The IMO Council, which creates the biggest oversight of the IMO has been selected by the IMO Assembly. All 172 IMO member states, plus three associate member states are allowed to attend the Assembly meeting.
Council membership is considered an important position for member states that seek to be engaged with the IMO decision making position as it makes many of the important decisions around the plans and functions of the IMO. Council positions are for two years, in line with the IMO budge biennium. For 2018 and 2019 the council remains the same with two notable differences.
The United Arab Emirates and Jamaica become council members, with Argentina and Bangladesh losing their seats at the table. One minor change sees Australia being elected as a category B member and not a category C member.
There are three categories of members. The first is the big 10 with the largest interest in providing international shipping services. The second category are the 20 that have the largest interest in seaborne trade, with the final 20 being the countries with special interests in maritime transportation or navigation, and which ensure geographic representation of maritime nations.
The announcement of the 2018/2019 biennium members can be found here
The announcement of the 2016/2017 biennium members can be found here
| The members for 2018/2019 are: China, Greece, Italy, Japan, Norway, Panama, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, Bahamas, Belgium, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey. |
