On June 18, 2018, at the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine were held an extended meeting with the participation of Volodymyr Omelyan, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the IMO auditors, representatives of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, the Maritime Administration, the State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety, representatives of ministries and departments and port managers.  During the event, the results of the IMO audit were presented, which was held in Ukraine on June 11-18, 2018.

The purpose of the audit was to verify that Ukraine fulfills international obligations in the field of maritime safety as a port state, a flag state and a coastal state.

The IMO auditors congratulated Ukraine on the successful passing of the audit and thanked the team of the Ministry of Infrastructure for the co-ordinated teamwork.

Volodymyr Omelyan stressed: "Ukraine has successfully passed the IMO audit. I am sincerely thankful to our team at the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine for their successful work. Ukraine has confirmed its status as maritime state. And it is very important that our international partners, in particular, the International Maritime Organization also quite pleased with the results of the audit. We have certain comments on the results of the audit, but among more than 50 countries that have also been audited by IMO, the result of Ukraine can be considered exemplary. This is definitely a success not only for the marine industry, but for Ukraine as a whole. "

Reference:

On May 18, 2018, the Memorandum of Cooperation between Ukraine and the International Maritime Organization concerning participation in the IMO Member State Audit Scheme has been signed at the IMO headquarters. This event opened the way for the audit and further cooperation between Ukraine and the International Maritime Organization in the field of improving the national regulatory and legal framework of Ukraine and bringing our country closer to the highest international standards in the field of merchant shipping.

Ukraine has pass a long way of preparation for the IMO audit. So, in December 2015 representatives of the International Maritime Organization visit Ukraine to provide technical assistance in preparation for this audit. They examined the situation with the implementation of IMO mandatory instruments in Ukraine and sent their report with priority measures recommendations.

Since December 2015, a number of national and departmental regulatory and legal acts have been developed and adopted to ensure the implementation of the IMO International Conventions to which Ukraine has acceded.

In 2017, Ukraine joined the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships of 1989 and International Convention on Salvage of 1989.

According to the recommendations of the IMO Mission, in 2015 a new central government agency was established – the State Maritime and River Transport Service of Ukraine (Maritime Administration) that will start its work from August 1, 2018 and will implement the government policies in the spheres of marine and river transport, merchant shipping, inland water transport, navigation and hydrographic support of navigation, as well as in the field of safety in maritime and river transport taking into account the results of the audit, which is beginning today.

We have implemented the measures provided for in resolution A.1067 (28), Framework and Procedures for the IMO Member State Audit Scheme, to prepare for the IMO audit.

On May 18, 2018, the Memorandum of Cooperation between Ukraine and the International Maritime Organization concerning participation in the IMO Member State Audit Scheme has been signed at the IMO headquarters. This event opened the way for the audit and further cooperation between Ukraine and the International Maritime Organization in the field of improving the national regulatory and legal framework of Ukraine and bringing our country closer to the highest international standards in the field of merchant shipping.

In preparation for the audit, the primary objective was to bring Ukraine closer to the standards in the field of maritime safety and protection of the marine environment defined in the international IMO conventions to which Ukraine is a party, as well as in the IMO Instrument Implementation Code (resolution A.1070 (28)) and Framework and Procedures for the IMO Member State Audit Scheme (resolution A.1067 (28)) that were signed by IMO members on 04.12.2013 at the 28th Session of the IMO Assembly and are mandatory for implementation by IMO member states.

In order to form the basis of sustainable development of Ukraine as a state that seeks to meet the highest world standards in the field of maritime safety and protection of the marine environment, we have developed and adopted the Strategic Directions for the implementation of Ukraine's international obligations in the field of maritime safety and environmental protection against pollution and implementation of mandatory IMO instruments for the period up to 2022. On June 6, 2018, at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Government instructed the ministries and other central executive agencies of the government, which are responsible for fulfillment of Ukraine's international obligations as a port state, flag state and coastal state to ensure the implementation of these Strategic Directions.

Preparation for the mandatory audit allowed us once again to analyze the completeness of implementation and quality of fulfillment of relevant international mandatory documents of the IMO and revise national legal and regulatory documents for the efficient performance of Ukraine's obligations and commitments as a flag State, port state and coastal state.