Imo News

This week, Rolls-Royce announced that it has successfully tested the world’s first high-speed marine engine powered exclusively by methanol on its test bench in Friedrichshafen.Together with its partners in the meOHmare research project, Rolls-Royce says its engineers have therefore reached an important milestone on the road to climate-neutral and environmentally friendly propulsion solutions for shipping.Also this week, Everllence announced the world’s first conversion of its…

Bloomberg reports that, ahead of Friday’s vote at the IMO, Andrew Forrest, the billionaire founder and chair of Fortescue Metals Group, decried what he said were “intimidatory tactics” impacting delegates’ ability to vote their conscience.“As a global industrialist and philanthropist, I stand ready to support any country or individual being blackmailed or threatened,” Forrest said in a message to negotiators at the UN. “I am committed to working with others to ensure that justice prevails and bullying tactics do not win out.”Still…

20 leading green fuel producers are calling on IMO delegates to seize a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity to set shipping on a sustainable pathway.At this week’s extraordinary session, leaders will come together in London to discuss the adoption of the IMO’s Net Zero Framework (NZF) that was agreed in April earlier this year. A final vote is expected on Thursday or Friday.The companies, including European Energy, Liquid Wind, ET Fuels, HIF Global and Zero Waste, call on the IMO…

The United States on Friday threatened to use visa restrictions and sanctions to retaliate against nations that vote in favor of a plan put forward by a United Nations agency to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from ocean shipping.U.N. member nations are scheduled to vote next week on the International Maritime Organization's Net-Zero Framework proposal to reduce global carbon dioxide gas emissions from the international shipping sector, which handles around 80% of world trade and accounts for close to 3% of global greenhouse gases.Large container carriers…

Heads of seven shipping associations have called for the IMO to adopt its Net-Zero Framework (NZF) at the crucial vote in October. Anything else would be a major setback for the green transition and risk leaving the industry with a complicated patchwork of regional climate regulations.Next week the 176 members of the IMO will convene in London to formally adopt the historic agreement on binding climate regulation of the shipping industry agreed upon in April.Danish Shipping along with six other shipping associations calls for the adoption of the IMO Net-Zero Framework.

A crew member of the Dutch cargo ship that was attacked by Houthis in the Gulf of Aden last week has died of his injuries, the vessel's Amsterdam-based operator Spliethoff said in a statement Monday evening.The company did not release further details about the deceased crew member, but a spokesperson told a Dutch broadcaster they were Filipino.The vessel, Minervagracht, was in international waters in the Gulf of Aden when it was struck by an explosive device that inflicted substantial damage and started a fire on the ship.

The ocean takes center stage on World Maritime Day 2025, as the IMO celebrates how the industry is stepping up action to protect the ocean.This year’s World Maritime Day, observed globally on 25 September, focuses on the sector’s impact on the marine environment, and what it can do to reduce pollution, curb greenhouse gas emissions and prevent biodiversity loss.Secretary-General of the IMO Arsenio Dominguez said: “IMO has, for many decades, worked to strike the right balance to ensure that the shipping industry is not the problem but the solution.

“The IMO has a critical role in delivering a unified global framework, something the industry needs if we are to avoid the fragmentation and inefficiencies arising from a patchwork of regional regulation. This is important but it is equally important we get it right.”That was the message to the industry from ABS Chairman and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki in a keynote address to the Capital Link Conference at London International Shipping Week.“We want a global united IMO gameplan…

New insights from DNV’s Maritime Forecast to 2050 indicate that the number of alternative-fuel-capable vessels in operation is set to almost double by 2028.By 2030, the alternative-fuelled fleet will be able to burn up to 50 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) of low-greenhouse gas (GHG) fuels annually, double the estimated volume needed to meet the IMO 2030 emissions target.Yet today, actual consumption of low-GHG fuels remains at just 1 Mtoe.The widening gap between capacity…

The United States has told countries to reject a United Nations' marine fuel emissions-cutting deal or face tariffs, visa restrictions and port levies, U.S. and European officials and sources told Reuters.The Trump administration is looking to boost U.S. economic might, including by taking a bigger role in global shipping, and has used tariffs as a weapon to extract better terms from Washington’s trade partners.In April, countries struck a draft agreement through the U.N.'s International…

This week, Van Oord’s trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Ariane completed its first bunkering of bio-LNG.The move follows the July news that NYK has started the continuous use of bio-LNG fuel on its LNG-powered car carriers.There’s been more firsts this year. In February 2025, Furetank conducted its first bio-LNG bunkering. In March, Titan and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) completed the first bio-LNG bunkering operation of a multi-year contract. In April, the Avenir Ascension began operating on 100% bio-LNG…

