International Maritime Organization Strives for Cleaner Oceans

As President of Northeast Maritime Institute in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, Eric Dawicki manages the college’s educational affairs and consults within the shipping industry on regulatory compliance. Additionally, Eric Dawicki has served as the Lead Delegate to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Founded in 1959 as an agency of the United Nations, the IMO establishes global standards for safe shipping. It also regulates environmental practices for the protection of the Earth’s oceans.
The IMO works largely by negotiating treaties and conventions. Although safety was the agency’s initial goal, no fewer than 20 of the 51 agreements reached through the IMO deal with environmental safeguards.
Originally intended to combat oil spills, this treaty framework has expanded to cover dumping of garbage, sewage, other hazardous chemicals into the water as well as air pollution from ships. Other protocols address the problems of recycling ships and harmful organisms carried in ships’ ballasts.
Many developing nations lack the means to implement the IMO’s mandates. The agency assists these countries in meeting these objectives, which will ultimately help create sustainable economies and cleaner waters.
