1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 The ISM Code
1.1.1 The International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for
Pollution Prevention (International Safety Management (ISM) Code) was adopted by the
Organization by resolution A.741(18) and became mandatory by virtue of the entry
into force, on 1 July 1998, of SOLAS chapter IX on Management for the safe operation
of ships. The ISM Code provides an international standard for the safe
management and operation of ships and for pollution prevention.
1.1.2 The ISM Code requires that companies establish safety objectives as described
in section
1.2 (Objectives) of the ISM
Code and, in addition, that companies develop, implement and maintain a
safety management system which includes functional requirements as listed in section 1.4
(Functional requirements for a safety management system (SMS)) of the Code.
1.1.3 The application of the ISM
Code should support and encourage the development of a safety culture in
shipping. Success factors for the development of a culture that promotes safety and
environmental protection are, inter alia, commitment, values, beliefs, and clarity
of the safety management system.
1.2 Mandatory application of the ISM
Code
1.2.1 The appropriate organization of management, ashore and on board, is needed to
ensure adequate standards of safety and pollution prevention. A systematic approach
to management by those responsible for management of ships is therefore required.
The objectives of the mandatory application of the ISM
Code are to ensure:
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.1 compliance with mandatory rules and regulations related to the safe
operation of ships and protection of the environment; and
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.2 the effective implementation and enforcement thereof by Administrations.
1.2.2. Effective enforcement by Administrations must include verification that the
safety management system complies with the requirements as stipulated in the ISM
Code, as well as verification of compliance with mandatory rules and
regulations.
1.2.3 The mandatory application of the ISM
Code should ensure, support and encourage the taking into account of
applicable codes, guidelines and standards recommended by IMO, Administrations,
classification societies and maritime industry organizations.
1.3 Verification and certification responsibilities
1.3.1 The Administration is responsible for verifying compliance with the
requirements of the ISM Code and for issuing Documents of Compliance to
companies and Safety Management Certificates to ships.
1.3.2 The Guidelines for the authorization of organizations acting on behalf of
the Administration (resolution A.739(18)) and the Specifications on the survey and
certification functions of recognized organizations acting on behalf of the
Administration (resolution A.789(19)), which have been made mandatory by
virtue of SOLAS regulation XI-1/1, and the IMO Instruments Implementation Code (III
Code), as adopted by the Organization by resolution A.1070(28), the use of which has been made mandatory by
virtue of SOLAS regulation XIII/2, are applicable when Administrations authorize
organizations to issue Documents of Compliance and Safety Management Certificates on
their behalf.
3 VERIFYING COMPLIANCE WITH THE ISM
CODE
3.1 General
3.1.1 To comply with the requirements of the ISM
Code, companies should develop, implement and maintain a documented
safety management system to ensure that the safety and environmental protection
policy of the company is implemented. The company policy should include the
objectives defined by the ISM Code.
3.1.2 Administrations should verify compliance with the requirements of the ISM
Code by determining:
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.1 the conformity of the company's safety management system with the
requirements of the ISM
Code; and
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.2 that the safety management system ensures that the objectives defined in
paragraph 1.2.3 of the ISM Code are met.
3.1.3 Determining the conformity or non-conformity of safety management system
elements with the requirements specified by the ISM
Code may demand that criteria for assessment be developed.
Administrations are recommended to limit the development of criteria in the form of
prescriptive management system solutions. Criteria for assessment in the form of
prescriptive requirements may have the effect that safety management in shipping
results in companies implementing solutions prepared by others and it may then be
difficult for a company to develop the solutions which best suit that particular
company, operation or ship. Therefore, particular operations should be ship-specific
and fully reflected in manuals, procedures and instructions.
3.1.4 Therefore, Administrations are recommended to ensure that these assessments are
based on determining the effectiveness of the safety management system in meeting
specified objectives, rather than conformity with detailed requirements in addition
to those contained in the ISM Code, so as to reduce the need for developing criteria
to facilitate assessment of companies' compliance with the Code.
