144 mandatory audits under IMSAS have been conducted, with up to 25 Member States
Workshop in preparation for respective audits under the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS) attended Senior maritime administrators from nine countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region over five days
Under IMSAS, all Member States are required to undergo a mandatory audit within a seven-year audit cycle, to assess their performance in implementing applicable IMO instruments
The workshop was jointly organized in Dubai
The workshop was jointly organized in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (21-25 April) by IMO and the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure of the UAE, as the host country.
Twenty participants
Twenty participants received training on how to strengthen their maritime administrations’ capacity to implement and enforce mandatory IMO instruments as well as the IMO Instruments Implementation Code (III Code).
Participants discussed specific guidance for the following:
Preparation and conduct of audits under IMSAS;
Development of corrective action plans (CAP) to address findings;
Actions to be taken by a Member State to identify and eliminate the root causes of any finding or Observation from the audit, in order to prevent their recurrence were provided.
144 mandatory audits under IMSAS
Since the IMSAS was made mandatory in January 2016, 144 mandatory audits under IMSAS have been conducted, with up to 25 Member States are audited annually.With the first audit cycle due to be completed at the end of 2025, participants were briefed on the latest developments related to the Scheme
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9 Countries participated
Countries that participated in the workshop included: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.A.1070(28) III Code
Fully comply with the IMO instruments
It is noteworthy that the agreement emphasizes that member States have the primary responsibility to establish and maintain an adequate and effective system to discharge their obligations as flag, port and/or coastal States emanating from applicable international law. IMO can assist Member States to improve their capabilities and overall performance in order for them to fully comply with the IMO instruments to which they are Parties.
(IMSAS) commenced as a voluntary Scheme
The IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS) commenced as a voluntary Scheme. It aims to promote the consistent and effective implementation of applicable IMO instruments and to assist Member States to improve their capabilities, whilst contributing to the enhancement of global and individual Member State’s overall performance in compliance with the requirements of the instruments to which it is a Party.
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Source : Press – Release -IMO
