International Federation of Shipmasters' Associations

The International Federation of Shipmasters' Associations (IFSMA), is the international professional organisation that unites and represents the world's serving Shipmasters.

The IFSMA is primarily concerned with representing the interests of the serving Shipmasters in bodies such as The International Maritime Organization (IMO), The International Labour Organization (ILO) and other relevant international and national organisations.

The IFSMA exists to uphold international standards of professional competence for seafarers and is a federation with a policy to ensure safe operational practices, to prevent human injury, protect the marine environment and ensure the safety of life and property at sea.

The IFSMA headquarters are located in London, United Kingdom.

History

In 1974 IFSMA was formed by eight National Shipmasters' Associations with the aim to unite the world's serving Shipmasters into a single non-profit making international professional organisation.

IFSMA was granted consultative status

Consultative Status

Consultative Status is a phrase whose use can be traced to the founding of the United Nations and is used within the UN community to refer to "Non-governmental organizations in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council." Also some international organizations could...

at the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

(UN) International Maritime Organization

International Maritime Organization

The International Maritime Organization , formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization , was established in Geneva in 1948, and came into force ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959...

(IMO) in 1975, only one year after IFSMA was inaugurated. This consultative status as a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) enables IFSMA to represent the views and protect the interests of the serving Shipmasters unfettered and unfiltered either by national governments or by shipping companies.

In February 1993 IFSMA was placed on the International Labour Organization

International Labour Organization

The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...

’s (ILO) special list of Non-Governmental International Organisations.

In the beginning of 2011 IFSMA started the MasterMarinerBenefitProgram™ a specialized benefit program for all Shipmasters, who are either a member of one of the IFSMA Member Associations or an IFSMA Individual Member.

In 2011 over 16,000 Shipmasters from more than 65 different countries are affiliated to IFSMA, either through their National Associations or as Individual Members.

IFSMA Founding Associations

Association Nationale des Officiers et Marine du Commerce, Le Maillon, Paris, France
Collegio Nazionale Patentati Capitani L.C.e.D.M., Genova, Italy
Irish Institute of Master Mariners, Dublin, Ireland
Koninklijk Belgisch Zeemannscollege Vereniging voor Zeeofficieren, Antwerp, Belgium
Nederlands Vereniging van Kapitans ter Koopverdij, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Norges Skibsforerforbund, Oslo, Norway
Society of Master Mariners (South Africa), Cape Town, South Africa
Verband Deutscher Kapitäne und Schiffsoffiziere, Hamburg, Germany

IFSMA Presidents

President	Time in Office	Country of Origin
Captain ...	1974 - 19..	Example
Captain ...	19.. - 19..	Example
Captain Hiroshi Kawashima	1994 - 1998	Japan
Captain Christer Lindvall	1998 -	Sweden

MasterMarinerProtect

MasterMarinerProtect forms part of the recently introduced IFSMA MasterMarinerBenefitProgram™ and is a special defence and legal cost program tailor-made for masters of ocean-going vessels. Initiated by IFSMA and Zeller Associates Management Services (ZAM) MasterMarinerProtect is only available for members of one of the IFSMA National Member Associations or for IFSMA Individual Members.

Operated by experienced captains and lawyers understanding the Shipmasters language as well as the business Shipmasters are in, MasterMarinerProtect will protect with its specialized criminal and maritime lawyers the Shipmasters interests right from the first moment.

MasterMarinerProtect is fully backed by the well known and leading international marine insurance
Marine insurance
Marine insurance covers the loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport or cargo by which property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and final destination....

market Lloyd‘s of London
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's, also known as Lloyd's of London, is a British insurance and reinsurance market. It serves as a partially mutualised marketplace where multiple financial backers, underwriters, or members, whether individuals or corporations, come together to pool and spread risk...

.

MasterMarinerProtect provides for:

Full coverage for defence and legal costs in criminal and civil proceedings up to EUR 1.000.000 or its equivalent
Bails / Securities
Wage continuation in the case of detention
Detention (imprisonment)
Detention is the process when a state, government or citizen lawfully holds a person by removing their freedom of liberty at that time. This can be due to criminal charges being raised against the individual as part of a prosecution or to protect a person or property...

while awaiting trial
Trial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...

for up to 12 months and a maximum of EUR 150,000 a year
Employment disputes up to costs of EUR 20,000

