IMO’s Facilitation Committee has adopted amendments to the Facilitation (FAL) Convention which will make the single window for data exchange mandatory in ports around the world, marking a significant step in the acceleration of digitalization in shipping. The amendments are expected to enter into force on 1 January 2024.

It was reported on 16 January that Rolls-Royce has reached another milestone towards CO2-neutral energy supply. The further developed 12-cylinder gas engine of the mtu Series 4000 has successfully passed the first test runs with 100% hydrogen and showed very good results in terms of efficiency, power, emissions and combustion.

The range of short sea container services available from Hutchison Ports London Thamesport is to be increased following the announcement by Viasea Shipping of a new service from the South East UK port to Norway and the Baltic.

In mid -January the US Coast Guard announced from Pensacola, Florida, that the crew of the USCGC Decisive returned to their homeport of Pensacola on 13 January following a 33-day patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, concluding 55 years of service to the Nation.

Canada has become the latest country to accept amendments to the Convention on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which will expand the size of the Council, extend the term of its Members, and recognize three additional language texts as authentic versions of the Convention. 

The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) calls for efforts to be sustained worldwide as maritime piracy and armed robbery attacks reached their lowest recorded level in almost three decades.

The International Maritime Rescue Federation* World Maritime Rescue Congress (WMRC) 2023 is the largest event of its kind in the world, open to all with an interest in SAR.

The event will include a number of talks, discussions and workshops.

In December it was announced that Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) officer, Mr Tan Hanqiang, First Secretary (Maritime), High Commission of the Republic of Singapore to the UK, had been appointed by the IMO as Vice-Chair of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). It is understood that the appointment was effective from 16 December 2022. Mr Tan succeeded Mr Harry Conway (Liberia).

IMO has been assisting the Maritime Affairs Authority, Yemen, to put in place a legal framework that gives full and complete effect to IMO instruments dealing with maritime security.