How much does IMO cost?
IMO is a bargain. It is one of the smallest agencies in the United Nations system, both in terms of staff numbers (just 300 permanent staff) and budget. The total budget for the 2008-2009 biennium is £54,669,300. This compares with £49,730,300 for 2006-2007. This is less than half what it would cost to buy a medium sized oil tanker and represents only a fraction of the cost of the damage caused by an oil spill, for example (the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989 has so far cost more than US$5 billion). If IMO is responsible for preventing just one oil tanker accident a year then it more than covers its cost. The IMO budget is unique for another reason. Costs are shared between the 168 Member States primarily in proportion to the size of each one’s fleet of merchant ships. The biggest fleets in the world are currently operated by Panama and Liberia and so they pay the biggest share of IMO’s budget.
