Published: November 9, 2026
LONDON — Liberia has paid its 2026 assessed contribution of £5,946,633 to the International Maritime Organization, maintaining its status as the largest funder of the U.N. shipping agency. Its dues cover about 15 percent of the organization’s annual operating budget.
Liberia’s maritime commissioner, Neto Zarzar Lighe Sr., presented a symbolic check to IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez at the organization’s London headquarters on Friday. Lighe said the timely payment demonstrates Liberia’s commitment to the IMO, its programs, and the advancement of international shipping.
“Liberia takes its obligations to the IMO as a serious national obligation. As a global maritime leader and Category-A member of the IMO Council, we remain firmly committed to fulfilling our responsibilities promptly and supporting the Organization’s vital mission of advancing safe, secure, efficient, and environmentally sustainable international shipping,” Lighe said.
Liberia’s position at the top of the IMO’s funding list reflects the size of its ship registry. Member states’ contributions are assessed largely by the tonnage of ships flying their flags, and Liberia runs the world’s largest registry, according to the Liberia Maritime Authority.
According to the authority, Dominguez thanked the government for paying on time and for its long-standing support of the organization. He said Liberia’s contribution goes beyond money, praising its active and constructive work in the IMO’s technical working groups, committees, and Council. He described Liberia’s representation as effective, efficient, and highly engaged, and recognized its role in advancing the IMO’s mandate and strengthening international maritime cooperation.
The payment arrived days after Lighe used Liberia’s general statement at the IMO Council’s 138th session to call for the protection of seafarers trapped by attacks on shipping in conflict zones, from the Black Sea to the Strait of Hormuz.
Lighe was joined at the presentation by Liberia’s permanent representative to the IMO, Ambassador Robert Wilmot Kpadeh; the alternate permanent representative, Harry Conway; and staff from Liberia’s Permanent Mission to the IMO.
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