The mandatory audit of the International Maritime Organization(IMO) is due soon. The National Audit Office analyzed the Estonian maritime sector and found that there are still shortcomings in previously outpointed issues.
The IMO has been obligatory for all member countries since 2016; thus, by 2024, Estonia will face yet another audit to evaluate compliance with conventions. IMO's primary role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally implemented, and promotes safe, secure, environmentally sound, efficient, and sustainable shipping. However, the benefits from such a regulatory framework are only achievable when all Member States carry out their obligations as required by the instruments to which they are Parties.
Even though the new audit looms on the horizon, the officials are worried. Estonia's remarks and precepts during the last audit are yet to be fulfilled. Moreover, chaos is happening around it, and nobody knows what to do and where to start. According to the National Audit Office, there is a risk that the result of the upcoming mandatory audit will not be favorable for Estonia. The results could show that the country cannot accomplish obligations assumed by international agreements. These obligations include the safety of navigation and preventing marine pollution from ships. In addition, Estonia's reputation as a maritime country and the incomes of entrepreneurs and the state suffers.
The many unfulfilled concerns include the lack of specialists and personnel analyses to pinpoint how many professionals and in what areas are still needed. The Ministry of the Environment has not taken the responsibilities that are theirs to take; the register of the bunkers is incomplete. As of the 20th of July this year, the bylaws of this database were preliminary and not up to the standards as required by the Atmospheric Air Protection Act; and last but not least, the National Audit Office sees existing ship waste reception facilities not checked.
The National Audit Office points out that the missing key element in solving the issue is a lack of strategy and division of labor between the ministries, but recognizes that the new vice chancellor of the maritime economy, Kaupo Läänerand, has taken up the problem-solving. Nevertheless, the National Audit Office requests a response from the Minister of Economy and Infrastructure and the Minister of the Environment in October.