LONDON/MONROVIA: Liberia has joined different member states of the Worldwide Maritime Group (IMO) for its Normal Meeting in London, United Kingdom.
Throughout the Meeting, member states will immediately, November 28, 2025, take part within the election of a 40-member IMO Council, which is an Government Physique that supervises the IMO’s work.
These elections happen each two years throughout the common session of the IMO Meeting, by way of an in-person secret poll.
At immediately’s historic Meeting, Liberia, a key member of the IMO, is poised to be reelected for the IMO’s coveted Class-A seat.
In keeping with IMO factsheets, all 176 Member States (with voting rights if their dues are paid), are entitled to take part within the Meeting and vote.
States vie for seats inside three distinct classes, designed to make sure illustration throughout several types of maritime pursuits and geographic areas:
The primary and extra influential is Class (A): 10 States with the most important curiosity in offering worldwide delivery providers. These positions sometimes go to main maritime powers, together with Liberia.
There comes Class (B): 10 States with the most important curiosity in worldwide seaborne commerce. This class contains main buying and selling nations and Class C, with 20 States not elected underneath (a) or (b) above, which have particular pursuits in maritime transport or navigation, and whose election helps guarantee geographical illustration from all main areas of the world.
IMO, factsheets point out that there have been months of campaigning and diplomatic efforts, generally involving “political horse buying and selling,” that precede the vote, particularly for the contested Class-A seats.
States actively promote their contributions to the maritime sector, corresponding to security, environmental safety, and representing growing coastal states’ pursuits, to garner help.
Additionally, throughout the Meeting, the election is performed by a secret poll.
The 40 elected members type the Council for a two-year time period.
The newly elected Council then holds its first session to elect its Chair and Vice-Chair.
The election course of may be extremely aggressive and is influenced by geopolitical and different essential elements, together with due cost.
For example, Russia didn’t win re-election to the Council in 2023, reflecting worldwide issues over its actions in Ukraine.
Ambassador Robert Wilmot Kpadeh, Liberia’s Everlasting Consultant to the IMO, spearheaded the trouble with technical workers, emphasizing Liberia’s monitor file and exemplary management position in world maritime affairs.
Liberia held a significant marketing campaign reception on Monday, November 24, 2025, adopted by bilateral conferences all through the week forward of immediately’s decisive vote.
“Liberia won’t relaxation on its laurels,” Ambassador Kpadeh stated previous to immediately’s elections.
“We are going to proceed campaigning tirelessly to make sure our expensive nation retains its seat in Class A. Liberia is the flag the oceans know, and we ask member states to maintain us there,” Ambassador Kpadeh stated.
Talking briefly to journalists again house on the eve of the IMO Council elections on November 27, 2025, Ambassador Kpadeh reiterated that Liberia is assured of victory on Friday.
The Liberian Authorities, addressing the Meeting on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, via Deputy Overseas Minister for Worldwide Cooperation, Dr. Ibrahim Al-bakri Nyei, highlighted Liberia’s standing because the world’s largest ship registry, with greater than 5,000 vessels, totaling 287 million gross tons.
Dr. Nyei credited the nation’s status as a “registry of selection” to its rigorous enforcement of IMO security and compliance requirements.
He reminded delegates on the ongoing IMO Meeting that Liberia has been one of many IMO’s highest monetary contributors to the group’s operational finances for over 15 years, a dedication he stated, underscores the nation’s seriousness in advancing the IMO mandate.
Dr. Nyei emphasised a number of areas the place Liberia has performed a central position in shaping world maritime regulation, together with chairing the Marine Surroundings Safety Committee (MEPC) when the IMO unanimously adopted the landmark 2023 Greenhouse Gasoline Technique; chairing Committee 2 throughout the thirty third IMO Meeting, main negotiations that secured the entry into pressure of the Hong Kong Conference on Ship Recycling; and early accession to the Maritime Labour Conference (2006).
The nation’s agent, Liberia Worldwide Ship and Company Registry (LISCR), Nyei famous, continues to take part in joint-industry initiatives on revolutionary ship design, different fuels, and different applied sciences geared toward advancing decarbonization and bettering world fleet effectivity, saying that Liberia has additionally strengthened its regional management.
