On 21 May the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) reported that the IMO Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) has approved a joint Danish-Swedish proposal for new ship routes in Kattegat and Skagerrak. It is understood that this work is already in progress and the new routes will be in place from 1 July 2020.

IMO has approved the new ship routes in Kattegat and Skagerrak following a proposal from Denmark and Sweden. This step is necessary due to the much larger size of ships navigating the straits today compared to the ships for which the route systems were originally designed.

News was received that when underway the MSC would be looking at how the safe, secure and environmentally sound operation of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) may be introduced in IMO instruments. Work in this session was expected to focus on the framework of the regulatory exercise (that is the instruments to be considered) and a plan of work, including expected deliverables, coordination mechanisms and future work. It is anticipated that a Working Group will be established to develop a plan of work and terms of reference for an intersessional correspondence or working group.