Following three years of extensive work, IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee adopted in October 2008 the revised regulations for the prevention of air pollution from ships, which enter into force on 1 July 2010.

This publication features:
- The revised MARPOL Annex VI, the revised regulations on prevention of air pollution from ships engaged in international trade, including emissions limits and operational requirements for prevention of harmful emissions of ships' exhaust and cargo vapours.
- The NOx Technical Code 2008, which is made mandatory under MARPOL Annex VI for all marine diesel engines with a power output of 130 kW or more and provides the requirements for testing, survey and certification of marine diesel engines.
- The Standard specification for shipboard incinerators, as well as other relevant information on prevention of air pollution from ships.

It also includes a preview of future IMO work by in the field of preventing harmful emissions from ships.

The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) entrusted the revision of the Code of Safety for Fishermen and Fishing Vessels to its Sub-Committee on Stability and Load Lines and on Fishing Vessels Safety (SLF) and recommended that the recent developments in fishing vessel design and fishing operations should be taken into consideration.

The revised Code was approved by MSC at its seventy-ninth session in 2004 and approved by the FAO Committee on Fisheries at its twenty-sixth session in March 2005 and the Governing Body of ILO at its 293rd Session in June 2005.

The revised version of part A, Safety and Health Practice, of the Code is directed primarily towards Competent Authorities, training institutions, fishing vessel owners, representative organizations of the crew, and non-governmental organizations having a recognized role in crew members' safety and health and training.