The executive
organ of shipping’s governing body, the International Maritime Organization
(IMO), is being expanded.
The IMO Council will be expanded from 40 to 52 member states.
IMO
secretary-general Kitack Lim commented: “The expansion of the size of the
council to 52 will support the attainment of a representative, balanced,
diverse, and efficient council, that can support the interests of the whole
membership and ensures the representation of all the major geographic areas of
the world.”
The IMO Council
has seen a number of expansions since it was established with 16 member states
in 1958, following the entry into force of the 1948 IMO Convention. The most recent
expansion was a result of the 1993 amendments that came into force in 2002 and
increased the size of the council to 40. |