International Maritime Organization

Status

The IMO is a specialised agency of the United Nations, responsible for measures to improve the safety of international shipping and to limit marine pollution from ships. It currently has 174 Member States and 3 Associate Members.

The IMO was established to adopt legislation, with implementation being the responsibility of individual Governments. When a Government accepts an IMO convention, it agrees to make it part of its own law and to enforce it.

The IMO provisions on air pollution are covered in Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). Amongst these, limits on NO_X emissions as well as limits on maximum allowed sulphur concentration in fuel oil are in place. Certain geographical regions have been designated as emission control areas (ECAs). These have stricter limits on fuel oil sulphur concentration, or NO_X emissions, or both.