The ISM Code

International Safety Management Code

A glimpse at the history of the ISM Code …

On the evening of March 6, 1987, the cross-channel Ro-Ro ferry Herald of Free Enterprise, carrying more than
450 passengers, around 80 crew, more than 80 cars, and close to 50 freight vehicles, left the Belgian port of
Zeebrugge for the English port of Dover. Soon after the Herald of Free Enterprise passed Zeebrugge's
breakwater, water flooded into the ferry's lower car deck and destabilized it, causing it to sink in a matter of
minutes. 193 lives were lost.

With the entry into force, on July 1, 1998, of the 1994 amendments to the International Convention for the
Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, which introduced a new chapter IX into the Convention, the International
Safety Management Code was made mandatory. Chapter IX – Management for the safe operation of ships,
was amended by Resolution MSC.99(73), which entered into force on 1 July 2000, and by Resolution
MSC.194(80), which entered into force 1 January 2008.

The Code’s origins go back to the late 1980’s, when there was mounting concerns about poor management
standards in shipping. Investigations into accidents revealed major errors on the part of the management, and
in 1987, the IMO assembly adopted Resolution A.596(15), which called upon the Maritime Safety Committee
to develop guidelines concerning shipboard and shore-based management to ensure safe operation of Ro-Ro
passenger ferries.

It is therefore important for seafarers to know the 7 important elements of the ISM Code…

1. The Company

Company means the owner of the ship or any other organizations or persons, such as the manager or the
bareboat charterer, who assumed the responsibility of the operation of the ship from the ship owner and
who, on assuming such responsibility, has agreed to take over all duties and responsibility imposed by the
Code.

No ship can sail with an invalid or missing statutory certificate. One such certificate s is the Safety
Management Certificate.

The details of the company has to be entered into this certificate. This certificate will have:

• Name of the Company

• Address of the company

• Company Identification Number

2. Company’s Responsibility

If one has to read the ISM Code, one will notice that all the lines starts with “Company Should’ or “Company s
responsible”.
3. Internal Audits

An effective Internal Audit is the dividing line between a good ship management and a bad shipping
company.

The ISM Code requires that internal audit of each vessel should be conducted at least every 12 months.

Personnel carrying out the audits should be independent of the areas being audited unless this is being
impracticable due to the size and nature of the company.

This means superintendents of the vessel cannot carry out the audits of the vessels they are managing.

Most companies have a “Shipboard Audit Department”, whose only responsibility is to only look after the
internal audits of the ships under their company.

There is also a formal requirement for the auditor to be trained for carrying out internal audits.

4. Certificate

There are two statutory certificates required as per ISM Code:

1. Document of Compliance (for the Company)

2. Safety Management Certificate (for the Ship)

Document of Compliance is issued to the company by the Flag State, or the Classification Society on behalf of
the flag state. The certificate is valid for 5 years and it requires to be endorsed annuallySafety Management
Certificate is issued to the ship after verification of the two elements required as per ISM:

• That the Safety Management System is in place and complies with the ISM Code requirements

• That the Safety Management System is being implemented and followed on board

The verification process is called “external audit” of the SMS and is usually done by the classification society
on behalf of the flag of the ship.

Safety Management Certificate can also be issued by the Flag of the vessel. The certificate is valid for five
years and requires intermediate (between 2-3 years from the date of issue) verification.

Safety Management Certificate co exists with the Document of Compliance!

If for some reason the DOC is revoked or becomes invalid, the Safety Management Certificate will also be
invalid!

5. Designated Person Ashore (DPA)

The ISM requires the company to nominate a Designated Person who will be the link between the ship and
shore.

A Designated Person…
 • Should have Access to the highest level of management

• Is responsible for the monitoring the safety and pollution prevention aspects of the operation of each
ship

• Is responsible for ensuring that adequate resources and shore-based support are applied, as required

Some companies designate a junior shore personnel (i.e. a Deputy Marine Superintendent) as DPA.

But in an effective system, DPA will be a senior person in the company who has some control and authority
over the company’s activities.

