the international safety management (ism)

7/31/2019 The International Safety Management (ISM)

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The International Safety Management (ISM) Code for the safe operation

of ships and for pollution prevention and its application in the

Marine Environment

The ISM code sets an international standard for the safe management and operation of

ships and requires companies to document and implement clear procedures, standards andinstructions for safety management ashore and afloat.

The ISM code does not replace the requirement for compliance with existing regulations.

The purpose of the code is to provide an international standard for the safe managementand operation of ships and for prevention of pollution

The objectives of the code are to ensure safety at sea, prevention of human injury or loss of

life, and avoidance of damage to the environment.

The Code will be introduced on a mandatory basis in three stages depending on the type ofvessel but regardless on date of construction.

European requirement- Ro-Ro Passenger vessels will require to comply by 1 January

1996, Ro-Ro ferries from 1 July 1996

International requirements- The new chapter IX to SOLAS 1974, Management for the

Safe Operation of Ships requires compliance of Passenger Vessels and high speedPassenger Craft over 500 GRT by 1 July 1998. Oil Tankers, Cargo high speed craft,

Chemical Tankers, Gas Carriers and Bulk Carriers to comply by 1 July 1998. Other Cargo

ships and mobile Offshore drilling rigs of over 500 GRT to comply by 1 July 2002

The MSA will be responsible for the system audit, issue and renewal of ISM ConventionCertificates and the periodic verification. The use of independent organisations to guide

and assist in the setting up of the SMS is encouraged but the choice such consultants is a

company decision.

Certification

The application of the code will lead to the issue of two certificates

The Document Of Compliance (DOC)

o will be issued to the company following a successful audit of the shore side

aspects of the Safety Management System

o evidence required that the system as been in operation on at least one type

of ship in the companies fleet for a period of three months.o Specific to ship types at time of audit

o valid for 5 years

o subject to annual verification ( within 3 months of anniversary date)


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2. instructions and procedures to ensure that safe operation of the vessel in

compliance with relevant international and flag state legislation

3. defined levels of authority and communication between shore and shippersonnel

4. procedures for reporting accidents and non-conformities with the code

5. procedures for responding to emergency situations (drills etc)6. procedures for internal audits and management reviews

7. A system is in place for the on board generation of plans and instructions

for key shipboard operations. These tasks may be divided into twocategories

Special operations-those where errors only become apparent after a

hazardous situation or accident has occurred. E.g. ensuring water tight

integrity, navigational safety(chart corrections, passage planning),maintenance operations, bunker operations

Critical shipboard operations- where an error will immediately cause an

accident or a situation that could threaten personnel, environment or vessel.

e.g. navigation in confined waters, operation in heavy weather, bunker or oiltransfers, cargo operations on tankers. .

Safety and environmental protection policy

1. The company should establish a safety and environmental protection policywhich describes how objectives listed above will be achieved.

2. The company should ensure that the policy is implemented and maintained

at all levels of the organisation both ship based as well as shore based.

Company responsibilities and authority

1. There must be disclosure from the owner to the administration as to who isresponsible for the operation of the ship. The company should define and

document responsibility, authority and interrelation of all personnel who

manage, perform and verify work relating to and affecting safety andpollution prevention

2. The company must ensure there are adequate resources and shore based

support for the designated person or persons to carry out their function.

Designated Person(s)

1. A person or persons who has direct access to the highest levels ofmanagement providing a link between the company and those on board.

2. The responsibility and authority of the designated person is to provide for

the safe operation of the vessels. He should monitor the safety and pollutionprevention aspects of the operation of each vessel and ensure their are

adequate shore side resources and support

Master's responsibility and authority


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1. The roles and responsibilities of the Master should be clearly defined by the

company with regard to the implementation of the companies policies with

respect to SMS and methods for review and reporting deficiencies to theshore based management.

2. The company should ensure that the SMS operating onboard the vessel

contains a clear statement emphasising the masters authority. The companyshould make it clear that the Master has the overall responsibility for

decision making and has overriding authority with the option of adequate

shore back up.

Resources and Personnel

1. The company should ensure that the Master is suitably qualified and fully

conversant with the SMS. They should also ensure that the ship is correctly

manned.

