International Maritime Organization
Background
The International Maritime Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating maritime transport. Its mandate is to develop and maintain a comprehensive international framework for shipping, covering maritime safety, environmental protection, and legal matters. By setting global standards for vessel operation, cargo handling, and related practices, it provides the main multilateral forum for coordinating rules that affect international trade and seaborne commerce. Its work matters because shipping underpins the movement of goods across borders and depends on broadly accepted technical and legal norms.
The organization is headquartered in London and includes 176 Member States and three Associate Members as of 2025. It is governed by an assembly of members that meets every two years, while a council of 40 members, elected from the assembly, manages finance and organizational matters between sessions. The IMO carries out its work through five committees supported by technical subcommittees, and it is supported by a permanent secretariat headed by a Secretary-General elected by the assembly. The secretariat includes divisions dealing with marine safety, environmental protection, and conference services, and the organization also allows observer participation by other UN bodies and qualified non-governmental organizations.
The IMO was established after agreement at a UN conference in Geneva in 1948, but the founding instrument did not enter into force for ten years. It first met on 6 January 1959 under its original name, the Inter-governmental Maritime Consultative Organization, before later becoming the International Maritime Organization. Over time, its role has expanded to include detailed technical standards that are regularly updated through amendments and codes developed under its framework. Among its recent outputs are the 2023 amendments to the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code, which entered into force for Russia on 1 January 2025.
Timeline
The International Maritime Organization adopted the 2023 amendments to the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code.
2023 Amendments to the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code (IMSBC Code) (entered into force for the Russian Federation on 1 January 2025)The 2023 amendments to the IMSBC Code entered into force for the Russian Federation on 1 January 2025.
2023 Amendments to the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code (IMSBC Code) (entered into force for the Russian Federation on 1 January 2025)
Documents
2023 Amendments to the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code (IMSBC Code) (entered into force for the Russian Federation on 1 January 2025)
The 2023 amendments to the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code entered into force for Russia on January 1, 2025.