Historical insights into Designing International Maritime Safety Management Regulation

Abstract

This paper is aimed to explore historical insights into the designing of the maritime safety regulations and provides a summary of the deliberations and activities at the IMO during the development of these maritime safety management regulations in the context of shaping them through influences of various incidents and actors. The study reveals an initial cautionary approach later getting a momentum towards consensus for necessity of mandatory provisions with verifiable evidence and enforcement. The prominent role played by the UK and the Nordic countries in bringing into focus important nuances in these regulations and swiftly processing them for early adoption and implementation is also evident. This paper is also aimed to serve as an archival record and documentation of various activities, deliberations and work carried out at IMO related to this subject, for reference of scholars for posterity. No such concise narrative or summary is available with authenticated official IMO documents sources.