The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Convention was entered into force in 1958 and the Organization met for the first time in the following year. Its headquarters is based in London.

The purposes of the Organization, as summarized by Article 1(a) of the Convention, are “to provide machinery for cooperation among Governments in the field of governmental regulation and practices relating to technical matters of all kinds affecting shipping engaged in international trade; to encourage and facilitate the general adoption of the highest practicable standards in matters concerning maritime safety, efficiency of navigation and prevention and control of marine pollution from ships”. The Organization is also empowered to deal with administrative and legal matters related to these purposes.

FASA has been invited by the IMO to sit on the Board of Governors of the World Maritime University. The Chairman of the Filipino Shipowners Association represents FASA on the Board of Governors.

More activities of the IMO are available from its website at http://www.imo.org