Since coming into force, the IMO Polar Code has had a positive effect on maritime operations in polar waters, write Dan Oldford and Ed Moakler, ABS HETC, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.What is the Polar Code, When and Why did it come into force?Polar regions have many unique hazards compared to warmer waters around the world. Since the earliest explorers sought to explore the Arctic and Antarctic by ship, many vessels have been lost due to sea ice, cold air temperatures and ice accretion.Prior to the Polar Code coming into force there were no international regulations…

The U.S. on Tuesday rejected the "Net-Zero Framework" proposal by the IMO, which is aimed at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions from the international shipping sector, and threatened measures against countries that support it.The announcement, made in a joint statement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, comes ahead of a vote at the United Nations' shipping agency to…

The IMO has inaugurated a new Regional Presence Office in Suva, Fiji.The Regional Presence Office, hosted by the Government of Fiji and initially based at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) buildings, will support Pacific nations with implementing global regulations and standards in maritime safety and environmental protection, while advancing their maritime sectors. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Domiguez, on his first official mission to the Pacific, underlined the central role of shipping and the wider blue economy in the region…

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships enters into force on 26 June 2025, establishing mandatory regulations to govern the way ships are recycled. Most ships are recycled when they are taken out of operation, with almost all materials and equipment from the ship being re-used or recycled. The Hong Kong Convention addresses key environmental, occupational health, and safety risks involved in the recycling of ships, while distributing responsibilities and obligations across relevant stakeholders - shipowners…

Global maritime leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to fair treatment, due process and coordinated action to protect seafarers’ rights.Seafarers detained in connection with their professional duties must be treated fairly and with dignity, with full respect for their human rights, high level participants from the IMO, International Labour Organization (ILO), International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) have urged, following…

The Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Arsenio Dominguez has applauded the important commitments made at the United Nations Ocean Conference (9-13 June) in Nice, France, while urging countries to deliver on these promises as soon as possible.Dominguez said: “Commitments are a necessary first step, but they are not the finish line. We must now move beyond the statements and turn those words into real, measurable action. That will take all stakeholders coming together…

A study shows that under the parameters principally agreed within the IMO Net Zero Framework, ammonia dual-fueled ships have a clear competitive advantage from the mid-term (mid-2030's), while the near-term landscape remains less certain.The study was released by UMAS and UCL Energy Institute Shipping and Oceans Research Group and undertaken for Global Maritime Forum.The report uses a Total Cost of Operation (TCO) modelling approach to assess the relative competitiveness of various fuel and ship technology options.

President of New Wave Media, Greg Trauthwein, spoke to Knut Ørbeck Nilssen, CEO Maritime, DNV, for the latest episode of Maritime Reporter TV.Asked about what has remained the same over his 30+ year maritime career, Nilssen said: “If I look to the maritime industry, it has really maintained a fairly stable regulatory environment over all these 30 plus years. We still have the IMO, as a global regulator, which is quite rare for any industry.“We still have flag states, port states and not least…

This year’s International Day for Women in Maritime, celebrated annually on May 18, spotlights pathways for women’s leadership, participation and impact in the global ocean economy. Women make up less than 20% of the maritime workforce onshore, with significantly lower participation at sea.

The SASHA Coalition, together with six other NGOs and industry alliances, together representing 82 clean maritime and green hydrogen industry stakeholders, has written a letter to the European Commission and European Union Presidency urging it to strengthen clean shipping policy in the wake of what they say are disappointing regulations agreed last month at MEPC 83.It says the IMO agreement fails to adequately boost green hydrogen and derived e-fuels.A stronger price on all shipping…

The IMO’s MEPC83 has approved the creation of a new Emission Control Area (ECA) in the North-East Atlantic Ocean. It will be the world’s largest ECA to date.The decision follows an official submission to the MEPC 83 of the research conducted by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) in collaboration with Porto University, demonstrating the proposal’s potential for reducing emissions while also benefiting public health and the environment.The new ECA will cover the territorial seas and exclusive economic zones of the Faroe Islands…

The IMO Net-zero Framework agreed at MEPC 83 last week is the first in the world to combine mandatory emissions limits and GHG pricing across an entire industry sector. The measures include a new fuel standard for ships and a global pricing mechanism for emissions. These measures, set to be formally adopted in October 2025 before entry into force in 2027, will become mandatory for large ocean-going ships over 5,000 gross tonnage, which emit 85% of the total CO2 emissions from international shipping.