6. Observations, Non-Conformity and Major Non-conformity

During the audits, the auditor may find some deficiencies and shortcomings. ISM categorizes these
shortcomings as:

• Observation

• Minor Non-conformity

• Major Non-conformity

A. Observation
Observation means a statement of fact made during a safety management audit and substantiated by
objective evidence. It shows and area of concern that is conforming with the ISM Code, but if not
improved, it may lead to the non-conformance of the code.

Example:

• Ship’s SMS requires that certain critical spares need to be onboard all the time.
• Ship’s SMS requires that charts and publications need to be kept updated and maintained in good
condition.
The observation can be:
• Two critical Auxillary Engine spare parts were not onboard as these were recently consumed.
• One of the charts was torn on the edge and found to be taped ineffectively.

Both of these are observations because the ship is still complying with the requirement of the SMS. But if the
situation is not corrected, it may lead to a non-conformity.

b. Minor Non-conformity

Minor non-conformity means an observed situation where objective evidence indicates the non-fulfillment
of a specified requirement.

This is different from an observation because in this case a specific requirement of the ISM Code is not met.

Example:
 • Two critical Auxillary Engine spare parts were not onboard as these were recently consumed. The
requisition for the said spare parts were not in place.

• On random checking, one permanent correction on one of the voyage charts was missing.

The SMS requires that minimum inventory of the critical spares need to be maintained at all times. In this
case, the requirement of the ISM Code (Section 10 – Maintenance of ship and equipment) was not met.

c. Major Non-conformity

Major non-conformity means an identifiable deviation that poses a serious threat to the safety of personnel
or ship or a serious risk to the environment that requires immediate corrective actions and includes the lack
of effective and systematic implementation of the requirement of the code.

One of the point that a major non-conformity highlights is that there is a systematic failure of one or more
parts of the SMS.

Some of the few major non-conformity elemental examples are:

• Deviation that poses a serious threat

• Requires immediate corrective actions

• Lack of effective and systematic implementation of the ISM Code

A major non-conformity can be due to one single major deficiency or incident. Or it can be due to a number
of small deficiencies in one area.

A single deficiency on the MARPOL equipment or Life-saving appliances can be cited as an example of a
major non-conformity.

Also, a number of small deficiency in record keeping can be considered as a major non-conformity.

To differentiate a minor and a major non-conformity, minor non-conformity may be an error, something
someone forget to do or a non compliance in one occasion. Major non-conformity is a significant form of non
compliance – a systems failure! It just indicates that the SMS is not effectively implemented.

Some quick points about handling major non-conformities…

• Ships cannot sail with a major non-conformity. Ships can only sail once it has been downgraded to a
minor non-conformity.

• A major non-conformity can be downgraded once flag is satisfied that the effective corrective actions
are taken.

• Corrective actions to close the non-conformity need to be completed in less than three months.
 • If the nature of the major non-conformity is serious, the Safety Management Certificate of the ship
may be withdrawn. In this case, the interim Safety Management Certificate will not be issued. Ships
will need to go through the initial process of obtaining the SMC which would include initial verification
of the SMS.

7. Master’s Review

One of the responsibilities of the Master as per ISM Code is to review the effectiveness of the SMS on board.
The ISM Code does not mention any time frame for this review, but as per understanding of the industry’s
experts, it should be done at least annually. Masters are required to report any noted deficiencies in the
SMS. While reviewing the SMS, Masters need to:

• Review SMS manuals and suggest any edits or corrections. Also, if any requirement mentioned in the
SMS manual is against the industry practices or requirements.

• Make suggestions to improve the Safety Management System on board.

• Review and comment on the ship’s performance on safety and pollution prevention matters.

• Amendments to the ISM Code…

• The ISM Code in its current form was adopted in 1993 by resolution A.741(18) and was made
mandatory with the entry into force, on 1 July 1998, of the 1994 amendments to the SOLAS
Convention, which introduced a new chapter IX into the Convention.

• 2000 by resolution MSC.104(73), these amendments entered into force on 1 July 2002.

• 2004 by resolution MSC.179(79), these amendments entered into force on 1 July 2006.

• 2005 by resolution MSC.195(80), these amendments entered into force on 1 January 2009.

• 2008 by resolution MSC.273(85), these amendments entered into force on 1 July 2010.

• 2013 by resolution MSC.353(92), these amendments entered into force on 1 January 2015.