Since its establishment in 1959, the International Maritime Organization and its Member Governments, in close co-operation with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and with other international organizations, notably the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the International Mobile Satellite Organization (Inmarsat), and with the COSPAS–SARSAT partners, have striven to improve maritime distress and safety radiocommunications.
