Australia and the International Maritime Organization
Based in London, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the United Nations specialised agency responsible for standards-setting for the safety and security of international shipping. The IMO also works to prevent marine and atmospheric pollution from ships and supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Australia is a foundation member of the IMO and has been an elected member on the IMO Council for many years.
Australia’s aims at the IMO are to:
- Implement robust international standards to ensure safer outcomes for shipping;
- Enhance seafarer welfare;
- Protect the marine environment;
- Coordinate effective search and rescue efforts in our region; and
- Increase maritime technical capacity, and search and rescue capability within the Indian and Pacific Ocean regions
Australia contributes strong leadership, technical and policy knowledge, and consistently demonstrates respect and openness when engaging with IMO members and the Secretariat.
Australia works with every Member State to ensure IMO decisions are equitable and sustainable.
Australia:
-
is the largest island nation with 60,000 kilometres of coastline and over 8,000 islands;
-
has a Search and Rescue region covering more than 10% of the earth’s surface;
-
receives over 30,000 ship visits per year from international trading ships;
-
is home to the largest bulk export port in the world;
-
ships over 400 commodities in and out of Australia using more than 1000 shipping routes;
-
exports over 1.5 billion tonnes of cargo annually;
-
has 99% of its commodities enter or leave by sea; and
-
has the world’s first Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) designation – which was the Great Barrier Reef in November 1990.
Australian Representation at the IMO
Australia maintains permanent representation to the IMO in London. Australia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom is Australia’s Permanent Representative to the IMO (PRIMO). The PRIMO represents Australia during meetings of the IMO Assembly and plays a key role in Australia’s IMO Council election campaign.
The PRIMO is supported by an Alternative Permanent Representative to the IMO (APRIMO), who pursues Australian interests at meetings, works closely with the IMO Secretariat, and maintains a comprehensive network among other IMO representatives.
Australia initiates change
Australia is working with other nations to keep the IMO at the forefront of international developments.
Australia promotes new measures that complement our coastal state interests and balance international environmental and social considerations.
Australia is a strong advocate of openness, transparency and access to information at the IMO. Australia initiated a significant program of reform in 2018 to keep the IMO a modern, democratic and dynamic standard-setting body.