India has been re-elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) under Category ‘B’ at 29th session of the IMO Assembly held in London.
The session is attended by a high level Indian delegation led by Secretary (shipping) Rajive Kumar.
India's overseas seaborne EXIM trade, which is presently about 600 million tonnes per annum, is expected to be quadrupled to about 2,200 million tons by 2020.
Presently, India ranks amongst the top 20 shipping countries of the world in terms of Gross Tonnage capacity (GT) as well as Deadweight capacity.
About International Maritime Organization (IMO)
- IMO is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping.
- Established: 1948 in Geneva and came into force in 1959.
- Headquarter: London, United Kingdom.
- Member Countries: IMO has 171 member states and 3 associate members.India has been one of the earliest members of the IMO, having ratified its Convention and joined it as a member-state in the year 1959.
- Functions: To develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping and its remit.
- This framework should address various areas like safety, legal matters, environmental concerns, technical co-operation, maritime security and efficiency of shipping.
- IMO Council: Consist of 40 member countries who are elected by the IMO Assembly. It plays a crucial role in deciding various matters related to global shipping industry.