Top three flag states call on IMO to look at alternatives to climate framework

A coalition saying it represents "half the world’s fleet" is urging IMO member states to rethink the approach to curbing shipping industry greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions ahead of a late-April 2026 session of IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).

The coalition includes flag registries, classification societies, shipowner associations, and shipping companies and claimed that "concerns regarding the NZF’s practical implementation have grown, and support for the framework in its current form has continued to erode". 

"The coalition calls on member states and the organisation to give serious and open-minded consideration to the alternative proposals that have been submitted, and to use MEPC 84 as the platform for the alignment the industry has been waiting for," the group said.

The letter from the coalition positions IMO’s role in governing global shipping regulations as contingent upon its ability to build ’broad consensus’ for policy and says the ongoing, contentious debate over the next steps in setting regulatory policy for shipping’s decarbonisation is critical to IMO.

"The industry relies on IMO as the essential global regulator for shipping, which is seen as capable of ensuring a level playing field in the development and implementation of global emissions regulations. That role depends on the organisation’s ability to foster broad consensus among its members," the letter said.

In October 2025, an extraordinary session of MEPC, which was expected to adopt the landmark set of rules to cut shipping emissions known as the NZF, saw negotiations falter amid pressure from the US and several oil-producing countries. The US, under the current Trump administration, issued a series of public threats against IMO in the lead-up to the extraordinary session, including port fees, sanctions, investigations, visa restrictions on crews and other ’penalties’ for ’nations in favour’ of International Maritime Organization’s net-zero framework. The result delayed a vote on the adoption of regulatory measures by a year. 

According to the coalition, which underscores its commitment to decarbonising the shipping sector in its letter, the ’path forward’ requires what it calls clarity and certainty, only achievable within a global framework. 

"The industry is ready to invest, to transition, and to decarbonise," the letter claims. "Investments in new vessels, alternative fuels, and bunkering infrastructure involve decades-long asset lifetimes and billions of dollars in capital. Regulatory uncertainty is not a neutral condition; it delays progress, inflates costs, and ultimately slows the very transition the world needs. The window for action is now. The coalition stands ready to support member states in finding that path forward." 

The latest letter – from flag states including the Liberian Registry, Panama Maritime Authority, Marshall Islands Registry; classification societies including Bureau Veritas and RINA; shipowner associations including Cyprus, Liberia and Malaysia; and companies including Saudi Arabia’s Bahri and Greece’s GasLog, DHT Holdings, Dorian LPG, Tsakos Group, Danaos Corp, Dynagas, Maran / Angelicoussis Group entities, TMS, Centrofin, Alpha Bulkers – is one of at least three from broad industry coalitions urging IMO to finalise a plan to decarbonise by or around 2050.

Industry virtually unanimous in role of IMO as preferred arbiter and global shipping regulations

A list of shipping’s largest membership bodies, including BIMCO, CLIA, ICS, Intercargo, Interferry, Intertanko and the World Shipping Council, have penned a joint letter in support of shipping’s global regulators. 

The groups, which together include representation from across the global commercial shipping fleet, said they were highlighting the ’vital importance of IMO member states agreeing a way forward’ on what has become a contentious process to adopt new regulations around the industry’s bid to decarbonise.

"IMO consistently demonstrates a unique ability to deliver critical regulations for the safety and security of international shipping and the protection of the marine environment," the organisations said in defence of IMO’s role as shipping’s global regulator. 

"The industry remains unified in its commitment to the value and effectiveness of IMO as the global regulator for international shipping and remains committed to pursuing the ambition established within the 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships, having invested and committed billions of dollars to trial and implement the use of alternative fuels and innovative technology."

The letter, issued a week before IMO’s MEPC 84 begins, follows a public call for ’realism’ led by the Union of Greek Shipowners (UGS). The Melina Travlos-led group called for the development of an alternative to the so-called Net Zero Framework regulation on the table for adoption at IMO. 

UGS had previously welcomed the postponement of a final agreement on the framework, saying it provided an opportunity to shape a solution that would guide global shipping through the energy transition safely and realistically.

That view was reiterated in UGS’ latest statement.

“We urge member states to work towards a global, realistic and implementable solution that can ensure a just and equitable transition, while prioritising safety and providing the necessary certainty for long-term investments,” Ms Travlos said.

“Failing this, the risk of a fragmented regulatory landscape, marked by regional measures that distort competition, will become inevitable,” she warned.

“Such an outcome would neither advance the global decarbonisation of shipping nor preserve the central role of IMO as the competent regulator of international shipping,” she added.

Ms Travlos said the experience gained from previous negotiations should be used to explore alternative approaches, drawing on the industry’s expertise and practical knowledge.