A regional workshop on ships' routeing and ship reporting systems is taking place in Lima, Peru (26-30 October).
The workshop aims to strengthen participant's understanding of how these measures can enhance maritime safety and protect the marine environment, and how proposals for new or revised systems can be submitted to IMO.
The programme covers the principles, design criteria and procedures for establishing ships' routeing and ship reporting systems, drawing from the General Provisions on Ships' Routeing and the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulations V/10 and V/11.
Participants are receiving guidance on how to prepare proposals for submission to IMO's Sub‑Committee on Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue (NCSR), and on how proposals are evaluated before being considered for adoption by the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC).
Under SOLAS Chapter V (Safety of navigation) and relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), IMO is responsible for establishing and adopting ships' routeing systems and ship reporting systems at the international level.
These measures include traffic separation schemes, two-way routes, precautionary areas, areas to avoid, and deep-water routes. They help organize maritime traffic, reduce the risk of collisions and groundings and protect the marine environment, particularly in busy or navigationally challenging waters.
However, as maritime traffic increases and navigational hazards persist in some areas, there may be a need to introduce new measures or review existing ones. The workshop provides an opportunity to raise awareness among coastal States of the benefits of establishing or updating routeing measures and the procedures for submitting proposals to IMO.
The workshop is organized by IMO, in cooperation with the Maritime Authority of Peru (General Directorate of Captaincies and Coast Guard (DICAPI)) and Jovellanos Centre of Spain.
