IMO adopts mandatory requirements for electronic information exchange

An annex to the International Maritime Organization’s Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic aims to harmonize procedures for ship’s arrival, stay and departure from port.    The International Maritime Organization (IMO), said it has adopted mandatory requirements for the electronic exchange of information on cargo, crew and passengers as part of a revised and modernized annex to the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL).
   FAL aims to harmonize procedures for ship’s arrival, stay and departure from port.
   A new standard requiring public authorities to establish systems for the electronic exchange of information, within a period of three years after the adoption of the amendments, is among important changes in the revised FAL Annex.
   It is expected to enter into force on Jan. 1, 2018. There will be a transitional period of 12 months from the date of the introduction of such systems to make electronic transmission mandatory, during which period paper and electronic documents would be allowed, according to the IMO.
   The new recommended practice 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.
   IMO noted that in 1983, “The urgent need for harmonizing standards at ports serving international shipping and simplifying documentation requirements to facilitate the smooth and rapid transit of ships was the subject of a presentation made by a Danish master mariner, Captain Christian Rørbeck.”
   Rørbeck estimated that 80 percent of his time was spent on paperwork, and some of his comments are described in this article from the publication Officer of the Watch.
   Natasha Brown, a media and communications officer at the IMO noted, “Most of ports in developing countries have in place some kind of EDI.”
   She said the challenge is for ports in developing countries, although she noted many private terminals and ports in developing countries are managed by big companies that also have “robust EDI systems to connect with shipping lines, but normally are not connected with other authorities at the ports.”