Substandard shipping, seafarer criminalisation and maritime security

At a briefing on 30 May 2025, the Secretary-General of the IMO, His Excellency Arsenio Dominguez, addressed The Nautical Institute and other accredited NGOs on the key issues currently engaging his attention.

Addressing the existence of substandard shipping, sometime referred to as the ‘dark’ or ‘shadow fleet’, is a major issue for the IMO. In parallel, work continues to address the pressing concerns of rising seafarer abandonment and fraudulent registries.  The secretary-general pointed out that in some cases of substandard shipping, abandonment or fraudulent registration, the day-to-day administration of flag state matters has been outsourced by governments to various commercial companies, but in all such cases, the signatory to the IMO convention and thus the consequent legal responsibility, remains with the government of the flag state concerned.

Maritime security remains an area under detailed IMO scrutiny. Recent changes in geopolitical situations remain under close evaluation and this topic remains high on the agenda of the secretary general.

The recent approval by the IMO’s legal committee of guidelines addressing the criminalisation of seafarers is a highly welcome development.  These now need effective implementation, which the IMO is monitoring carefully.

Also, among the IMO’s priorities is the advancement of its ‘Net Zero Framework’ for decarbonisation of shipping. Whilst MEPC 83 agreed to the new regulations for adoption into MARPOL Annex VI, significant work remains in the development of the various guidelines and processes necessary for effective implementation.

The secretary general also outlined a series of internal projects designed to ensure that the IMO’s operational processes remain technologically advanced, enabling the organisation to function with maximum efficiency.  

The Nautical Institute was honoured to be invited to this briefing by the secretary-general. We remain committed to advocating on behalf of our members and the wider seafaring community at the IMO. Regular updates on our IMO engagement and advocacy efforts are published monthly in Seaways, our monthly professional journal.