Member State
A1. The IMO and the international regulatory frameworkDefinition
One of the parties to the IMO Convention, currently 176 plus three Associate Members.
A Member State is a party to the 1948 Convention on the IMO and is entitled to a seat and vote in the Assembly. The IMO has 176 Member States and three Associate Members (the Faroe Islands, Hong Kong, and Macao). Membership obliges a state to give effect to the conventions it ratifies as a flag, port, and coastal state, performance now audited under IMSAS.
Source: Convention on the IMO, Article 4