The newly elected Council will meet for its 136th session on 4 December and will elect its Chair and Vice-Chair for the next biennium

Russia was not elected to the top category a of the council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for the 2026–2027 term, according to results published on the IMO’s official account on social media.

Russia is absent from the list of states elected to category A, which is defined as bringing together countries with the “largest interest in providing international shipping services”, while Italy, the United States, Norway, South Korea, Panama, the United Kingdom, Japan, Liberia, China and Greece are included. Category a of the IMO council is the most influential grouping, with its members directly involved in shaping international maritime regulation, including issues of safety, environmental standards, technical requirements for fleets and the movement of cargo along key routes, and the council’s composition is set for two years.

The vote took place during the 34th session of the IMO Assembly, which is being held in London from 24 November to 3 December, and was conducted by secret ballot.  

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Regaining a place in category a had been described as a key objective for the Russian delegation: in the previous 2024–2025 cycle Russia, for the first time in its history, lost its place in the top ten. In recent months the Russian side had carried out an active campaign to restore its position on the council, including meetings in London between representatives of the Russian maritime administration and the diplomatic corps, as well as a reception at the Russian embassy dedicated to supporting Russia’s candidacy.  

 IMO Assembly Category (b)

 While the IMO Assembly has elected the following Member States to serve on three categories among them is the second category, which is Category (b): 10 States with the largest interest in international seaborne trade:  Australia , Brazil , Canada ,France , Germany , India, netherlands ,Spain ,Sweden ,united-arab-emirates

The category (c):

While  the category (c): Included 20 States not elected under (a) or (b) above, which have special interests in maritime transport or navigation and whose election to the Council will ensure the representation of all major geographic areas of the world:  Bahamas , Belgium ,Chile ,Cyprus ,Egypt ,Finland ,Indonesia., Jamaica ,Malaysia , Malta , Mexico ,Morocco , Nigeria. Peru, Philippines, Qatar , Saudi Arabia, Singapore , South Africa , Turkey

The newly elected Council will meet for its 136th session on 4 December and will elect its Chair and Vice-Chair for the next biennium. IMO structure , Council election photos

  Russia , IMO Assembly, elected Council , 2025 cycle Russia, Category (b), category A