From INMARSAT to IMSO: 50 years since the signing of the founding Convention

On 3 September 1976, Governments meeting in London adopted the Convention establishing the International Maritime Satellite Organization / INMARSAT.

The Convention was the result of work initiated within the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which had recognized the potential of satellite communications to improve communications with ships at sea and, above all, to strengthen maritime safety.

The Convention entered into force in 1979 and INMARSAT began operations in 1982. Satellite communications soon became an essential part of the international maritime safety framework and later a key component of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS).

In 1999, the Organization was restructured. Its commercial activities were transferred to Inmarsat Ltd, while the intergovernmental organization established by the Convention continued as IMSO, with responsibility for safeguarding the public-service obligations associated with maritime safety communications.

INMARSAT and IMSO therefore followed different paths, but both trace their origins to the Convention signed fifty years ago.

Today, IMSO continues that institutional legacy in a very different technological and market environment. The principle at the heart of the 1976 Convention nevertheless remains unchanged: essential maritime safety communications must be global, reliable and available to those who depend on them at sea.

As IMSO marks this anniversary, we recognize both the vision that led to the creation of INMARSAT and the capacity of the Organization to evolve while preserving its public purpose.