IMO Council to be expanded to 52 member states

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.