The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships. IMO is the global standard-setting authority for the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping. Its main role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and universally implemented.

The IPPC Secretariat has been liaising with IMO since 2012, involving them in the development of a draft standard on Minimizing Pest Movement by Sea Containers (2008-001). The IPPC expert working group on sea containers provided input into the 2014 IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code) so that it could include phytosanitary requirements for cleaning sea containers. A representative from IMO was invited to take part in the special topics session on sea containers, held during the eleventh session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM), in April 2016. In 2016, the CPM decided to put the development of the draft standard on sea containers as pending, to allow for the implementation of the CTU Code and Recommendation CPM 10/2015_01 and for an analysis of their impact on reducing pest movement by sea containers. In addition, the CPM agreed that some coordinated actions should be considered for assessing and addressing the pest risks associated with sea containers.