IFSMA Member Associations

Country	Association	Acronym	Joint
Argentina	Centro de Capitanes de Ultramar y Oficiales de la Marina Mercante	CCUMM	1980
Australia	Company of Master Mariners of Australia	CMMA	2009
Belgium	Koninklijk Belgisch Zeemanscollege	KBZ	1974
Brazil	Sindicato Nacional dos Oficiais da Marinha Mercante	SINDMAR	2008
Kingdom of Bulgaria	Bulgarian Shipmasters' Association	BUSMA	1994
Canada	Company of Master Mariners of Canada	CMMC	2007
Chile	Capitanes de Alta Mar de la Marina Mercante Nacional	NAUTILUS	2006
Denmark	Danish Maritime Officers	DMO	1984
Faroe Islands	Føroya Skipara- og Navigatørfelag	FSN	2008
Finland	Finish Ships Officers Union	FSOU	1996
Early Modern France	Association des Capitaines et Officiers de la Marine Marchande	ACOMM	1975
Early Modern France	Association Francaise des Capitaines de Navires	AFCAN	1979
Germany	Verband Deutscher Kapitäne und Schiffsoffiziere	VDKS	1974
Hong Kong	Anglo Eastern Ship Management	AESM	1999
India	Company of MasterMariners of India	CMMI	2008
Republic of Ireland	Irish Institute of Master Mariners	IIMM	1974
Japan	Japan Captains Association	JCA	2008
Latvia	Latvian Shipmasters' Association	LSMA	2004
Netherlands	Nautilus International	NAUTILUS NL	2006
Netherlands	Nederlandse Vereniging van Kapiteins ter Koopvaardij	NVKK	1974
New Zealand	Global Maritime Education & Training Association	GlobalMET	2006
Nigeria	Nigerian Association of Master Mariners	NAMM	2009
Norway	Norwegian Maritime Officers Association	NMOA	1974
Pakistan	Master Mariners Society of Pakistan	MMSP	2010
Philippines	Associated Marine Officers' and Seamen's Union of the Philippines	AMOSUP	2006
Philippines	Society of Filipino Ship Captains	FILSCAPTS	2010
Russia	Far Eastern Shipmasters' Association	FESMA	1990
Russia	Murmansk Shipmasters' Association	MSMA	1989
South Africa	Society of Master Mariners South Africa	SMMSA	1974
Spain	Asociacion Vizcaina de Capitanes de la Marina Mercante	AVCMM	1976
Sweden	Swedish Ship Officers' Association	SSOA	1985
Ukraine	Azov Shipmasters' Association	ASMA	2009
Ukraine	Odessa Shipmasters' Association	OSMA	1989
United Kingdom	Nautilus International	NAUTILUS UK	2006
United States	Council of American Master Mariners	CAMM	1992

IFSMA Honorary Members

Name	Country of Origin	Position	Elected	†
Dr. Chandrika Prasad Srivastava Chandrika Prasad Srivastava Chandrika Prasad Srivastava is a retired Indian civil servant and international administrator and diplomat.-Biography:C.P. Srivastava was born on 8 July 1920 and was educated in Lucknow, India... , KCMG	India	Secretary-General Emeritus, International Maritime Organization	1985
Captain Nic W. C. Rutherford	United Kingdom		1992
Captain Anna I. Schetinina Anna Shchetinina Anna Ivanovna Shchetinina was a Soviet merchant marine sailor, said to be the world's first woman to serve as a captain of an ocean-going vessel....	Russia	World's first female Shipmaster in the Merchant Navy	1998	1999
Mr. William A. O'Neil	Canada	Secretary-General Emeritus, International Maritime Organization	1993
Captain Henrik Sem	United Kingdom		1993	2008
Captain Gerhard Goldberg	Germany	Past President, IFSMA	1995	2007
Captain Genji Yoshinaga	Japan		1997
Captain Hiroshi Kawashima	Japan	Past President, IFSMA	1998
Captain Roger Clipsham	United Kingdom	Secretary General (retired), IFSMA	2002
Mr. Efthimios E. Mitropoulos	Greece	Secretary-General, International Maritime Organization	2004
Mr. C. Julian Parker, OBE	United Kingdom	Secretary (retired), The Nautical Institute Nautical Institute The Nautical Institute is an international professional organization for maritime professionals, based in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1971 and has the status of a company limited by guarantee and is registered with the Charity Commission. It has over 7,000 members in over 110...	2009
Mr. Michael Grey	United Kingdom	Editor (retired), Lloyd's List Lloyd's List Lloyd's List is one of the world's oldest continuously-running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. Now published daily, a recent issue was numbered 59,200...	2009

International Federation of Shipmasters' Associations

IFSMA Member Associations

Other Relevant Organisations

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