South Africa has been re-elected to the United Nation's 170 member International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for a two-year term during the body's 27th Assembly in London.
South Africa's High Commissioner to London Dr Zola Skweyiya and the Director-General of the Department of Transport Mr George Mahlalela are leading the South African government delegation at the two week-long Assembly.
More than 1 000 delegates from IMO Member States as well as from international governmental and non-governmental organisations are attending the session.
The Assembly is the IMO's highest governing body. All 170 Member States and three Associate Members are entitled to attend, as are the intergovernmental organisations with which agreements of cooperation have been concluded, and non-governmental organisations in consultative status with IMO.
The Assembly normally meets once every two years in regular session. It is responsible for approving the work programme, voting the budget and determining the financial arrangements of the Organisation. It also elects the Council.
The Council is the Executive Organ of IMO and is responsible, under the Assembly, for supervising the work of the Organisation. Between sessions of the Assembly the Council performs all the functions of the Assembly, except the function of making recommendations to Governments on maritime safety and pollution prevention which is reserved for the Assembly by Article 15(j) of the Convention.
South Africa was re-admitted as a member of the IMO in 1995 and has been holding a Category C seat on the Council since 1997 and currently serves in the capacity of Vice-Chairman. The election for Council Chairman and two Vice Chairmen is due to be held on 30 November 2011 and South Africa will be seeking re-election into that position.
The Council is divided into three categories. Category A consists of 10 states with the largest interest in providing international shipping services and includes among others China, Greece, Russia and United States; Category B consists of 10 states with the largest interest in international seaborne trade and includes among others Argentina, Brazil, France and India; and Category C which consists of 20 states which have special interests in maritime transport or navigation and whose election to the Council will ensure the representation of all major geographic areas of the world.
Included in this category among others are Australia, Belgium, Egypt, Kenya, Liberia, Singapore, South Africa and Thailand.
The discussions at this year's Assembly have focused mainly on the IMO's efforts to curb piracy off the coast of Somalia and to stem climate change.
The out-going Secretary-General of the IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E Mitropoulos told delegates during his opening address that a multi-faceted action plan, devised in collaboration with the shipping industry and seafarer representative organisations, is being meticulously implemented, he said, drawing heavily on the Organisation's considerable experience of successfully tackling piracy elsewhere in the world – most notably in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore and in the South China Sea.
Declaring South Africa's candidacy for a seat on the Council on behalf of Transport Minister Mr Sibusiso Ndebele, Mr Mahlalela told the Assembly that South Africa remains committed to the objectives of the IMO and that the government of the Republic of South Africa will deploy its available resources to help deal with the IMO's major twin challenges: Piracy and Climate Change.
“Seafaring and shipping in general are peaceful activities and it is my belief that most peaceful activities constitute the core of many rights that citizens of this planet should enjoy. It is however disheartening to see these fundamental rights being threatened by the scourge of piracy currently being experienced in the West Indian Ocean rampantly prevalent along off the coast of Somalia,” said Mr Mahlalela.
With regards to the Climate Change conference starting in Durban this week, Mr Mahlalela said it was encouraging to note that an IMO-commissioned study into the impact of mandatory energy efficiency measures for international shipping shows that implementation of the measures will lead to significant reductions of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, specifically reductions of carbon dioxide (CO2), resulting from enhanced fuel efficiency.
The study found that, by 2020, an average of 151.5 million tones of annual CO2 reductions are estimated from the introduction of the measures, a figure that by 2030, will increase to an average of 330 million tons annually. CO2 reduction measures will result in a significant reduction in fuel consumption, leading to a significant saving in fuel costs to the shipping industry.
The IMO will report to the Climate Change Conference on the breakthrough adoption of mandatory technical and operational measures to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping in July 2011 during the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).
Amendments to the International Convention on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Regulations for the prevention of air pollution from ships add a new chapter on Regulations on energy efficiency for ships. The regulations will apply to all ships of 400 gross tonnages and above and are expected to become effective on 1 January 2013.
This new chapter makes mandatory the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) which requires new ships to be designed to be more energy efficient (and thereby release less greenhouse gases). The regulations are non-prescriptive as long as the required energy-efficiency level is attained. Ship designers and builders are free to use the most cost-efficient solution or solutions for each particular ship.
The IMO's 27th Assembly also elected a new President Mr Eduardo Medina-Mora of Mexico. Minister Ndebele has welcomed South Africa's re-election to the IMO Council. He says the country will continue to contribute significantly to the fulfilment of the core ideals of the IMO, particularly with regard to its activities on the African continent.
“We are humbled by this continued show of confidence in us by the world.
This is an affirmation of our abilities as a country on issues of maritime. We wish to thank the South African Maritime Safety Association for its sterling work in ensuring that our country can compete with the best in the world on the international maritime stage,” says Minister Ndebele.
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