News item | 28-11-2025 | 15:34
The Kingdom of the Netherlands has been re-elected to the council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Council is the ‘daily administration’ of this UN maritime organization and consists of 40 of the 176 member states. The Council is elected every two years.
The Netherlands has been a member of the Council almost continuously since 1959. With the re-election, our country can also help determine over the next two years how the IMO will tackle the major challenges for the maritime sector.
Those challenges certainly exist. Shipping has a major challenge when it comes to sustainability, and that is a transition that the sector cannot manage alone. Only by working internationally can the sector tackle the transition to clean, sustainable shipping.
Safety is another concern. Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, a shadow fleet has emerged to transport sanctioned Russian oil around the world. This usually happens in old, unsafe and uninsured ships. Lately, we have increasingly seen that these ships sail under a false flag, including flags of other countries in the kingdom.
These ships pose a danger to safety at sea and the vulnerable maritime nature. We have been working internationally for years to tackle this practice, but that work is never done.
“The Netherlands has a rich history in shipping. A seat in the Council is important because it puts us at the helm of the executive board of the IMO. This also gives us a say in which topics are on the agenda in the coming years,” said Minister Robert Tieman (Infrastructure and Water Management).