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The IMO Council met for its 134th session from 7 to 11 July 2025 at IMO Headquarters in London, United Kingdom (with hybrid participation). The session was chaired by Mr. Victor Jimenez Fernandez (Spain), supported by the Vice-Chair, Ms. Amane Fethallah (Morocco). Outcomes of the meeting are outlined below:
Revised Strategic Plan for 2024-2026
The Council approved the Revised Strategic Plan for the six-year period 2024 to 2029, including the mission statement, vision statement, overarching principles and strategic directions and updates to the 2026-2027 work programme of IMO organs and the table of performance indicators.
The Council approved the draft Assembly resolution on the Application of the Strategic Plan of the Organization. This provides a uniform basis for the application of the Strategic Plan by all IMO organs, with the aim of strengthening planning and reporting procedures to enhance delivery and efficiency.
The draft Assembly resolutions will be submitted to the 34th session of the IMO Assembly (A 34) in November for consideration and adoption.
Budget outline for 2026-2027
The Council approved, in principle, the Organization’s regular budget outline of £86,882,000 for the 2026–2027 biennium, with £43,167,000 allocated for 2026 and £43,715,000 for 2027.
It agreed to finance £76,300,000 of this through Member State assessments – £37,885,000 in 2026 and £38,415,000 in 2027. The Council also endorsed a regular staff complement of 270 posts and the proposed budget plan for the Organization’s other Funds.
A detailed results-based budget and draft Assembly resolution, reflecting the outcomes of C 134, will be presented at the Council’s next session (C 135) ahead of the Assembly session.
Financial reports
The Council reviewed IMO’s Financial Report and Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024, along with the External Auditor’s Opinion and the Long-form Report.
The Organization maintains a healthy overall financial position in terms of solvency and liquidity. Total revenue for 2024 was £75.72 million, an increase of £7.39 million compared to 2023. This includes £35.58 million collected as Member States’ assessed contributions for 2024 – a 97.96% collection rate – in addition to voluntary contributions from donors, and revenue from commercial activities.
The Council welcomed the unqualified opinion of the External Auditor, as well as the Secretary-General’s stewardship of the Organization’s funds, and agreed to to forward the above-mentioned documents to the Assembly (A 34).
Member State contributions
The Council noted that as at 31 May 2025, 70.70% of the current year’s assessed contributions from Member States had been received compared to 48.97% in 2024 and 68.01% in 2023 at the same period. The Council urged all Member States that had not yet done so to meet their financial obligations to the Organization as early as possible.
The Council approved a draft resolution on Improving the efficiency of the Contributions Incentive Scheme, for submission to the Assembly (A 34) for adoption.
Report to the Assembly on the work of the Organization
The Council discussed its report to the Assembly on the work of the Organization since the thirty-third regular session (A 33). The Council approved the transition from a biennial to an annual report format, beginning with the 2024 report, and approved the draft IMO Annual Report for 2024, to be submitted to the next Council session (C 135) and subsequently the Assembly (A 34).
Progress on upgrading GISIS
The Council noted the ongoing progress being made to upgrade and improve the IMO’s Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS). GISIS is an online hub for the collection, processing and sharing of shipping-related data.
External experts contracted to analyse the current operation of GISIS and future data management needs have proposed several technical specifications to meet user needs, building upon the strengths of the current system.
The Council noted the need for additional resources to carry out these improvements, including a Senior Professional Officer to support the Secretariat to manage the project. The Secretary-General will present an update to the next Council session (C 135).
Enhancement of multilingualism
The Council noted ongoing efforts to enhance multilingualism within the Organization, including improved language support for IMO meetings and public information. The IMO website (www.imo.org) is now available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish with auto-translation from English.
A proposal for strengthening the use of the Arabic language at IMO was discussed. The Council requested the IMO Secretariat to submit an analysis of the budgetary and administrative implications of the proposals for the inclusion of Arabic as a working language for Assembly to the next session of the Council (C 135).
Consolidated IMO Convention approved in six languages
The Council approved the consolidated text of the IMO Convention in the six official languages of the UN – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish – to be submitted with a view to adoption by the Assembly in November (A 34). The IMO Convention, adopted in 1948, established the International Maritime Organization to facilitate intergovernmental cooperation on regulations and practices affecting international shipping.
The Council adopted amendments to the IMO Convention in December 2021 (A 32) to recognize Arabic, Chinese and Russian as authentic languages of the IMO Convention, supplementing the current authentic texts in English, French and Spanish. These amendments are not yet in force.
IMO Number Scheme and ship tonnage assessment
Over time, various Assembly resolutions, circular letters and reference texts on the IMO ship identification number scheme, IMO unique company and registered owner number scheme, and tonnage assessment, have led to inconsistencies in wording that affect how the regulations are interpreted.
Following a review conducted by the Secretariat of the regulatory framework, two draft resolutions were developed:
The Council invited the Secretary-General to submit revised versions of these draft Assembly resolutions to the next session of the Council (C 135), with a view to their approval and subsequent referral to the Assembly (A 34) for adoption.
IMO Member State Audit Scheme
IMSAS schedule
The Council endorsed a revised overall audit schedule, including postponed audits of Haiti, Mozambique, and Yemen in early 2026, and rescheduling the audits of the Islamic Republic of Iran and of Israel to the start of the second audit cycle.
