The ISM Code, as amended

The ISM Code, as amended

INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CODE FOR THE SAFE OPERATION OF

SHIPS AND FOR POLLUTION PREVENTION
(INTERNATIONAL SAFETY MANAGEMENT (ISM) CODE)
PART A - IMPLEMENTATION
1. GENERAL
1.1 Definitions
The following definitions apply to parts A and B of this Code.

1.1.1 International Safety Management (ISM) Code means the International Management
Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention as adopted by the
Assembly, as may be amended by the Organization.
1.1.2 Company means the owner of the ship or any other organization or person such as the
manager, or the bareboat charterer, who has assumed the responsibility for operation of
the ship from the shipowner and who, on assuming such responsibility, has agreed to
take over all the duties and responsibility imposed by the Code.
1.1.3 Administration means the Government of the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly.
1.1.4 Safety Management System means a structured and documented system enabling
Company personnel to implement effectively the Company safety and environmental
protection policy.
1.1.5 Document of Compliance means a document issued to a Company which complies with
the requirements of this Code.
1.1.6 Safety Management Certificate means a document issued to a ship which signifies that
the Company and its shipboard management operate in accordance with the approved
safety management system.
1.1.7 Objective evidence means quantitative or qualitative information, records or statements
of fact pertaining of safety or to the existence and implementation of a safety
management system element, which is based on observation, measurement or test and
which can be verified.
1.1.8 Observation means a statement of fact made during a safety management audit and
substantiated by objective evidence.
1.1.9 Non-conformity means an observed situation where objective evidence indicates the non-
fulfillment of a specified requirement.
1.1.10 Major non-conformity means an identifiable deviation that poses a serious threat to the
safety of personnel or the ship or a serious risk to the environment that requires
immediate corrective action and includes the lack of effective and systematic
implementation of a requirement of this Code.
1.1.11 Anniversary date means the day and month of each year that corresponds to the date of
expiry of the relevant document or certificate.
1.1.12 Convention means the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 as
amended.

1.2 Objectives
1.2.1 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, in particular to the marine

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environment, and to property.

1.2.2 Safety-management objectives of the Company should, inter alia:
.1 provide for safe practices in ship operation and a safe working environment;
.2 establish safeguards against all identified risks; and
.3 continuously improve safety-management skills of personnel ashore and aboard ships,
including preparing for emergencies related both to safety and environmental protection.
1.2.3 The safety-management system should ensure:
.1 compliance with mandatory rules and regulations; and
.2 that applicable codes, guidelines and standards recommended by the Organization,
Administrations, classification societies and maritime industry organizations are taken
into account.

1.3 Application
The requirements of this Code may be applied to all ships.

1.4 Functional requirements for a safety-management system

Every Company should develop, implement and maintain a safety management system
(SMS) which includes the following functional requirements:
.1 a safety and environmental-protection policy;
.2 instructions and procedures to ensure safe operation of ships and protection of the
environment in compliance with relevant international and flag State legislation;
.3 defined levels of authority and lines of communication between, and amongst, shore
and shipboard personnel;
.4 procedures for reporting accidents and non- conformities with the provisions of this
Code;
.5 procedures to prepare for and respond to emergency situations ;and
.6 procedures for internal audits and management reviews.

2. SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION POLICY

2.1 The Company should establish a safety and environmental-protection policy which
describes how the objectives given in paragraph 1.2 will be achieved.

2.2 The Company should ensure that the policy is implemented and maintained at all levels of
the organization both, ship-based and shore-based

3. COMPANY RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITY

3.1 If the entity who is responsible for the operation of the ship is other than the owner, the
owner must report the full name and details of such entity to the Administration.

3.2 The Company should define and document the responsibility, authority and interrelation of
all personnel who manage, perform and verify work relating to and affecting safety and
pollution prevention.

3.3 The Company is responsible for ensuring that adequate resources and shore-based support
are provided to enable the designated person or persons to carry out their functions.

