LNG

Dec 12 (LNGJ) - The United Nations International Maritime Organisation’s Secretary-General Kitack Lim from South Korea has issued an urgent warning about threats to commercial shipping in the Red Sea used by vessels entering or exiting the Suez Canal. “The recent reports of threats made to commercial shipping in the Red Sea are extremely alarming and unacceptable,” Lim said.

   “Ships, cargoes and seafarers must be protected at all times. I invite Member States to work together to ensure unhindered and safe global navigation,” he added. About 60 vessels including LNG carriers normally transit the Suez Canal each day, though numbers have dropped recently due to war risks. “Commercial shipping should never be a collateral victim of geopolitical conflicts. Any attack on commercial shipping is contrary to international maritime law, including laws which protect the freedom of navigation,” Lim stated.

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 80th session in-person conference is under way in London at the International Maritime Organisation with the LNG shipping industry hoping for clear-cut decisions rather than the obfuscation often favoured by UN agencies as they try to please too many interests.

Feb 16 (LNGJ) - International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Kitack Lim has expressed his deep concern about the escalation in the number and severity of attacks on ships and crew in the Gulf of Guinea waters of West Africa, with several incidents in the past couple of years involving LNG carriers. He insisted on the need for all stakeholders to work together to restore security and reduce the threats to the safety and security of crews and vessels operating in the region.

   The Secretary-General said that IMO was enhancing the coordination of initiatives among stakeholders, including the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Interregional Coordination Centre for the Implementation of Regional Strategy for Maritime Safety and Security in Central and West Africa (ICC).

Nov 23 (LNGJ) - The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council has agreed to renew the appointment of South Korean Kitack Lim as Secretary-General of the IMO for a second four-year term beginning on 1 January 2020, subject to the approval of the IMO Assembly in December 2019. One of the IMO’s biggest current tasks is guiding through the 0.5 percent limit on sulfur content in ship fuel coming into force in 2020 under the UN body’s MARPOL treaty, with benefits for the environment and human health. Shipowners are being encouraged to switch to alternatives such as LNG, lower sulfur fuels, or exhaust cleaners. Aged 62, Kitack Lim began attending IMO meetings in 1986 as a member of the South Korean delegation. He had graduated in nautical science at the Korea Maritime and Ocean University in the port of Busan and worked on ships as a Korean naval officer and for an international shipping company.

Oct 23 (LNGJ) - The International Maritime Organization said it had moved forward on its strategy of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from ships with use of cleaner fuels such as LNG by approving a programme of follow-up actions on its global cap on sulfur from 2020. The IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) approved the follow-up programme at a meeting in London. “The programme of follow-up actions is intended to be used as a planning tool in meeting the timelines identified in the initial IMO strategy, which was adopted in April 2018,” said the IMO. Commending the committee’s approval of the follow-up actions, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said the programme “sets a clear signal on how to further progress the matter of reducing GHG emissions from ships up to 2023.”