The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the Comité Maritime International (CMI) have renewed their push for governments to ratify crucial maritime treaties, emphasizing the need for uniform regulations in international shipping.
17 March 2025, London/Antwerp — The ICS and CMI have launched an updated campaign, “Promoting Maritime Treaty Ratification,” aiming to address the persistent challenge of governments failing to ratify vital international maritime conventions. Despite their adoption by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other regulatory bodies, many of these conventions remain unenforced in key jurisdictions, creating inconsistencies in global maritime law.
For an industry operating on a worldwide scale, the absence of universally applied regulations creates significant hurdles. Ships frequently move across multiple jurisdictions, and discrepancies in legal frameworks can lead to operational inefficiencies, compliance risks, and environmental concerns. The campaign seeks to highlight the importance of ratification and encourage national authorities to act with urgency.
The treaties prioritized in this campaign include:
- IMO Nairobi Convention on the Removal of Wrecks (Nairobi WRC), 2007
- IMO 2010 Protocol to the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea (HNS), 1996
- IMO Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (Hong Kong), 2009
- United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships, 2023 (Beijing Convention)
Each of these conventions plays a crucial role in enhancing safety, legal clarity, and environmental protection in global shipping. However, their effectiveness is limited unless widely adopted.
Kiran Khosla, Principal Director (Legal) at ICS, underscores the urgency of the initiative:
“As a global industry, comprehensively regulated by the IMO and other UN bodies, it is crucial that international regulations are ratified and implemented at the national level. Our campaign is designed to support ICS and CMI members in engaging with their governments to expedite the ratification of these essential conventions.”
Uniform maritime regulations are critical for ensuring a level playing field, preventing unilateral national regulations that create confusion and inefficiencies, and strengthening environmental and safety standards. Without widespread adoption, ships and operators face regulatory fragmentation, making compliance and enforcement inconsistent across different jurisdictions.
Ann Fenech, President of CMI, echoes these concerns, emphasizing the legal uncertainty caused by non-ratification:
“Today’s complex geopolitical environment makes it more important than ever that maritime laws and regulations provide legal certainty and uniformity. Through our network of national maritime law associations, CMI will continue to push decision-makers to recognize the importance of these conventions.”
The IMO has expressed strong support for the campaign, aligning with its ongoing focus on improving the implementation of existing maritime instruments alongside its rule-making activities. The updated campaign brochure also highlights other key instruments that would benefit from wider adoption, such as the IMO Convention on Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water (BWM), 2004, and the IMO Protocol of 1997 to MARPOL (Annex VI – Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships).
By urging governments to commit to these treaties, ICS and CMI are taking a proactive stance in fostering a regulatory environment that ensures the maritime industry operates under consistent and enforceable rules worldwide.