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4. DESIGNATED PERSON(S)
To ensure the safe operation of each ship and to provide a link between the Company and
those on board, every Company, as appropriate, should designate a person or persons ashore
having direct access to the highest level of management. The responsibility and authority of
the designated person or persons should include monitoring the safety and pollution-
prevention aspects of the operation of each ship and ensuring that adequate resources and
shore-based support are applied, as required.

5. MASTER'S RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY

5.1 The Company should clearly define and document the master's responsibility with regard to:
.1 implementing the safety and environmental-protection policy of the Company;
.2 motivating the crew in the observation of that policy;
.3 issuing appropriate orders and instructions in a clear and simple manner;
.4 verifying that specified requirements are observed; and
.5 reviewing the SMS and reporting its deficiencies to the shore-based management.

5.2 The Company should ensure that the SMS operating on board the ship contains a clear
statement emphasizing the master's authority. The Company should establish in the SMS
that the master has the overriding authority and the responsibility to make decisions with
respect to safety and pollution prevention and to request the Company's assistance as may
be necessary.

6. RESOURCES AND PERSONNEL

6.1 The Company should ensure that the master is:
.1 properly qualified for command;
.2 fully conversant with the Company's SMS; and
.3 given the necessary support so that the master's duties can be safely performed.
6.2 The Company should ensure that each ship is manned with qualified, certificated and
medically fit seafarers in accordance with national and international requirements.

6.3 The Company should establish procedures to ensure that new personnel and personnel
transferred to new assignments related to safety and protection of the environment are
given proper familiarization with their duties. Instructions which are essential to be
provided prior to sailing should be identified, documented and given.

6.4 The Company should ensure that all personnel involved in the Company's SMS have an
adequate understanding of relevant rules, regulations, codes and guidelines.

6.5 The Company should establish and maintain procedures for identifying any training which
may be required in support of the SMS and ensure that such training is provided for all
personnel concerned.

6.6 The Company should establish procedures by which the ship's personnel receive relevant
information on the SMS in a working language or languages understood by them.
6.7 The Company should ensure that the ship's personnel are able to communicate effectively
in the execution of their duties related to the SMS.

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7. DEVELOPMENT OF PLANS FOR SHIPBOARD OPERATIONS

The Company should establish procedures for the preparation of plans and instructions,
including checklist as appropriate, for key shipboard operations concerning the safety of the
ship and the prevention of pollution. The various tasks involved should be defined and
assigned to qualified personnel.

8. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
8.1The Company should establish procedures to identify, describe and respond to potential
emergency shipboard situations.

8.2The Company should establish programmes for drills and exercises to prepare for emergency
actions.

8.3 The SMS should provide for measures ensuring that the Company's organization can
respond at any time to hazards, accidents and emergency situations involving its ships.

9. REPORTS AND ANALYSIS OF NON-CONFORMITIES, ACCIDENTS AND

HAZARDOUS OCCURRENCES
9.1 The SMS should include procedures ensuring that non- conformities, accidents and
hazardous situations are reported to the Company, investigated and analysed with the
objective of improving safety and pollution prevention.
9.2 The Company should establish procedures for the implementation of corrective action.

10. MAINTENANCE OF THE SHIP AND EQUIPMENT

10.1 The Company should establish procedures to ensure that the ship is maintained in
conformity with the provisions of the relevant rules and regulations and with any
additional requirements which may be established by the Company.

10.2 In meeting these requirements the Company should ensure that:

.1 inspections are held at appropriate intervals;
.2 any non-conformity is reported, with its possible cause, if known;
.3 appropriate corrective action is taken; and
.4 records of these activities are maintained.

10.3 The Company should establish procedures in its SMS to identify equipment and
technical systems the sudden operational failure of which may result in hazardous
situations. The SMS should provide for specific measures aimed at promoting the
reliability of such equipment or systems. These measures should include the regular testing
of stand-by arrangements and equipment or technical systems that are not in continuous
use.

