RECALLING Article 15(j) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization
concerning the functions of the Assembly in relation to regulations and guidelines
concerning maritime safety and the prevention and control of marine pollution from
ships,
RECALLING ALSO that one of the goals of the Organization is to ensure the consistent and
effective implementation of IMO instruments globally and compliance with their
requirements,
RECALLING FURTHER that amongst the objectives of the Organization is the assessment of
the current level of implementation, and the identification of those areas where flag
States have difficulties in fully implementing IMO instruments to which they are Party,
paying special attention to difficulties encountered by Governments,
FURTHER RECALLING that, through resolutions A.777(18) and A.900(21), it reaffirmed the
contents of resolution A.500(XII) and thus the assignment of the highest priority to
promoting the implementation of relevant international instruments for the improvement
of maritime safety and pollution prevention,
RECOGNIZING that Governments are required to meet and fulfil the obligations and the
responsibilities which are set forth in international regulations, procedures and
practices contained in IMO instruments and other mandatory instruments to which they are
Parties, and to take any steps which may be necessary to secure their observance,
RECOGNIZING ALSO that Parties to international conventions such as the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 (UNCLOS); the International
Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amended (SOLAS
1974) and its 1988 Protocol; the International Convention for the Prevention
of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto, as
amended (MARPOL 73/78); the Convention on the International Regulations for
Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, as amended (COLREG
1972); the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966 (LL
1966) and its 1988 Protocol; and the International Convention on Tonnage
Measurement of Ships, 1969 (TONNAGE 1969) have, as part of the ratification process,
accepted the obligation under applicable international law to fully meet their
responsibilities and to discharge their obligations as prescribed by the conventions and
other instruments to which they are Party,
REAFFIRMING its desire that ships comply at all times with the maritime safety and
pollution prevention standards laid down in relevant international instruments,
REAFFIRMING ALSO that flag States have the primary responsibility to have in place an
adequate and effective system to exercise control over ships entitled to fly their flag,
and to ensure that they comply with relevant international rules and regulations,
HAVING ADOPTED resolution A.847(20) on Guidelines to assist flag States in
the implementation of IMO instruments; resolution A.739(18) on Guidelines for the authorization of organizations
acting on behalf of the Administration; resolution A.789(19) on Specifications on the survey and certification
functions of recognized organizations acting on behalf of the Administration; and
resolution A.881(21) on Self-assessment of flag State performance,
NOTING circular MSC/Circ.954 - MEPC/Circ.373 by which the Marine Environment Protection
Committee, at its forty-fourth session, and the Maritime Safety Committee, at its
seventy-second session, approved criteria and performance indicators for the
self-assessment of flag State performance,
NOTING ALSO that, while States may realize certain benefits by becoming Party to
instruments aiming at promoting maritime safety and the prevention of pollution from
ships, these benefits can only be fully achieved when all Parties carry out their
obligations as required by the instruments concerned,
NOTING FURTHER that the ultimate effectiveness of any instrument depends, inter
alia, upon all States:
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(a) becoming Party to the instruments mentioned above;
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(b) implementing them fully and effectively; and
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(c) reporting to the Organization, as required,
CONSCIOUS of the difficulties a number of Governments may face in giving full and
complete effect to all the provisions of the various IMO instruments to which they are
Party,
RECOGNIZING that any such difficulties need to be minimized and that, for that reason,
the Organization has established and maintains an Integrated Technical Co-operation
Programme,
BEING DESIROUS to further assist Governments in improving their capabilities and
performance as flag States and in giving full and complete effect to the instruments to
which they are Party,
RECALLING that, at its twenty-first session, when adopting resolution A.881(21) on
Self-assessment of flag State Performance (Guidance to assist flag States in the
self-assessment of their performance), it requested the Maritime Safety Committee and
the Marine Environment Protection Committee to keep the Guidance annexed to that
resolution under continuous review and to update it in the light of their work on the
matter,
HAVING CONSIDERED the recommendations made by the Maritime Safety Committee at its
seventy-fourth session and by the Marine Environment Protection Committee at its
forty-sixth session,
1. ADOPTS:
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(a) the Guidance to assist flag States in the self-assessment of
their performance set out in Annex 1 to the present resolution; and
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(b) the Criteria and performance indicators for the self-assessment
of flag State performance set out in Annex 2 to the present resolution;
2. URGES Governments, in their efforts to improve safety of life at sea and to protect
the marine environment, to carry out, at regular intervals and at their discretion, a
self-assessment of their capabilities and performance in giving full and complete effect
to the various instruments to which they are Party;
3. URGES ALSO Governments to use the Guidance and Criteria and performance indicators, in
conjunction with resolution A.847(20), and to bear in mind the relevant provisions of
the various IMO instruments to which they are Party, when assessing their performance as
a flag State in the context of these instruments;
4. ENCOURAGES Governments, when seeking technical assistance from or through the
Organization, to provide the Secretary-General with the results of their most recent
self-assessment, so as to enable and assist the Secretary-General to identify, qualify
and quantify, in consultation with the State concerned, the needs and the priorities of
the State in question. For this purpose, any submission of the results is not a
prerequisite for seeking or obtaining technical assistance. In this respect, the
contents of any such submission are to be treated with the utmost and strictest
confidence and the name of the submitting Government will only be released with the
expressed consent of the Government concerned;
5. INVITES Governments to submit, on a voluntary basis, to the Organization a copy of
their self-assessment report in order to enable the establishment of a database which
would assist the Organization in its efforts to achieve consistent and effective
implementation of IMO instruments;
6. REQUESTS the Maritime Safety Committee and the Marine Environment Protection Committee
to consider other measures necessary to ensure the effective and consistent global
implementation of IMO instruments and, in so doing, to pay particular attention to any
special difficulties faced by Governments;
7. REQUESTS ALSO the Maritime Safety Committee and the Marine Environment Protection
Committee to keep the Guidance and Criteria and performance indicators under continuous
review and to update them in the light of their work on the matter;
8. REVOKES resolution A.881(21).