ISM CODE
INTERNATIONAL SAFETY MANAGEMENT CODE
The ISM Code provides an International standard for the safe management and operation of ships and for pollution prevention.
The purpose of ISM Code is:
*To ensure Safety at Sea
*To prevent human injury or loss of life
*To avoid damage to the environment and to the ship.
SOLAS adopted the ISM Code in 1994 and incorporated it into chapter IX. By 1998 much of the commercial shipping community was required to be in compliance with the ISM code. By 2002 almost all of the international shipping community was required to comply with the ISM Code.
In order to comply with the ISM Code, each ship class must have a working Safety Management System (SMS). Each SMS consists of the following elements:
Commitment from top management
A Top Tier Policy Manual
A Procedures Manual that documents what is done on board the ship
Procedures for conducting both internal and external audits to ensure the ship is doing what is documented in the Procedures Manual
A Designated Person to serve as the link between the ships and shore staff
A system for identifying where actual practices do not meet those that are documented and for implementing associated corrective action
Regular management reviews
Another part of the ISM is the mandatory Planned Maintenance System which is used as a tool maintaining the vessel according to the specified maintenance intervals.
Each ISM compliant ship is audited, first by the Company
(internal audit) and then each 2.5 to 3 years by the Flag State Marine
Administration to verify the fulfillment and effectiveness of their Safety
Management System. Once SMS is verified and it is working and effectively
implemented, the ship is issued with The Safety Management Certificate.
Comments from the auditor and/or audit body and from the ship are incorporated
into the SMS by headquarters.
The ISM Code was created by IMO and Capt. Graham Botterill, Specialist Advisor to the House of Lords in the UK on ship safety, among other
Applicability of the ISM Code :
SOLAS, Chapter IX, and the ISM Code applies to ships, regardless of the date of construction, as follows:
*Passenger ships, including passenger high-speed craft, not later than 1 July 1998.
*Oil tankers, chemical tankers, gas carriers, bulk carriers and cargo high-speed craft of 500 gross tons or more, not later than 1 July 1998 .
*Other cargo ships and mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs) of 500 gross tons or more, not later than 1 July 2002 .
The ISM Code establishes safety management objectives as follows:
*to provide for safe practices in ship operation and a safe working environment;
*to establish safeguards against all identified risks;
*to continuously improve safety management skills of personnel, including preparing for emergencies.
The Code requires a safety management system (SMS) to be established by "the Company", which is defined as the shipowner or any person, such as the manager or bareboat charterer, who has assumed responsibility for operating the ship. This system should be designed to ensure compliance with all mandatory regulations and that codes, guidelines and standards recommended by IMO and others are taken into account.
The SMS in turn should include a number of functional requirements:
*a safety and environmental protection policy;
*instructions and procedures to ensure safety and environmental protection;
*defined levels of authority and lines of communication between and amongst shore and shipboard personnel;
*procedures for reporting accidents, etc.;
*procedures for responding to emergencies;
*procedures for internal audits and management review.
The Company is then required to establish and implement a policy for achieving these objectives. This includes providing the necessary resources and shore-based support. Every company is expected "to designate a person or persons ashore having direct access to the highest level of management".
The Code then goes on to outline the responsibility and authority of the master of the ship. It states that the SMS should make it clear that "the master has the overriding authority and the responsibility to make decisions ..." The Code then deals with other seagoing personnel and emphasizes the importance of training.
Companies are required to prepare plans and instructions for key shipboard operations and to make preparations for dealing with any emergencies which might arise. The importance of maintenance is stressed and companies are required to ensure that regular inspections are held and corrective measures taken where necessary.
The procedures required by the Code should be documented and compiled in a Safety Management Manual, a copy of which should be kept on board. Regular checks and audits should be held by the company to ensure that the SMS is being complied with and the system itself should be reviewed periodically to evaluate its efficiency.
After outlining the responsibilities of the company, the Code then stresses that the responsibility for ensuring that the Code is complied with rests with the Government. Companies which comply with the Code should be issued with a document of compliance, a copy of which should be kept on board. Administrations should also issue a Safety Management Certificate to indicate that the company operates in accordance with the SMS and periodic checks should be carried out to verify that the ship's SMS is functioning properly.
The Chapter entered into force under the tacit acceptance procedure on 1 July 1998. It will apply to passenger ships, oil and chemical tankers, bulk carriers, gas carriers and cargo high speed craft of 500 gross tonnage and above not later than that date and to other cargo ships and mobile offshore drilling units of 500 gross tonnage and above not later than 1 July 2002.
The ISM Code was created by IMO and Capt. Graham Botterill, Specialist Advisor to the House of Lords in the UK on ship safety, among other
Applicability of the ISM Code :
SOLAS, Chapter IX, and the ISM Code applies to ships, regardless of the date of construction, as follows:
*Passenger ships, including passenger high-speed craft, not later than 1 July 1998.
*Oil tankers, chemical tankers, gas carriers, bulk carriers and cargo high-speed craft of 500 gross tons or more, not later than 1 July 1998 .
*Other cargo ships and mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs) of 500 gross tons or more, not later than 1 July 2002 .
The ISM Code establishes safety management objectives as follows:
*to provide for safe practices in ship operation and a safe working environment;
*to establish safeguards against all identified risks;
*to continuously improve safety management skills of personnel, including preparing for emergencies.
The Code requires a safety management system (SMS) to be established by "the Company", which is defined as the shipowner or any person, such as the manager or bareboat charterer, who has assumed responsibility for operating the ship. This system should be designed to ensure compliance with all mandatory regulations and that codes, guidelines and standards recommended by IMO and others are taken into account.
The SMS in turn should include a number of functional requirements:
*a safety and environmental protection policy;
*instructions and procedures to ensure safety and environmental protection;
*defined levels of authority and lines of communication between and amongst shore and shipboard personnel;
*procedures for reporting accidents, etc.;
*procedures for responding to emergencies;
*procedures for internal audits and management review.
The Company is then required to establish and implement a policy for achieving these objectives. This includes providing the necessary resources and shore-based support. Every company is expected "to designate a person or persons ashore having direct access to the highest level of management".
The Code then goes on to outline the responsibility and authority of the master of the ship. It states that the SMS should make it clear that "the master has the overriding authority and the responsibility to make decisions ..." The Code then deals with other seagoing personnel and emphasizes the importance of training.
Companies are required to prepare plans and instructions for key shipboard operations and to make preparations for dealing with any emergencies which might arise. The importance of maintenance is stressed and companies are required to ensure that regular inspections are held and corrective measures taken where necessary.
The procedures required by the Code should be documented and compiled in a Safety Management Manual, a copy of which should be kept on board. Regular checks and audits should be held by the company to ensure that the SMS is being complied with and the system itself should be reviewed periodically to evaluate its efficiency.
After outlining the responsibilities of the company, the Code then stresses that the responsibility for ensuring that the Code is complied with rests with the Government. Companies which comply with the Code should be issued with a document of compliance, a copy of which should be kept on board. Administrations should also issue a Safety Management Certificate to indicate that the company operates in accordance with the SMS and periodic checks should be carried out to verify that the ship's SMS is functioning properly.
The Chapter entered into force under the tacit acceptance procedure on 1 July 1998. It will apply to passenger ships, oil and chemical tankers, bulk carriers, gas carriers and cargo high speed craft of 500 gross tonnage and above not later than that date and to other cargo ships and mobile offshore drilling units of 500 gross tonnage and above not later than 1 July 2002.
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