IMO starts work on stronger ship safety management and protections against onboard violence

The International Maritime organisation has begun a multi-year effort to strengthen ship safety management and address violence and fatigue at sea. The work followed the Maritime Safety Committee's 110th session in London from 18 to 27 June 2025. This article is independently written from the cited factual information published by the IMO.

Management systems and seafarer welfare

The committee agreed to comprehensively revise guidance for implementing the International Safety Management Code, aiming to improve consistent enforcement with support from port State control. The revision will address sexual harassment, bullying and sexual assault. Safety-management systems are expected to cover prevention, reporting, response, documentation, victim care and protection from retaliation. Fatigue and hours of work and rest were prioritised, with related analysis scheduled across 2026–2027. The same session reported substantial progress on a non-mandatory Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships Code, with 24 of 25 chapters finalised. The source records a continuing programme rather than a completed new rule. Its account links enforcement and welfare, placing the treatment of people on board within the wider management of ship safety. Port State control is identified as support for more consistent application, although no individual ports or administrations are named. The work therefore has several strands: implementation guidance, protection against onboard violence and harassment, fatigue analysis, and progress on autonomous-shipping guidance. Source attribution: independently written from factual information in the International Maritime organisation report cited above. No quotation, photograph or image licence has been added.