🌐 His Excellency Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization, last week briefed The Nautical Institute on his focal areas for the early part of 2026.

🌊 The Net-Zero Framework, intended to drive forward maritime decarbonisation, remains firmly on the agenda.  The IMO secretariat is focussed on facilitating development of the substance of the Net-Zero Framework and hopes to ensure that people do not become overly focussed on the process of achieving any agreement.

🚢 Seafarer criminalisation and abandonment remain major issues. Whilst the International Labor Organization retains regulatory lead for matters of abandonment, the IMO monitors this closely with over 400 ships and 6000 seafarers affected in 2025. The Legal Committee will look specifically at this issue during their meeting in April.

🌊 Addressing concerns caused by ‘substandard shipping’, also referred to as Dark and Shadow Fleet vessels, is a major task.  The Secretary General noted that the IMO itself has no responsibility in areas of sanctions (this is either a UN Security Council or a State responsibility), but that there are many associated issues that adversely affect the safety of world shipping and will therefore receive IMO attention.

👉 For a more detailed report of the briefing, visit our dedicated IMO page: https://lnkd.in/ezDtFc-c

Source: NI Linkedin Post