From 13 to 22 May 2026, the 111th session of the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization (MSC 111) took place in London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Ukrainian delegation actively participated in the plenary discussions in accordance with the session’s agenda. Primarily, it informed the Committee about the consequences of the russian federation’s aggression against Ukraine for global merchant shipping. Up-to-date information was provided on the special maritime corridor operation in the Black Sea amidst russian strikes against ships, port facilities and other port and coastal infrastructure of Ukraine, specifically grain elevators and galleries. Approximately 200 million tons of cargo have been transported through the corridor since its launch, including nearly 120 million tons of agricultural products.
Ukraine presented its position during discussions of other issues directly related to maritime safety and security, as well as countering of the “shadow fleet” operations. Thus, the Committee’s decisions on the following were supported:
- amendments to the BELTREP and SOUNDREP mandatory ship reporting systems in the Danish Straits, according to which vessels will be obliged to provide coastal states with evidence related to insurance certificates under key IMO instruments (resolutions MSC.314(88)/Rev.1 and MSC.332(90)/Rev.1);
- de-escalation of the situation in the Arabian Sea, the Sea of Oman and the Gulf region, particularly in and around the Strait of Hormuz, pursuant to outcome of the 36th extraordinary session of the IMO Council (18-19 March 2026), including through cessation of any actions by the Islamic Republic of Iran aimed at unlawfully restricting the freedom of navigation in the region (a relevant resolution was adopted);
- further updating the financial architecture of the Long-Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) system in order to ease the coastal states’ access to its data, which will contribute to more effective responses to substandard shipping, search and rescue operations and protection of the marine environment;
- exploring ways to revise the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, 2002 (ISPS Code), as a response to an expanding range of threats to security of merchant shipping associated with organised crime and hostilities at sea.
The Committee also adopted Guidelines on training and certification of seafarers affected by the escalation of the war in the Middle East. The content of the document largely duplicates the provisions of a similar circular, MSC.1/Circ.1643, issued by IMO during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Guidelines, in particular, call upon the parties to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, to consider the need of issuing dispensations or granting extensions for the renewal of qualification documents, as well as to inform the Organization, if appropriate.
Another critical outcome of the Committee’s activities is the adoption of the non-mandatory International Code of Safety for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS Code). As the Organization’s Secretary-General Arsenio Domínguez said, this achievement demonstrated the IMO’s capability to develop advanced solutions bound to shape a safe, responsible, and technological future for shipping. The experience-building phase of the Code is scheduled to run from 01 July 2026 until 2028, when the work will begin for making it a mandatory supplement to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, subsequently.
Furthermore, the Committee decided on the phased implementation of Very High Frequency Data Exchange System (VDES) as an alternative to the Automatic Identification System (AIS), enacted interim guidelines for safety of ships using certain alternative fuels and for training of their crew members, established requirements for augmentation equipment within the World-Wide Radionavigation System, as well as adopted previously approved amendments to a number of mandatory IMO instruments.
Additional information on the MSC 111 results, as well as the MASS Code, is available on the official website of the Organization.
