The Liberian maritime program is undergoing the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS), which is a treaty obligation aimed at promoting the consistent and effective implementation of applicable IMO instruments and assisting member states to improve their capabilities, whilst contributing to the enhancement of global and individual member state’s overall performance in compliance with the requirements of the instruments to which it is a party.
This exercise, which started in the United States, will run in Liberia from the 25th of November through the 2nd of December 2024.
The audit scheme uses the IMO Instruments Implementation Code (III Code) as the audit standard. It is designed to provide an audited member state with a comprehensive and objective assessment of how effectively it administers and implements the mandatory IMO instruments that the scheme covers.
Speaking about the audit, Commissioner/CEO of the Liberia Maritime Authority (LiMA), Cllr. Neto Zarzar Lighe, Sr. said Liberia, as a contracting government, takes this audit very seriously, given the fact that it would make a defining moment for a burgeoning maritime industry by identifying areas that need improvement in the aftermath of an independent and credible assessment of how Liberia is running its maritime program.
“The audit is not a financial audit: it is a system audit that would assess our maritime program to know how those conventions we signed on to are being domesticated and implemented. The auditors will look at our flag state, port state, and coastal state regimes in the context of how we ensure ships’ safety, pollution prevention, and crew working conditions onboard Liberian-flagged vessels. Under the coastal state component, which is part of our responsibility as a contracting government, the audit will look at the way inspection and detention of foreign ships are done in line with IMO regulations, and then our port state which covers the inspection of ships that dock at the various ports of Liberia. The PSC regulation is to catch substandard vessels to ensure that they are manned and operated in compliance with international regulations. The IMO auditors will also look at the legal framework we have in place as a country in dealing with any violations,” he stated.
The commissioner underscored that LiMA took steps to internally review where Liberia is as a contracting government before the IMO auditors arrive. “We conducted a mock audit process as part of our internal assessment. We are lucky that some of our staff are certified IMO auditors. We worked with the certified IMO auditors we had in our institution to help us assess how prepared we were for this IMSAS audit scheme. This internal exercise was very critical because we attach seriousness to this auditing process. As a Category ‘A’ member state, we are obliged to be at the top in every aspect of the global maritime sphere. Making high marks in this audit is important for the future of the Liberian maritime program.
“Liberia is a key actor in the three jurisdictional areas in the global maritime industry—flag state, port state, and a major coastal state. At the IMO, we are IMO Council Category ‘A’, and playing a pivotal role. Passing the audit has reputational benefits—an indication that we are not only affixing our signature to important instruments but implementing them, too.”