Ship registration society the Liberian Registry has extended its support for Australia’s demand to reform the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) existing policy on transparency and the role of industry bodies in the organisation.

Australia is expected to lead to a submission to the IMO Council meeting to be held next month, calling into question the current role of the IMO Council and the IMO Assembly.

The country will also seek the IMO to facilitate more transparency and wider representation of maritime interests in the organisation.

According to the Australian submission, the public and other stakeholders should know more about the discussions at IMO.

The submission also highlights the decreasing ease of access to discussions and decisions within the IMO Council and Assembly for both member states and the general public.

“Liberia has always been a committed and public supporter of IMO, and will continue to be so.”

Liberian Registry CEO Scott Bergeron said: “As a founding IMO member and the world’s second-largest flag state, Liberia has always been a committed and public supporter of IMO, and will continue to be so.

“But it is only right that we should lend our support to Australia’s push for reform in the light of concern from observers both within and outside the organisation that the IMO decision-making process may not be fit for purpose in the 21st century and may moreover be susceptible to commercial influence.”

In a separate development, the Liberian Registry has signed a framework co-operation memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China Classification Society (CCS) to involve in the process of ship design and construction from the beginning to improve efficiency.

Part of the company’s strategy to collaborate effectively with its long-term industry stakeholders, the MoU will also allow the Liberian Registry to employ innovation and technology within the global regulatory framework and maritime sector projects.