The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is responsible for oversight of maritime safety, maritime security, marine environmental protection, legal matters, technical cooperation and other elements of the international maritime transport sector.

A recent publication by Harilaos N. Psaraftis & Christos A. Kontovas in Maritime Economics & Logistics examines the main parameters of ‘influence’ at the IMO, looking at the role of member states, industry, and other players, and whether their actions to influence the sector are transparent enough, particularly with pertinence to activities of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) and efforts to decarbonize shipping. NGOs have been criticizing the IMO for the undue influence of industry on regulatory measures needed to meet the decarbonization targets set globally, and the publication reviews the position of the NGOs accusing the IMO as regards influence and transparency, describes the IMO regulatory structure, and analyzes relevant issues, including delegation size, delegation composition, number of submissions and other factors that may affect representation and influence in IMO decision-making.

The full publication may be found at the link below.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41278-020-00149-4