The International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the World Customs Organisation (WCO), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the International Organisation for Standardization(IOS) have signed a new partnership to support the increased maritime digitalization.
The IMO disclosed that under its Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL) Convention, public authorities are now required to set up systems to support digital exchange of vital information about ship movement in and out of the port, about cargoes and crew for easy flow of operations.
“When ships enter and leave ports, vital information about cargoes, dangerous goods, crews, vessel details and many other things has to be exchanged with the authorities ashore,” The IMO said.
It added that the partnership agreement has been effective since 15 March and paves the way for updating the IMO Reference Data Model and for its further development towards harmonization of data standards in other areas, beyond the FAL Convention, such as exchanging operational data that could help facilitate just-in-time operation of ships.
Just-in-time operation allows ships to optimise their speed so they arrive at their destination port when their berth is ready for them, thereby saving energy and cutting costs and emissions.
The Parties of the agreement have already been cooperating to develop the IMO Reference Data Model, which is a key element of the IMO Compendium on Facilitation and Electronic Business and covers the reporting requirements defined in the FAL Convention to support transmission, receipt, and response of information required for the arrival, stay, and departure of ships, persons, and cargo via electronic data exchange.
This work ensures interoperability between the respective standards of each organization, the IMO stated.
