Russia has lost its membership of the Ruling Council of the International Maritime organization (IMO) following a vote by member states.
Russia received 80 votes in its re-election bid to the IMO Council’s category A, while Liberia received 132 votes to be the newest member of the Council.
The IMO Council is the executive organ responsible for supervising the work of the organization. It has 10 category A members, while Category B and C have 10 and 20 members respectively.
Category A members of the IMO Council for 2024-2025 are Greece, Italy, Japan, China, Norway, Panama, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States and Liberia.
Russia opted not to apply for a membership in Cate.
Lloyd’s List reported in February that member states encouraged Liberia to apply to a bid for a spot for Category A to displace Russia which has become a pariah in much of the Un system after its invasion of Ukraine.
The Move is largely symbolic as Russia can continue to participate in IMO meetings but is still a diplomatic blow.
Russia was removed from the governing body of the IMO’s aviation sister agency, the International Aviation Organization in October last year.
Despite progress being made by Liberia at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), there are lingering questions as to who are the direct beneficiaries of funds being provided by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to Liberia.
Reports say there are certain individuals within the outgoing administration who are said to be directly benefiting from funds coming from the IMO at the detriment of the Government of Liberia and the citizens.
Multiple sources confirmed that some high ups government officials including Maritime Commissioner, Len Eugene Nagbe is said to be one of the officials who is directly benefiting from the International Maritime Organization funds, though this has not been independently confirmed.
At the same time, some Liberians are calling on President George M. Weah to launch an investigation to authenticate or identify those depriving the Liberian Government of millions of dollars from the IMO before the expiration of his tenure in January.
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