The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has completed the first audit cycle under the mandatory IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS), marking a major milestone in global maritime governance after auditing 168 Member States since the programme became compulsory in 2016.
With 94 per cent of IMO Member States audited, the exercise is one of the most comprehensive collective assessments ever undertaken of how countries implement and enforce international maritime regulations. The audit programme is designed to help Member States strengthen compliance with IMO instruments, improving maritime safety, security and environmental sustainability.
It has also generated a substantial body of evidence on the implementation of IMO regulations worldwide, identifying recurring areas of concern and their underlying causes through audit findings, corrective action plans and consolidated audit reports. According to the IMO, the findings will enable the organisation to better target technical assistance, helping Member States address implementation gaps, carry out corrective actions and improve compliance with applicable instruments.
The audit outcomes will also support the implementation of IMO’s Capacity-Development Strategy, which identifies IMSAS as a key driver for designing needs-based capacity-building programmes and technical cooperation projects. The second audit cycle is scheduled to begin in July 2027 under a revised IMSAS framework that introduces the IMSAS Continuous Monitoring Mechanism.
The updated approach is expected to be more risk-based, data-driven and transparent, enabling continuous monitoring, more effective audit prioritisation and closer integration of audit findings into the IMO’s technical cooperation and capacity-development activities.