A new IMO video which showcases IMO’s new long-term strategy on mobilising resources for technical cooperation activities was launched on 27 January.
This video which aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs*), highlights the value and benefits of working with IMO and encourages active communication with potential donors and recipients.
Premier in Jamaica
The video premiered at the first regional Knowledge Partnership Workshop for the Caribbean, held in Kingston, Jamaica from 20 to 24 January.
Successful implementation of international regulations
The workshop aimed to demonstrate how the successful implementation of international regulations can be enhanced through effective sharing of knowledge, skills and experience. The workshop brought together national officials responsible for maritime affairs and official development assistance; as well as officials from international multilateral development banks, IGOs and NGOs. Here participants increased their awareness of maritime issues, learned how to prioritise them in national development plans and, above all, benefitted from multi-way communication, making new connections with maritime and development cooperation counterparts from around the region.
The workshop was organized by IMO in collaboration with the Maritime Authority of Jamaica.
Participating countries and dependent territories or parts represented at the workshop were:
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
Participating organizations represented at the workshop were:
Association of Caribbean States, Basel Convention Regional Centre for Training and Technology Transfer for the Caribbean, Commonwealth Secretariat, Inter-American Development Bank, International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities, International Hydrographic Organization, Caribbean Development Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Sub-Regional Headquarters for the Caribbean.
The new IMO video is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DYbP2owoIM&feature=youtu.be
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IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim has welcomed the World Health Organization’s decision to name seafarers as one of the groups of transportation workers that should be prioritised for Covid-19 vaccination in instances of limited supplies. This was reported on 22 July.
Updated guidance for Stage II of its vaccine roadmap from the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) states: ‘Seafarers and air crews who work on vessels that carry goods and no passengers, with special attention to seafarers who are stranded at sea and prevented from crossing international borders for crew change due to travel restrictions.’
IMO Secretary General Lim commented: ‘I am glad to see that the WHO recognises the importance of vaccinating seafarers on cargo ships.
‘These individuals are responsible for transporting over 80% of all goods around the world, including food, medicine and vaccine supplies – and have continued to do so despite extremely challenging circumstances. Seafarers will play a key role in the global recovery, and barriers to international travel and crew change must be removed.’
On 28 September 2019, a cargo tank containing styrene monomer on board the Cayman Islands registered chemical tanker Stolt Groenland ruptured causing an explosion and fire. The tanker was moored alongside a general cargo berth in Ulsan, Republic of Korea and the Singapore registered chemical tanker Bow Dalian was moored outboard. Ignition of the styrene monomer vapour resulted in a fireball, which reached the road bridge above. Both vessels were damaged, and two crew suffered minor injuries. Fifteen emergency responders were injured during the fire-fighting, which lasted for over six hours.
Rupture of the styrene monomer tank resulted from a runaway polymerisation that was initiated by elevated temperatures caused by heat transfer from other chemical cargoes. Elevated temperatures caused the inhibitor, added to prevent the chemical’s polymerisation during the voyage, to deplete more rapidly than expected. Although the styrene monomer had not been stowed directly adjacent to heated cargo, the potential for heat transfer through intermediate tanks was not fully appreciated or assessed.
