IMO ship identification number

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IMO ship identification number is a permanent number assigned to each qualifying ship for identification purposes and in order to enhance "maritime safety, and pollution prevention and to facilitate the prevention of maritime fraud".^[1]

It is made up of the three letters "IMO" followed by the unique, seven-digit number assigned to many ships when they are constructed by Lloyd's Register - Fairplay. For example, the IMO ship identification number for the Queen Mary 2 is IMO 9241061.^[2] "Lloyd’s Register – Fairplay (LRF) is the originating source for the IMO Ship Number and is the sole authority with responsibility for assigning and validating these numbers. The Numbers are issued from the global maritime databases maintained by LRF and ... LRF manages this scheme on behalf of the IMO."^[3]

1 History
2 References
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

Implementation of the numbering scheme became mandatory (through SOLAS regulation XI/3, adopted in 1994) for "passenger ships of 100 gross tonnage and upwards and all cargo ships of 300 gross tonnage and upwards" from 1 January 1996.^[4]

The December 2002 Diplomatic Conference on Maritime Security modified the SOLAS regulation to require that "... ships' identification numbers to be permanently marked in a visible place either on the ship's hull or superstructure. Passenger ships should carry the marking on a horizontal surface visible from the air. Ships should also be marked with their ID numbers internally."^[5]