NGOs

Non-governmental international organizations that have the capability to make a substantial contribution to the work of IMO may be granted consultative status by the Council with the approval of the Assembly

Any organization seeking consultative status with IMO has to demonstrate considerable expertise as well as the capacity to contribute, within its field of competence, to the work of IMO. It must also show that it has no means of access to the work of IMO through other organizations already in consultative status and that it is "truly international" in its membership, namely that it has a range of members covering a broad geographical scope and, usually, more than one region.

The application procedure is initiated by sending, by post or e-mail,a formal letter addressed by the Executive Head of the NGO (or the person in charge) to the Secretary-General of IMO, informing him of the wish of the NGO to obtain consultative status with IMO. Applications,together with a completed questionnaire and other relevant documentation, should be sent to the following address:

Mr. Arsenio Dominguez

Secretary-General
International Maritime Organization
4 Albert Embankment
London SE1 7SR
United Kingdom

or

ero@imo.org (with "Application for consultative status" in the subject line)

The IMO Council considers applications for consultative status by non-governmental international organizations once a year, at its first session, which is usually held in the summer. Applications, including the letter, the questionnaire and any additional relevant documentation must have reached the IMO Secretariat by 1 March in order to be submitted to the summer Council session held that year; applications received after that date will be considered the following year.

You may consult the Rules and Guidelines for Consultative Status of Non-Governmental International Organizations with the International Maritime Organization and the Strategic Plan for the Organization when completing the application questionnaire.

To date there are 89 international non-governmental organizations in consultative status with IMO; to access their contact details, click here.