A    Purpose

1.1    The IMO Compendium on Facilitation and Electronic Business (Compendium) serves as a reference manual for creating and harmonizing the systems needed to support transmission, receipt and response of information required for the arrival, stay and departure of the ship, persons and cargo via electronic data exchange.

1.2    In the Compendium, the Facilitation Committee constructs the IMO Data Set to identify and define all of the data elements related to reporting information requirements, and the IMO Reference Data Model to establish the underlying hierarchical data structure used in electronic data exchange. 

1.3    The IMO Data Set combined with the IMO Reference Data Model promote harmonization among the relevant international standards used for electronic business from the World Customs Organization (WCO), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO TC 8) and other organizations. Figure 1 illustrates the flow of reporting data and the interaction of the international standards. Harmonization stimulates implementation of the single window concept as a high-level priority of the Organization and as a mandatory requirement of the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL Convention) as of 2024 and supports interoperability among single window systems. Single window processes enhance efficient international trade by simplifying communications among stakeholders and creating an electronic information environment that promotes accountability, transparency and informed decision-making.

1.4    The IMO Compendium addresses the following declarations referred to in the Annex to FAL Convention:

.1    General Declaration;
.2    Cargo Declaration;
.3    Ship's Stores Declaration;
.4    Crew's Effects Declaration;
.5    Crew List;
.6    Passenger List;
.7    Dangerous Goods Manifest;
.8    Maritime Declaration of Health;
.9    Security-related information as required under SOLAS regulation XI-2/9.2.2; and
.10    Advance Notification for Waste Delivery to Port Reception Facilities.
.11    Form of stowaway details referred to in Recommended Practice 4.6.2

1.5    The IMO Compendium also includes other data sets, such as the data set on ‘ship registry and company details’, ‘ship and company certificates’, ‘inspections’, ‘port State control inspection history data’ or ‘ship reporting systems (Resolution A.851(20)’.

1.6    The IMO Compendium is a tool for efficient electronic transmission of all this vital information, in a way intended to minimize the burden on shippers, crews, agents, port authorities and other stakeholders. 

Figure 1: Relationships among the FAL Convention, the IMO Compendium and International Standards

1.7    The Facilitation Committee standardizes the nature and scope of information to be submitted and processed as required by the Annex to the FAL Convention. The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) standardizes the security-related information submitted as required in SOLAS regulation XI 2/9.2.2 through MSC.1/Circ.1305, Revised guidance to masters, companies and duly authorized officers on the requirements relating to the submission of security-related information prior to the entry of a ship into port. The Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) standardizes the information submitted for waste delivery in port through MEPC.1/Circ.834/Rev.1, appendix 2, Standard format of the Advance Notification Form for waste delivery to port reception facilities.

1.8     The Compendium does not serve as a reference manual for transmission and processing of ship, person and cargo information by facsimile, email and other means independent from the common standard data models used for electronic business.

B    Electronic data submission and collection

1.9    The IMO Compendium promotes and supports electronic data exchange conducted using standardized data models and their implementation guidelines.

1.10    Electronic business has clear, quantifiable benefits over a paper-based environment in most cases. These globally accepted benefits led to the requirements for electronic reporting in the Annex to the FAL Convention. The holistic value of electronic data exchange is an equally important part of the philosophy promoted in this Compendium. The Data-Knowledge-Information-Wisdom (DIKW) pyramid [1] demonstrates this concept. Figure 2 illustrates how the data submitted through electronic data exchange leads to wisdom, defined for the purposes of this Compendium as the willingness and ability to take the most appropriate action based on what is known. That is, data leads to good decision-making by the port authority, Administration or other organization that receives the data. This decision-making could relate to a range of topics beyond the usage in the FAL Convention, such as targeting ships for port State control examinations, assigning resources, identifying trade trends and developing public policy.

Figure 2: DIKW Pyramid

[1] Ackoff, R. (1989). From data to wisdom. Journal of Applied Systems Analysis, 16, 3-9.

1.11    Figure 2 illustrates that applying definitions to data gives meaning and transforms data into information. The IMO Data Set of this Compendium standardizes definitions of the data elements for the purpose of electronic data exchange. Similarly, applying structures reveals logical relationships and transforms information into knowledge. The IMO Reference Data Model of this Compendium standardizes the structure of the data elements. Lastly, values transform knowledge into the wisdom used to identify the most appropriate actions that support the data recipient's goals. 

1.12    Common definitions promote harmonization, ordering information with common structures promotes interoperability and directing knowledge with common values creates communities with shared goals. These communities might be the agencies in an Administration, collections of ports, or regional and international groups. Harmonization, interoperability and community are crucial to the Organization's goals of leveraging technology, minimizing burdens on mariners, promoting implementation of the single window and helping stakeholders meet international standards.

C    Information security

1.13    Ship reporting necessitates electronic transmission of sensitive, private and proprietary information including, but not limited to, ship location and destination, cargo types and amounts, passenger names and identity data, and security-related information. This type of information could provide valuable intelligence for unauthorized persons seeking to conduct illegal or malicious acts. 

1.14    Companies, ships' crews, agents, and port and Administration officials share the responsibilities to protect ship reporting information described in this Compendium. All persons involved in transmitting, receiving, responding, storing, analyzing and protecting ship reporting information should be fluent in the information security and cyber-risk management techniques and requirements in, but not limited to:

.1    national laws and regulations;

.2    International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, as amended;

.3    International Ship and Port Facility Security Code;

.4    IMO MSC-FAL.1/Circ.1 – Securing and Facilitating International Trade;

.5    IMO MSC-FAL.1/Circ.3/Rev.2 – Guidelines on Maritime Cyber Risk Management;

.6    IMO FAL 5/Circ.46 - Guidelines on authentication, integrity and confidentiality of information exchanges via maritime single windows and related services

.7    accepted national and international industry standards on information security. [2]

[2] Such as the World Customs Organization SAFE Framework of Standards and the International Organization for Standardization 28000 series of standards.