The Council encouraged audited Member States to authorize the Secretariat to release their audit reports, including the audit final report, to the public.
IMSAS 2nd Cycle – revised framework approved
Under the mandatory IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS), Member States are assessed in seven-year cycles on their compliance with IMO instruments. The first cycle is expected to be completed in 2026.
Ahead of the second cycle, the Joint Working Group on the Member State Audit Scheme (JWGMSA) has reviewed and proposed amendments to the IMSAS Framework and Procedures (resolution A.1067(28)).
The Council approved the report of the 9th JWGMSA session, including proposed amendments to the IMSAS framework and procedures. The revised Framework and Procedures for the IMO Member State Audit Scheme with the associated draft Assembly resolution to the Assembly (A 34) for adoption will be submitted with a view to adoption.
Rules of procedure for the Assembly
The Council approved amendments to rules of procedure related to the hybrid participation and livestreaming of IMO Assembly Meetings. These include criteria and procedures outlined in Rule 12, stipulating that public meetings of the Assembly will be live streamed with the following exceptions:
The Council agreed to add “working, drafting, review, expert, intersessional and editing groups” to the list of meetings that should not be livestreamed to the public. Other amendments, such as those defining “Members present and voting” were also approved.
The draft revised Rules of Procedure of the Assembly and the associated Assembly resolution will be submitted to the Assembly (A 34) with a view to adoption.
Status of IMO Conventions
The Council approved the draft Assembly resolution Urging Member States to accept the 2021 amendments to the Convention on the International Maritime Organization and submitted it for adoption to Assembly (A 34).
These amendments to the IMO Convention, adopted through resolution A.1152(32) at the 32nd session of the Assembly (A 32), expand the size of the Council from 40 to 52 Members, extend the term of Council Members, and recognize three additional language texts as authentic versions of the IMO Convention. To enter into force, the amendments must be accepted by two thirds of the IMO membership (117 Member States). To date, 32 Member States have done so.
The Council endorsed the Secretary-General’s continuing efforts to encourage Governments to accept the 2021 amendments to the IMO Convention. It also supported ongoing efforts to bring two IMO treaties into force at the earliest possible opportunity, namely the:
Relations with the United Nations and the specialized agencies
The Council requested the Secretary-General to continue to provide regular updates regarding the possible synergies between the IMO’s mandate and instruments, and UN instruments and regulations, for the protection of the oceans. Member States were invited to submit proposals regarding the best ways to interpret such synergies to the relevant IMO organs.
Relations with intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations
The Council approved the IMO’s membership as a partner organization in the Advance Passenger Information (API) and Booking and Reservation Information (BRI) or Passenger Name Record (PNR) Data Contact Committee (“Contact Committee”), hosted by the World Customs Organization (WCO).
The Contact Committee consists of experts from partner organizations (including WCO, IATA, ICAO, CLIA as well as WCO Members) focused on harmonizing and standardizing the collection and exchange of passenger data for customs and border control purposes. This includes data like passenger names, passport details, and travel itineraries, collected by airlines and other travel service providers.
The Council authorized the Facilitation Committee to consider any future recommendations from the Contact Committee relevant to the work of the FAL Committee.
Non-governmental organizations
The Council granted consultative status to the following non-governmental organizations:
The Council also granted provisional consultative status (for up to two years) to the following organizations, after which their status will be reviewed:
The Council converted the provisional consultative status of the following organizations to full consultative status:
The Council decided not to pursue the charging of fees to non-governmental organizations at IMO.
World Maritime Day and Parallel Event
The Council endorsed the Secretary-General’s proposed World Maritime Day theme for 2026–2027: “From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence.” The Council also agreed to adopt the theme on a biennial basis, for a trial period, to allow more time for planning, promotion and alignment with the theme by Member States, observers and other stakeholders.
The Council had previously accepted the offers from Member States to host the World Maritime Day Parallel Event as follows: 2025 in the United Arab Emirates from 29 to September to 1 October; 2026 in the Republic of Korea; and 2027 in the Philippines.
IMO Awards
The 2025 IMO Awards Ceremony is scheduled to take place in London at the IMO Headquarters on Monday, 24 November 2025, on the first day of Assembly sessions (A 34). This will include:
2025 IMO Awards for Exceptional Bravery at Sea
The Council decided to award the 2025 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea to Mr. Lee Tae-young, officer on board the fishing vessel 135 Geumseongho, nominated by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF).
In addition, four recipients will receive certificates of commendation for their acts of bravery and 18 others will receive letters of commendation. Read more 2024 International Maritime Prize
The Council selected Dr Rosalie Balkin, Secretary-General of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) and former Director of Legal Affairs and External Relations Division at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), as the recipient of the International Maritime Prize for 2024. The prize is awarded annually to an individual or organization judged to have made a significant contribution to the work and objectives of IMO.
Place and date of the next two sessions of Council (C 135 and C 136)
The Council agreed that the 135th session of the Council (C 135) should take place from Wednesday, 19 November 2025 to Friday, 21 November 2025 at IMO headquarters, immediately preceding the thirty-fourth session of the Assembly (A 34), scheduled from Monday, 24 November to Wednesday, 3 December 2025.
The 136th session of the Council (C 136) will take place on Thursday, 4 December 2025, following the conclusion of A 34.
Source: IMO