*As liberia Push for IMO Reforms

How can ports cut emissions to ensure cleaner air and contribute to the battle against climate change? An International Maritime Organization (IMO)  training course is supporting countries to help find the answers, which include the need to first quantify emissions and then identify measures to reduce port-related emissions in a cost-effective way.

Maritime officials in Morocco are the latest to undergo the training, at a workshop in Casablanca.  The event is being held under the IMO-run GloMEEP Project on energy-efficiency and the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH).

More than 20 participants will be better equipped to quantify emissions in ports through development of port emissions assessments (both ocean and land-based, including emissions from cargo handling equipment, trucks, rail etc.) and benefit from guidance on how to develop strategies for reducing emissions in port.

The event is being hosted by the Merchant Marine Directorate and the National Ports Agency (ANP), and held at APN’s Port Training Institute. The workshop included a visit to the largest port crane simulator in the world, a 270-degree dome-based system that enables crane operators to learn how to safely and effectively operate heavy port equipment.

The workshop is being run by IMO’s Astrid Dispert and a team of IMO consultants from the Port of Los Angeles and the Starcrest Consultancy Group.

IMO Reforms

“As a founding IMO member and the world’s second-largest flag state, Liberia has always been a committed and public supporter of IMO, and will continue to be so but….

Meanwhile the Liberian Registry ha s said it will support Australia’s call for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reconsider transparency and the role of industry bodies in the organization.

As one of the world’s largest flag states, Liberia is now the largest to support the push, which will lead to a submission to the IMO Council meeting in July calling into question the existing role of the IMO Council and the IMO Assembly, and seeking to facilitate greater transparency and the wider representation of maritime interests in the IMO.

The Australian submission suggests that discussions at IMO should be more open to the public and other stakeholders. It also refers to the decreasing accessibility of discussions and decisions within the IMO Council and Assembly for both member states and the public.

Scott Bergeron, CEO of the Liberian Registry, said, “As a founding IMO member and the world’s second-largest flag state, Liberia has always been a committed and public supporter of IMO, and will continue to be so. But it is only right that we should lend our support to Australia’s push for reform in the light of concern from observers both within and outside the organization that the IMO decision-making process may not be fit for purpose in the 21st century and may moreover be susceptible to commercial influence.”