IMO must pressure states on migrant boats

More must be done to prevent deaths at sea.

EC: IMO must pressure states on migrant boats

Girija Shettar

The European Commission (EC) has vowed to call on the IMO at a meeting in London tomorrow to pressure port authorities and flag states to more closely monitor their ship traffic for illegal migration.

Speaking at a large-scale rescues-at-sea workshop in Brussels yesterday, Charmaine Hili, policy officer for the EC’s directorate general for home affairs, told shipowners and managers that the commission “will call on the IMO to ensure that coastal states take responsibility”.

Challenged by David Kerr, maritime attaché to Malta, that port state control and flag states can play only a small role in tackling smuggler activities due to the fact that smuggler ships are not registered for leaving from established ports, Hili said that a few months ago she might have agreed with him, but that things have changed.

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Source: ihsmaritime360.com