When IMO's important Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meets every seven months at the organization's London headquarters, it is just as much about negotiating and making decisions as it is about figuring out what is happening in the industry and getting contacts along the way.

If you ask the participants, both those participating in the preliminary PPR meeting and those part of the quorum meeting in the MEPC committee happening over the next five days, there are several agendas to keep track of. There are the physical agendas found in the plenary hall lined with brown wooden panels, and then there are the more discreet ones being made in the corridors.