The International Maritime Organization (IMO) headquartered in London has acted on advice and closed its offices and has cancelled key meetings including the 75th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC75)
In a statement the IMO said that the rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus has meant that delegates from abroad were having trouble travelling and that, following the World Health Organization’s announcement that the outbreak was now a pandemic it would cancel a number of meetings, including MEPC75.
The full list of cancelled meetings, so far, is below:
the 7th meeting of the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of greenhouse gas Emissions from Ships, scheduled to take place from 23 to 27 March 2020;
the 33rd meeting of the Editorial & Technical Group of the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes, scheduled to take place from 23 to 27 March 2020;
the 75th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee, scheduled to take place from 30 March to 3 April 2020.
In addition, the below meetings had already been cancelled:
the meeting of the Scientific Group of the London Convention and London Protocol scheduled to take place from 9 to 13 March 2020; and
the 107th session of the Legal Committee, scheduled to take place from 16 to 20 March 2020.
Nick Savvides
Managing Editor
