The Council of the International Maritime Organization has reaffirmed the need to protect navigational rights and freedoms under international law, with particular attention to the security of commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

Concluding its 137th session, the Council adopted a resolution stating that transit passage through straits used for international navigation must not be threatened, impeded, denied, hampered, impaired or suspended. It also underlined that coastal State measures regulating traffic in vital shipping lanes should comply with IMO requirements under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.

Addressing conditions around the Strait of Hormuz, the Council condemned attacks on civilian commercial vessels and called for tensions in the Middle East to be de-escalated. It said any arrangement among the region’s littoral States should guarantee all ships a non-discriminatory and unimpeded right of transit through the internationally recognized traffic separation scheme adopted by IMO in 1968.

The Council further reaffirmed that passage through the Strait should remain free from tolls and charges in accordance with international law, including the IMO Convention. It asked the IMO Secretary-General to examine options for advancing safe maritime traffic and to cooperate with littoral States, other Member States and maritime industry representatives on a coordinated and sustainable return to unhindered navigation.

The session also considered the Cooperative Mechanism used by Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore to manage the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. The framework brings governments and industry together to share responsibilities. Interested Member States and other stakeholders were invited to provide financial or in-kind support through the Aids to Navigation Fund and the IMO Straits of Malacca and Singapore Trust Fund.

Among other decisions, the Council approved IMO’s annual report for 2025 and noted a 99.10% collection rate for assessed contributions from Member States. Total revenue increased by 2.97% to £77.96 million. An updated Risk Management Policy and a new Strategic Fraud Risk Management Annex were also approved.

The Council welcomed completion of the first audit cycle of the IMO Member State Audit Scheme. Since mandatory audits began in February 2016, 168 audits covering 165 Member States and three Associate Members have been conducted. Of five audits scheduled for 2026, those involving Belarus, Haiti and Mozambique have been completed, while work concerning Eritrea and Yemen is progressing as planned.

Consultative status was granted to the International Electric Marine Association, the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and SEA-LNG. The Ocean Foundation received provisional consultative status for up to two years, subject to review.

The Council also welcomed Qatar’s offer to host the World Maritime Day Parallel Event in 2028. Busan in the Republic of Korea is due to host the 2026 parallel event, followed by the Philippines in 2027.