Iran participates in 26th Indian Ocean MoU meeting

The Director General of Maritime Affairs of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO), Mehdi Farahani, as the Islamic Republic of Iran’s representative attended the 26th annual meeting of the Indian Ocean Memorandum of Understanding (IOMOU) on port state control in Mahe, Seychelles.

The Indian Ocean MoU is an inter-governmental organization on port state control (PSC) in the Indian Ocean Region, recognized by the International Maritime Organization, as a specialized UN body. Its vision is to eliminate substandard shipping in the Indian Ocean Region and maintain inter-regional cooperation and harmonization among other MoUs.

Farahani said that the 26th meeting of the IOMOU on port state control was held with the presence of 20 member countries, representatives of the Paris MoU, the Tokyo MoU, the Association of Asian Classification Societies, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), and also the virtual presence of the member of the Black Sea Region (BS MoU) and Riyadh MoU.

Farahani stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been one of the most effective and active members of the MoU with preparing technical documents under the management of two correspondence working groups. Iran has also participated in 11 correspondence working groups.

This year, the Islamic Republic of Iran prepared three technical documents, including instructions for remote technical and safety inspections. Also, an analysis of a centralized inspection report on the requirements of the international convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for seafarers (STCW), which was reported at the ninth meeting of the specialized committee at the headquarters of the International Maritime Organization, was presented which establish Iran’s specialized position among the members, Farahani added.

The Secretary General of the Indian Ocean MoU thanked Iran as an active member in ship control and inspection, which was able to win the award by members for three consecutive years for reporting the most technical deficiencies, he further explained.

During the first Indian Ocean MoU Committee meeting in Goa in 1999, the countries that signed acceptance of the MoU included Australia, Eritrea, India, Sudan, South Africa, and Tanzania. Subsequently, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Iran, Kenya, Maldives, Oman, Yemen, France, Bangladesh, Comoros, Mozambique, Seychelles, Myanmar, and Madagascar acceded to the MOU. As of now, twenty countries have become parties to the Memorandum.

The Indian Ocean Memorandum of Understanding (IOMOU) on port State control (PSC) held the first preparatory meeting in India in October 1997 and the second meeting in June 1998 in South Africa.

MNA