Russia is now working purposefully to regain a seat in the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) 40-member council, after the country in 2023 for the first time in more than 60 years was voted out – a consequence of the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia lost in the election in December 2023, where Liberia took the seat. Now Moscow has sent an eight-page document to the IMO’s member states with the aim of being elected again for the period 2026-2027, writes TradeWinds.
In the document, the war against Ukraine is downplayed, while Russia criticizes that the IMO, according to the country, has allowed itself to be pressured by external actors and “has begun to deviate from its impartial role”. Russia describes itself as a “balancing element” in the IMO’s work since 1960 and highlights its technical contributions, including a gradual approach to reducing shipping’s CO₂ emissions.
The IMO’s work in recent years has particularly focused on problems with the shadow fleet, false flags, ship-to-ship transfers and manipulation of position data – conditions that are largely associated with Russian ships under sanctions.
Ukraine continues the pressure against Russia in the IMO with criticism of mines in the Black Sea and documents issued to seafarers in occupied areas.
The seats in the IMO’s 40-member council are distributed in three categories, A, B and C. Denmark has held a seat among the 20 countries in category C since 2001.
-emte
