The theme for World Maritime Day 2017 "Connecting ships, ports and people", provides an opportunity to highlight the value of integration in the maritime and logistics sectors.
The theme has particular resonance for International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Facilitation Committee, which is meeting (4-7 April) at IMO Headquarters.
The Committee will discuss matters relating to the Facilitation Convention (FAL), which supports international maritime traffic by providing a set of consistent, uniform regulations to facilitate the free flow of commerce.
At its last session, in 2016, the Committee adopted a revised Annex to the FAL Convention, which includes mandatory requirements for the electronic exchange of information on cargo, crew and passengers and encourages the use of the “single window” concept, to enable all the information required by public authorities in connection with the arrival, stay and departure of ships, persons and cargo, to be submitted via a single portal without duplication.
The Committee will focus during the current session on the implementation of the new requirements, including the development of a revised explanatory manual.
The Committee will also discuss the way forward for IMO’s Maritime Single Window project, under which the IMO Secretariat has been looking at ways to develop a Maritime Single Window prototype. The Committee will discuss the harmonization and standardization of data formats.
The Facilitation Committee 41st session was opened by Ashok Mahapatra, Director, Maritime Safety Division, on behalf of Secretary-General Kitack Lim. The chair is Yury Melenas (Russian Federation).