IMO Secretary-General statements

“You are not alone” – IMO Secretary-General issues impassioned personal message to seafarers

 The message can be downloaded here.  

​The World Health Organization (WHO) determined that the outbreak of outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a pandemic on 11 March  2020. Read more here.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim statement (19 March 2020) Tackling COVID-19 – a voyage together

Advice for IMO Member States, seafarers and shipping

IMO has issued the following circular letters:

  • Circular Letter No.4204/Add.7 (3 April 2020) – Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Guidance concerning unforeseen delays in the delivery of ships
  • Circular Letter No.4204/Add.6 (27 March 2020) Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Preliminary list of recommendations for Governments and relevant national authorities on the facilitation of maritime trade during the COVID-19 pandemic 
  • Circular Letter No.4204/Add.5/Rev.1 (2 April 2020) Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Guidance relating to the certification of seafarers and fishing vessel personnel
  • Circular Letter No.4204/Add.4 (5 March 2020) contains ICS Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guidance for ship operators for the protection of the health of seafarers
  • Circular Letter No.4204/Add.3 (2 March 2020) – Operational considerations for managing COVID-19 cases/outbreak on board ships
  • Circular Letter No.4204/Add.2 (21 February 2020) contains the Joint Statement IMO-WHO on the Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak and encourages Member States and international organizations to disseminate it as widely as possible. Available in the six official languages of the United Nations system.