2. The company should ensure that there is adequate familiarisation with

safety and protection of the environment for new personnel. They shouldensure that the personnel has an adequate understanding of the relevant

rules, regulations, guidelines and codes.3. Training is to be provided where necessary. Relevant information for the

SMS should be promulgated and be written in an easy to understand

method.

Development of plans for ship board operations

1. The company should establish procedures for the generation of shipboard

plans and instructions with regard to the prevention of pollution and that

these should be generated by qualified personnel

Emergency Preparedness

1. The company should establish procedures for the response actions topotential emergency situations. Programmes for drill should be established

and measures taken to ensure that the company's organisation can respond

to hazards and accidents.

Reports and analysis of non-conformities, accidents and hazardous occurrences

1. The company should ensure there is a procedure for the reporting andanalysis of accidents, hazardous occurrences and non-conformities, and for

the corrective action.

Maintenance of the ship and equipment


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1. The company is to ensure that the vessel is properly maintained. Procedures

within the SMS should be in place to identify, record and plan for repair

defects. A system of preventive maintenance should be in operation.2. Regular inspections integrated with the ships operational maintenance

routine should take place to ensure that the vessel is in compliance with

relevant regulations.

Documentation

1. The company should establish and maintain procedures for the control of all

documentation relevant to the SMS. This should include;

1. valid documents are available at all relevant locations2. changes to documents are reviewed and approved to authorised

personnel

3. obsolete documents are promptly removed

2. All documents, carried in a company approved relevant form, should be

present on board

Company verification, review and evaluation.

1. The company should carry out periodic audits to verify that safety and

pollution prevention's are complying with SMS. The audits and correctiveactions should be carried out as per laid down procedures.

2. Personnel carrying out the audits should be independent of the areas that

they are carrying out the audit unless size of the company is such that this isimpractical.

3. Deficiencies or defects found should be brought to the attention of the

personnel in that section and the management team so effective correctiveaction can be carried out

Certification, verification and control

1. The following documentation is issued by which ever administration,

complying with ISM, is relevant to the shipping company.

2. A DOC is issued to all company's who can demonstrate that they havecomplied with the code should be held.

3. A copy of the DOC should be held on board to allow the Master to produce

it to the relevant authorities is required.

4. An SMC is issue to the ship following verification that the ship andcompany comply with the requirements of SMS.

5. Future verification that compliance with SMS should be carried out by the

administration.

Requirements on board ship


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1. Proof that the vessel is being maintained in a satisfactory condition at all

times, and not only at the time of surveys-objective evidence in the form of

no overdue surveys, no overdue recommendations from port or flag stateinspections and that planned maintenance is being carried out and records

kept.

2. Applicable codes and guidelines are being taken into consideration whenoperating the vessel. Vessels staff must be able to demonstrate that

operations are carried out in a controlled manner utilising information

contained in these codes, guidelines and standards.3. That emergency situations have been identified and drills are conducted to

ensure the vessel and company are ready to respond to emergency

situations.

The master is expected to be fully conversant with Company safety management system.Officers and crew would be expected to be familiar with the parts of the system relevant to

their safety responsibilities as well as a thorough understanding of their operational

responsibilities- auditors will ensure compliance.

Examples of the type of documentation the auditor will wish to see to verifycompliance with the ISM are as follows;

o Log books

o Safety and management meeting minutes and follow up actions

o Medical log

o Company circular letters

o Planned maintenance records

o Records of verification

o Records of masters review of the system

o Records of internal audits and follow upo Records of chart corrections

o Class quarterly listings

o Records of passage planning

o Oil record books

o Garbage logs

o Company manual and forms

Pollution prevention and OPA 90

Tied into the ISM code are the requirements to meet OPA90 to wit a Federal Response

Plan. Each company that trades in US coastal waters must have in place a suitable responseplan. They must have a designated person resident in the United states ready to act as

consultant.

There is an IMO regulations which is equivalent to OPA90. A company must be in

possession of a valid DOC to trade, and it must be able to clearly demonstrate its ability torespond to situations such as oil spillage.


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