The IMO Council – Update
Charges to read IMO Instruments
Charging seafarers cash for access to IMO regulations was one topic discussed at the International Maritime Organisation this week.
The IMO’s Council is the executive organ of IMO and is responsible, under the Assembly, for supervising the work of the Organization. It also examines the IMO budget and cash flows.
One of the budget reports highlighted that the IMO’s Trading Fund has generated £4.65million from publication sales (including printed and e-copies of IMO instruments) in the period 1 January to 30 April 2026. After deductions for costs, this money is then distributed to other IMO work areas, focused on the Technical Cooperation Fund (used to conduct capacity building in various member countries).
Following a proposal by six member States, The Nautical Institute spoke to support their request that the IMO secretariat liaise with the United Nations and other specialized agencies to determine their policies related to enhancing public access to treaties, conventions, codes, regulations and guidelines. The IMO secretariat was then requested to provide information on current practice with regard to IMO publications and on the financial and resource implications, including the impact on revenue supporting technical cooperation activities, of providing wider access to IMO e-publications.
IMO Awards
The IMO’s 2025 International Maritime Prize was awarded to Mr. Jeffrey G. Lantz, a former United States Coast Guard naval architect, marine engineer and captain with more than 50 years of maritime experience.
We were delighted to see that two of the four nominees for the International Maritime Prize are Associate Fellows of The Nautical Institute. We duly congratulate Rear Admiral Peter Brady AFNI (nominated by the Government of Jamacia), and Captain Vinyak Mohla AFNI (nominated by GlobalMET).
The 2026 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea has been bestowed posthumously on Mr. Adrian Willyson Brask, Chief Mate and diver of the rescue vessel RS 125 Det Norske Veritas, Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue, nominated by Norway and, separately, by the International Federation of Shipmasters' Associations (IFSMA), for his exceptional courage, selflessness and self-sacrifice during the underwater rescue attempt, in strong tidal currents and dangerous diving conditions, of a young girl missing in the waters of Nappstraumen, in the Lofoten archipelago of northern Norway.
The Nautical Institute was honoured to have nominated Mr. Gabriel E. Centella Molina, Chief Officer of the M/V Ocean Nova, as one of the 51 candidates for the IMO Bravery Award. We commend him for his leadership throughout a very difficult and hazardous situation in the Antarctic.
Maritime Security
A series of discussions were held on the important topics of maritime security and the protection of vital sea lanes.
Council passed a resolution that reaffirms the need to ensure that vital shipping lanes, including straits used for international navigation, remain open and accessible to international shipping. The resolution also reaffirmed the importance of upholding and respecting navigational rights and freedoms in accordance with international law and that the right of transit passage through straits used for international navigation should not be threatened, impeded, denied, hampered, impaired or suspended.
The resolution went on to reiterate that that any measures taken by coastal States to regulate traffic in vital shipping lanes, including the implementation of ships' routeing systems like traffic separation schemes, and ship reporting systems, must be in accordance with the regulations and standards adopted by the International Maritime Organization, including SOLAS regulations V/10 and V/11.
Acknowledgements
The Nautical Institute was represented by Captain Chris O’Flaherty AFNI and Ms Margaret Fitzgerald AFNI.