Russia fails to win back seat on UN shipping agency’s governing council

By Jonathan Saul

LONDON (Reuters) -Russia failed on Friday to win enough votes to rejoin the U.N. shipping agency’s governing council despite urging countries to back its nomination for a seat it lost in 2023.

The outcome is another blow for Russia which also failed to secure enough support in September to get elected to the United Nations aviation agency’s governing council, seen as a rebuke of Moscow over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) is responsible for regulating the safety and security of international shipping and preventing pollution, and comprises 176 member states. Moscow has been an IMO member since 1958 and consistently re-elected to the IMO Council before 2023.

Russia’s transport ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Russia was among 48 countries seeking 40 spots for a two-year term on the council which supervises the work of the body. It was the only candidate rejected in the category of 10 “states with the largest interest in providing international shipping services”, which included the United States and China.

Russia had written in a note to the IMO countries prior to the election that it “openly and actively participates in the work of all IMO bodies”.

“The IMO has begun to deviate from its … impartial role in international affairs, devoting greater attention to political matters largely outside its clearly defined mandate,” Russia said in an IMO submission.

Ukraine, which has been vocal in its opposition to Russian efforts at various U.N. agencies and was not standing for election for the IMO Council, urged IMO member states not to support the candidacy saying Moscow “undermines global shipping safety and … cannot claim a leading role in global maritime governance”.

(Reporting by Jonathan SaulEditing by Peter Graff)