Inside the IMO: the NGO's perspective

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are organisations with valuable repositories of knowledge, insight and expertise that can help the United Nations and other Inter-Governmental Organisations (IGOs) understand issues as their member states seek to make decisions and formulate policy. It’s a way of building regulatory frameworks that are well-grounded and workable in the real world.

BIMCO is an NGO and participates in the work of many IGOs and the Conventions under their purview – the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the London Convention/London protocol, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) Funds to name just a few.

Our status means our voice is heard at the highest levels as we seek to ensure rulemaking is transparent and non-discriminatory for the shipping industry, and there’s a level playing field for our members.

On a practical day-to-day level, this means we spend a significant amount of time reading papers, preparing for meetings and consulting our members. It’s important that we understand any potential changes and respond accordingly to promote a level playing field for our members. 

At the IMO, BIMCO has special consultative status, which gives us access to the full breadth of IMO meetings, covering everything from the environment and safety to the human element and legal aspects. We participate via the submission of documents on matters of importance to the industry in consultation with our committees and often through collaboration with other industry associations and member states.