Work continues to finalise IMO guidance on anti-corruption

The 45th session of the IMO’s Facilitation Committee (FAL 45) has agreed to re-establish and IMO Correspondence group (CG) to continue development of IMO guidance aimed at addressing bribery and corruption in the maritime sector.

FAL 45 agreed that further work was needed in a CG to develop the draft guidance based on a document submitted to FAL 44, with the aim of bringing a draft to FAL 46 next year for approval.

IBIA is one of several co-sponsors of submissions to FAL on the subject and has been taking part in the CG established at FAL 44 in October 2020.

There is broad support among IMO Member States and NGOs for IMO anti-corruption guidance.

Another proposal, however, to establish a module in the IMO’s Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS) to report incidents of maritime corruption generated discussions, with several concerns raised, in particular about the implications of an anonymous reporting system.

The Committee agreed to request the Correspondence Group on the Guidance to Address Maritime Corruption to consider further the proposal of the GISIS module prior to FAL 46.

IBIA will have the opportunity to continue to take part in the CG.

Efforts toward developing IMO guidance on anti-corruption started in 2017, when the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) initiated a cross-industry working group together with the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), with the ambition of attracting industry associations to collaborate and address key corruption issues in the maritime industry.