MONROVIA – The Commissioner-General of the Liberia Maritime Authority, Cllr. Neto Zarzar Lighe has led a delegation of five persons to London, United Kingdom, to attend and participate in the 132nd Session of the IMO which begins July 8, 2024 and ends on July 12, 2024.
According to a dispatch from the Liberia Permanent Representative to the IMO, Ambassador Robert Wilmot Kpadeh, Liberia will have a loud voice in most of the deliberations at the 132nd session especially those that will focus on maritime safety and security, adding, several vessels including Liberian flag ships have recently come under brutal attacks by pirates in the Gulf of Eden leading to the killing of harmless seafarers and the destruction of vessels.
“This cruelty must come to an end and the highest level of safety and security must be accorded to international shipping because it is the ultimate source of global trade and commerce without which the world is doomed”, he said, adding that that Liberia is of the view that all nations, large or small, must firmly pull together in ensuring the safety and security of international shipping.
Meanwhile, Liberia has once again demonstrated its unyielding commitment to international shipping by settling fully its 2024 IMO Member States’ Assessed Due in the tone of £5,124,591.00M or its equivalent of US$6,516,429.91M.
Liberia, the top most Open Registry in the world currently prides itself with an outstanding repute of being the second highest contributor to the annual budget of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for over two decades consistently contributing on average annually 13% of the Organization’s annual budget.
Liberia’s percentage payment is expected to increase in 2025 since the West African nation became the world largest Registry in August 2023 with a gross registered tonnage of more than 257million, as assessed dues annually paid to the IMO by member States are based on the gross registered tonnage of a country’s flag.
The timely settlement of Members States’ dues is important to the survival of the IMO, as this enables the organization to effectively and efficiently implement its biennium agenda for international shipping to remain safe, secure, and protect the marine environment from ships-source pollution.
Without the prompt payment of dues, the organization would struggle to meet its operational cost and approved thematic programmes as per Organization’s Strategic Directions (SD), including (1) Ensure implementation of IMO instruments supported by capacity development; (2) Respond to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping, and (3) Enhance global facilitation, supply chain resilience and security of international trade.
As the 132nd session of the IMO starts Monday, 8 June 2024, Liberia as a ‘Category A’ Member of the 40-Member Council of IMO, has once again shown that Liberia deserves to be on Council indicative of its good standing in timely due payments as well as meeting other key responsibilities potentially essential to advancing the agenda of the IMO.
A dispatch from the Liberia Permanent Mission at the IMO in London quotes Maritime Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Cllr. Neto Zarzar Lighe as saying, “Liberia shall not only continue to meet its financial obligation promptly to the Organisation, but would also ensure effective participation in the work of the Committees, Subcommittees and Working Groups of the Organisation through its Permanent Mission and delegations from its capital, Monrovia, the USA and other offices around the world”.
This commitment also aligns fully with the objective of the Liberia Maritime Authority (LiMA), the statutory organ of the Liberian Government on maritime affairs, to maintain a strong relationship between the IMO and Liberia.