10.4 The inspections mentioned in 10.2 as well as the measures referred to in 10.3 should be
integrated into the ship's operational maintenance routine.

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11. DOCUMENTATION

11.1 The Company should establish and maintain procedures to control all documents and data
which are relevant to the SMS

11.2 The Company should ensure that:

.1 valid documents are available at all relevant locations;
.2 changes to documents are reviewed and approved by authorized personnel; and
.3 obsolete documents are promptly removed.

11.3 The documents used to describe and implement the SMS may be referred to as the Safety
Management Manual. Documentation should be kept in a form that the Company
considers most effective. Each ship should carry on board all documentation relevant to
that ship.

12. COMPANY VERIFICATION, REVIEW AND EVALUATION

12.1 The Company should carry out internal safety audits to verify whether safety and
pollution-prevention activities comply with the SMS.

12.2 The Company should periodically evaluate the efficiency and, when needed, review the
SMS in accordance with procedures established by the Company

12.3 The audits and possible corrective actions should be carried out in accordance with
documented procedures.

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

12.5 The results of the audits and reviews should be brought to the attention of all personnel
having responsibility in the area involved.

12.6 The management personnel responsible for the area involved should take timely
corrective action on deficiencies found.

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PART B - CERTIFICATION AND VERIFICATION

13 CERTIFICATION AND PERIODICAL VERIFICATION

13.1 The ship should be operated by a Company which has been issued with a Document of
Compliance or with an Interim Document of Compliance in accordance with
paragraph 14.1, relevant to that ship.

13.2 The Document of Compliance should be issued by the Administration, by an

organization recognized by the Administration or, at the request of the Administration,
by another Contracting Government to the Convention to any Company complying
with the requirements of this Code for a period specified by the Administration which
should not exceed five years. Such a document should be accepted as evidence that the
Company is capable of complying with the requirements of this Code.

13.3 The Document of Compliance is only valid for the ship types explicitly indicated in
the document. Such indication should be based on the types of ships on which the
initial verification was based. Other ship types should only be added after verification
of the Company’s capability to comply with the requirements of this Code applicable
to such ship types. In this context, ship types are those referred to in regulation IX/1 of
the Convention.

13.4 The validity of a Document of Compliance should be subject to annual verification by

the Administration or by an organization recognized by the Administration or, at the
request of the Administration by another Contracting Government within three months
before or after the anniversary date.

13.5 The Document of Compliance should be withdrawn by the Administration or, at its
request, by the Contracting Government which issued the document, when the annual
verification required in paragraph 13.4 is not requested or if there is evidence of major
non-conformities with this Code.

13.5.1 All associated Safety Management Certificates and/or Interim Safety Management
Certificates should also be withdrawn if the Document of Compliance is withdrawn.

13.6 A copy of the Document of Compliance should be placed on board in order that the
master of the ship, if so requested, may produce it for verification by the
Administration or by an organization recognized by the Administration or for the
purposes of the control referred to in regulation IX/6.2 of the Convention. The copy of
the document is not required to be authenticated or certified.

13.7 The Safety Management Certificate should be issued to a ship for a period which
should not exceed five years by the Administration or an organization recognized by
the Administration or, at the request of the Administration, by another Contracting
Government. The Safety Management Certificate should be issued after verifying that
the Company and its shipboard management operate in accordance with the approved
safety management system. Such a certificate should be accepted as evidence that the
ship is complying with the requirements of this Code.

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13.8 The validity of the Safety Management Certificate should be subject to at least one
intermediate verification by the Administration or an organization recognized by the
Administration or, at the request of the Administration, by another Contracting
Government. If only one intermediate verification is to be carried out and the period of
validity of the Safety Management Certificate is five years, it should take place
between the second and third anniversary date of the Safety Management Certificate.

