IMO Number Scheme extended to more fishing vessels
More fishing vessels are now eligibile to have the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Ship Identification Number - a prerequisite to the first phase of the Global Record - as the IMO Assembly agreed, in December 2017, to a second amendment to the IMO Number Scheme.
The IMO Ship Identification Number Scheme now applies to ships of 100 gross tonnage and above including, amongst others, fishing vessels of steel and non-steel hull construction. It is also being extended to include "all motorized inboard fishing vessels of less than 100 gross tonnage down to a size limit of 12 metres in length overall (LOA) authorized to operate outside waters under the national jurisdiction of the flag State".
The IMO Ship Identification Number Scheme is an integral part of the shipping sector.
It is required under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, for all cargo ships of 300 gross tonnage and above as well as all passenger ships of 100 gross tonnage and above.
Initially, this Number Scheme applied only to merchant ships. With an amendment in 2013, the IMO Assembly agreed to a proposal, co-sponsored by FAO, to include fishing vessels of 100 gross tonnage and above. In 2014, the Thirty-first meeting of the Committee of Fisheries (COFI) agreed that the IMO Number should be used as the Global Record’s UVI for Phase 1. To apply for an IMO Number please click here.