The Assembly which is the supreme governing body of IMO and consists of
representatives of all member states (165 in September 2005) meets every two
years and determines policy, the work programme, votes the budget, approves
all recommendations made by IMO and elects members of the Council.
The Council consists of an agreed number (40 in 2005) of representatives of
member states elected for a term of two years. It normally meets twice a
year and is IMO’s governing body between Assembly sessions. The Maritime
Safety Committee deals with the technical work of IMO and in order to
facilitate this work various sub-committees are set up to deal with specific
subjects such as fire protection, ship design and equipment, etc. The
Marine Environmental Protection Committee is responsible for coordinating
IMO activities in the prevention of pollution from ships. The latter two
committees meet once, or sometimes twice, a year and all member states
may participate in their activities and those of their sub-committees.