13.9 In addition to the requirements of paragraph 13.5.1, the Safety Management

Certificate should be withdrawn by the Administration or, at the request of the
Administration, by the Contracting Government which has issued it when the
intermediate verification required in paragraph 13.8 is not requested or if there is
evidence of major non-conformities with this Code.

13.10 Notwithstanding the requirements of paragraphs 13.2 and 13.7, when the renewal
verification is completed within three months before the expiry date of the existing
Document of Compliance or Safety Management Certificate, the new Document of
Compliance or the new Safety Management Certificate should be valid from the date
of completion of the renewal verification for a period not exceeding five years from
the date of expiry of the existing Document of Compliance or Safety Management
Certificate.

13.11 When the renewal verification is completed more than three months before the expiry
date of the existing Document of Compliance or Safety Management Certificate, the
new Document of Compliance or the new Safety Management Certificate should be
valid from the date of completion of the renewal verification for a period not
exceeding five years from the date of completion the renewal verification.

14 INTERIM CERTIFICATION
14.1 An Interim Document of Compliance may be issued to facilitate initial implementation
of this Code when:
.1 a Company is newly established; or
.2 new ship types are to be added to an existing Document of Compliance,
following verification that the Company has a safety management system that meets
the objectives of paragraph 1.2.3 of this Code, provided the Company demonstrates
plans to implement a safety management system meeting the full requirements of this
Code within the period of validity of the Interim Document of Compliance. Such an
Interim Document of Compliance should be issued for a period not exceeding 12
months by the Administration or by an organization recognized by the Administration
or, at the request of the Administration, by another Contracting Government. A copy
of the Interim Document of Compliance should be placed on board in order that the
master of the ship, if so requested, may produce it for verification by the
Administration or by an organization recognized by the Administration or for the
purposes of the control referred to in regulation IX/6.2 of the Convention. The copy of
the document is not required to be authenticated or certified.

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14.2 An Interim Safety Management Certificate may be issued:

.1 to new ships on delivery;
.2 when a Company takes on responsibility for the operation of a ship which is new
to the Company; or
.3 when a ship changes flag.
Such an Interim Safety Management Certificate should be issued for a period not
exceeding 6 months by the Administration or an organization recognized by the
Administration or, at the request of the Administration, by another Contracting
Government.

14.3 An Administration or, at the request of the Administration, another Contracting

Government may, in special cases, extend the validity of an Interim Safety Management
Certificate for a further period which should not exceed 6 months from the date of expiry.

14.4 An Interim Safety Management Certificate may be issued following verification that:
.1 the Document of Compliance, or the Interim Document of Compliance, is
relevant to the ship concerned;
.2 the safety management system provided by the Company for the ship
concerned includes key elements of this Code and has been assessed during
the audit for issuance of the Document of Compliance or demonstrated for
issuance of the Interim Document of Compliance;
.3 the Company has planned the audit of the ship within three months;
.4 the master and officers are familiar with the safety management system and
the planned arrangements for its implementation;
.5 instructions, which have been identified as being essential, are provided prior
to sailing; and
.6 relevant information on the safety management system has been given in a
working language or languages understood by the ship’s personnel.

15 VERIFICATION
15.1 All verifications required by the provisions of this Code should be carried out in accordance
with procedures acceptable to the Administration, taking into account the guidelines
developed by the Organization*.
*: Refer to the Guidelines on implementation of the International Safety Management (ISM)
Code by Administrations adopted by the Organization by resolution A.788(19).

16 FORMS OF CERTIFICATES
16.1 The Document of Compliance, the Safety Management Certificate, the Interim Document of
Compliance and the Interim Safety Management Certificate should be drawn up in a form
corresponding to the models given in the appendix to this Code. If the language used is
neither English nor French, the text should include a translation into one of these languages.

16.2 In addition to the requirements of paragraph 13.3 the ship types indicated on the Document
of Compliance and the Interim Document of Compliance may be endorsed to reflect any
limitations in the operations of the ships described in the safety managing system.