships.

The 2022 consolidated edition provides an easy and comprehensive reference to the up-to-date provisions and unified interpretations of the articles, Protocols and Annexes of the MARPOL Convention, including the incorporation of all of the amendments that have been adopted by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) with entry into force up to 1 November 2022.

El Anexo VI del Convenio MARPOL: «Reglas para prevenir la contaminación atmosférica ocasionada por los buques» contiene prescripciones sobre el control de las emisiones de contaminantes atmosféricos procedentes de los buques (capítulo 3) y la intensidad de carbono del transporte marítimo internacional (capítulo 4). Las prescripciones sobre el control de los óxidos de nitrógeno (NOx) que figuran en el capítulo 3, se complementan con el Código técnico sobre los NOx 2008, de obligado cumplimiento, que abarca la inspección, el reconocimiento y la certificación de los motores diésel marinos.

Esta quinta edición de los textos refundidos del Anexo VI del Convenio MARPOL y del Código técnico sobre los NOx 2008 contiene todas las enmiendas hasta las adoptadas en el MEPC 76 (junio de 2021), en particular, las relativas a las medidas de reducción de los gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) a corto plazo de la OMI (el índice de eficiencia energética aplicable a los buques existentes (EEXI), el indicador de intensidad de carbono (CII) y el Plan de gestión de la eficiencia energética del buque (SEEMP) mejorado).

También incluye las últimas versiones de directrices y otra información que guardan relación con la aplicación del Anexo VI del Convenio MARPOL y del Código técnico sobre los NOx 2008, y que, entre otras cosas, se refieren a lo siguiente:

• los sistemas de tratamiento de los gases de escape y las medidas de reducción de las emisiones de NOx y SOx procedentes de los buques;
• la mejora de la eficiencia energética para reducir las emisiones de GEI procedentes de los buques, en relación con el capítulo 4 del Anexo VI del Convenio MARPOL; y
• el contenido de azufre del fueloil utilizado por los buques.

Esta publicación tiene por objeto ser de utilidad para las administraciones marítimas, las organizaciones reconocidas, las compañías navieras, las sociedades de clasificación, los institutos de educación, los constructores navales y los fabricantes de equipos, junto con otras personas interesadas en la prevención de la contaminación atmosférica procedente de los buques y en las medidas técnicas y operacionales para mejorar la eficiencia energética de estos.

L’Annexe VI de MARPOL sur les Règles relatives à la prévention de la pollution de l’atmosphère par les navires contient les prescriptions relatives tant aux émissions dans l’atmosphère (chapitre 3) qu’au rendement énergétique des navires (chapitre 4). Le contrôle des oxydes d’azote (NOx) figurant au chapitre 3 est complété par les dispositions obligatoires figurant dans le Code technique sur les NOx, 2008, lequel couvre la mise à l’essai, l’inspection et la certification des moteurs diesel marins. 

La cinquième édition des textes récapitulatifs de l’Annexe VI de MARPOL et du Code technique sur les NOx, 2008 inclut tous les amendements adoptés jusqu’à la soixante-septième session du Comité de la protection du milieu marin (MEPC 76) tenue en juin 2021, en particulier ceux concernant les mesures de réduction des gaz à effet de serre (GES) à court terme de l’OMI et les mesures de réduction (EEXI, CII et SEEMP amélioré). Elle comporte également les versions actualisées des directives et autres renseignements portant sur l’application de l’Annexe VI de MARPOL et du Code technique sur les NOx, 2008. 

Y figurent, entre autres, tous les renseignements liés aux points suivants :

• les dispositifs d’épuration des gaz d’échappement et les mesures de réduction des émissions de NOx et de SOx provenant des navires;
• l’amélioration du rendement énergétique pour réduire les émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES) provenant des navires, conformément au chapitre 4 de l’Annexe VI de MARPOL; et
• la teneur en soufre du fuel-oil utilisé à bord des navires. 

La présente publication est utile aux administrations maritimes, organismes reconnus, compagnies maritimes, sociétés de classification, établissements d’enseignement, constructeurs de navires et fabricants d’équipement et à tous ceux qui s’intéressent à la prévention de la pollution de l’atmosphère par les navires et aux mesures techniques et opérationnelles visant à améliorer le rendement énergétique des navires.

Este manual facilita información práctica y útil a los Gobiernos, en particular, a los de países en desarrollo, sobre las repercusiones técnicas, económicas y jurídicas de la ratificación, la implantación y el cumplimiento del Convenio MARPOL y de sus anexos.

The Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units, 1989 (1989 MODU Code) was adopted by resolution A.649(16) and concerns MODUs built since 1 May 1991.

The Maritime safety Committee (MSC) adopted amendments to the 1989 MODU Code in May 1991 and decided that, to maintain compatibility with SOLAS, the amendments should become effective on 1 February 1992. Further amendments were adopted in May 1994, to introduce the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC) into the Code, provide guidelines for vessels with dynamic positioning systems and introduce provisions for helicopter facilities.

The Committee decided that the amendments introducing the HSSC should become effective on the same date as the 1988 SOLAS and Load Line Protocols relating to the HSSC (i.e. 3 February 2000), and that those providing guidelines for vessels with dynamic positioning systems and provisions for helicopter facilities should become effective on 1 July 1994. This publication supersedes the 1979 edition and contains a consolidated text of the 1989 MODU Code and the 1991 and 1994 amendments.