CIMAC goes IMO: a new era of collaboration and innovation

In July 2024, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) granted CIMAC the status of ’NGO with consultative status,’ with final approval by the Assembly expected in 2025. This milestone marks a significant step for CIMAC, enhancing our ability to contribute to global maritime policies and standards. 

In September 2024, the IMO secretary-general visited our booth at SMM Hamburg, underscoring the importance of CIMAC’s contributions to the maritime industry. We received a warm welcome from IMO personnel, including a dedicated onboarding meeting with external relations officers and an orientation seminar for IMO delegates. These initial engagements set the stage for fruitful collaborations and exchanges. We were able to put the co-operation with IMO into practice very quickly. Initially, we participated in the secretary general’s NGO briefings, gaining valuable insights and sharing updates on our ongoing projects.

Other exiting events followed, such as the reception for World Maritime Day and the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 82 meeting, to name just two. To sum up, practical work has quickly started, and CIMAC has already taken on a great deal of tasks.

Challenge accepted

There is no shortage of challenges in today’s world. The shipping industry needs to significantly cut its emissions, especially greenhouse gases. The course has been set, and the big goal is clear. But the journey to get there will require a vast number of detailed questions to be answered and a wide range of options to be exploited. Alternative fuels like methanol or ammonia will certainly be part of the solution. The same applies to digitalisation. Artificial intelligence can undoubtedly make a major contribution, too. We need to take a close look at all these and many other individual building blocks and then determine how to achieve our goal. Society expects this from us. And we will not disappoint these expectations. We are convinced that, as dedicated experts in power, drives, and propulsion, we have a lot to contribute. We gladly accept the challenge.

Looking ahead, CIMAC will actively engage in various committees. These include:

• Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). 
  
• Maritime Safety Committee (MSC). 
  
• Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction. 
  
• Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment. 
  
• Facilitation Committee (FAL). 
  
• Expert Group on Data Harmonization (EGDH). 
  
• Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping.
• Secretary-General’s NGO Briefing.

Our key focus areas for these meetings include the digitalisation strategy, maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS), and the human element. We will, to give a concrete example for our future plan, also submit our position on ’enabling a shipwide data ecosystem’ as an information paper, targeting the MSC MASS Working Group, EGDH and FAL.

We are dedicated to advancing digitalisation in the maritime industry, with a focus on enabling a shipwide data ecosystem, system integration, automation and unattended enginerooms. Our goal is to achieve fully autonomous ships, reducing human interference and enhancing operational efficiency. As digital support systems become more integrated, the challenges for crews will decrease, paving the way for the realisation of MASS.

In addition, we ensure a continuous exchange of information within our community through various channels, including articles on the CIMAC website and LinkedIn page, the CIMAC newsletter and various meetings. The CIMAC Congress, which will take place in Zurich in May, will certainly be a highlight again. Around 800 experts will meet there to discuss key challenges for shipping and other areas related to power, drives and propulsion. CIMAC continues to advocate innovation and collaboration in the maritime industry to ensure a technologically advanced and sustainable future.