Shipping's international regulator, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), has embarked on a greenhouse gas reduction program, part of which will come into action in 2013, which for the first time includes CO2 emissions.

CNN: Shipping looks to clean up its act

Through collaboration with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), the worldwide system of navigational and meteorological areas associated with the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) has recently been expanded by JCOMM to include five new areas in the Arctic.

UNESCO: Oceanographers and meteorologists discuss climate change, maritime and coastal safety | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

The International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) code put in place that year by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the U.N. body responsible for the safety and security of shipping, had a profoundly positive effect on seaport security.

FORBES: Air Cargo Security: Time For The World To Take New Measures

The Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability was produced jointly by UNESCO - IOC, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

UNESCO: Indigenous Peoples

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) marked its annual World Maritime Day celebration today with a collective call-to-action to the United Nations, world governments, military forces and even shipowners and crews reminding them that they all play an integral role in helping rid the world of modern-day piracy on the high seas, especially off the coast of Somalia and Indian Ocean.

FORBES: Piracy The Focus of Today's World Maritime Day Celebration

Welcoming the revisions by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of its recommendations and guidance on preventing and suppressing piracy and armed robbery, the Council further urged States, in collaboration with the IMO and the shipping and insurance industries, to continue to develop and implement avoidance, evasion, and defensive best practices and advisories to take when under attack or when sailing in the waters off the Somali coast.

UN: Security Council