3.2 Ability of the safety management system to meet general safety management
objectives
The ISM
Code identifies general safety management objectives in paragraph
1.2.2. The verification should support and encourage companies in
achieving these objectives, which provide clear guidance to companies for the
development of safety management system elements in compliance with the ISM
Code. However, the ability of the safety management system to achieve
these objectives cannot be determined beyond whether the safety management system
complies with the requirements of the ISM
Code. Therefore, the objectives should not form the basis for
establishing detailed interpretations to be used for determining conformity or
non-conformity with the requirements of the ISM
Code.
3.3 Ability of the safety management system to meet specific requirements of
safety and pollution prevention
3.3.1 The main criterion that should govern the development of interpretations needed
for assessing compliance with the requirements of the ISM Code should be the ability
of the safety management system to meet the specific requirements defined by the
ISM
Code in terms of specific standards of safety and pollution prevention.
The specific standards of safety and protection of the environment are specified in
paragraph
1.2.3 of the ISM Code.
3.3.2 All records having the potential to facilitate verification of compliance with
the ISM
Code should be open to scrutiny during an examination. These may include
records from delegated SMS tasks. For this purpose, the Administration should ensure
that the company provides auditors with statutory and classification records
relevant to the actions taken by the company to ensure that compliance with
mandatory rules and regulations is maintained. In this regard, the records may be
examined to substantiate their authenticity and veracity.
3.3.3 Some mandatory requirements may not be subject to statutory or classification
surveys, such as:
3.3.4 Specific arrangements, such as the following, may be required to ensure
compliance with the ISM Code and to provide the objective evidence needed for
verification in the above-mentioned cases:
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.1 documented procedures and instructions;
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.2 documentation of the verification carried out by senior officers of
day-to-day operations when relevant to ensure compliance; and
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.3 relevant records of the ships being operated by the company, e.g. flag
State records, port State control reports, class and accident reports.
3.3.5 The verification of compliance with mandatory rules and regulations, which is
part of the ISM Code certification, neither duplicates nor substitutes surveys for
other maritime certificates. The verification of compliance with the ISM
Code does not relieve the company, the master or any other entity or
person involved in the management or operation of the ship of their
responsibilities.
3.3.6 Administrations should ensure that the company has:
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.1 taken into account the recommendations, as referred to in paragraph
1.2.3.2 of the ISM Code, when establishing and maintaining the
safety management system; and
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.2 developed procedures to ensure that those recommendations are implemented
ashore and on board.
4 CERTIFICATION AND VERIFICATION PROCESS
4.1 Certification and verification activities
4.1.1 The certification process relevant to a Document of Compliance for a company
and to a Safety Management Certificate for a ship will normally involve the
following steps:
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.1 interim verification;
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.2 initial verification;
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.3 annual or intermediate verification;
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.4 renewal verification; and
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.5 additional verification.
4.1.2 These verifications are carried out, at the request of the company, by the
Administration or the organization recognized by the Administration to perform
certification functions under the ISM
Code, or, at the request of the Administration, by another Contracting
Government to the SOLAS Convention. The verifications will include an audit of
the safety management system.
4.2 Interim verification
4.2.1 Interim certification may be issued under certain conditions, as specified by
the ISM
Code, and should facilitate the implementation of a safety management
system.
4.2.2 The company should apply for interim certification to the Administration.
4.2.3 The process of interim verification for the issuance of an Interim Document of
Compliance undertaken by the Administration would require an assessment at the
company's offices in accordance with paragraph
14.1 of the ISM Code.
4.2.4 On satisfactory completion of the assessment of the shoreside safety management
system, arrangements/planning may commence for the assessment of applicable ships in
the company's fleet.
4.2.5 The process of interim verification of the ship should be undertaken by the
Administration to ensure that the ship is provided with a safety management system,
in accordance with paragraph 14.4 of the ISM Code.
4.2.6 On satisfactory completion of the interim verification, an Interim Document of
Compliance will be issued to the company; copies should be made available by the
company to each shoreside premises and each applicable ship in the company's fleet.
As each ship is assessed and issued with an Interim Safety Management Certificate, a
copy of the certificate should also be forwarded to the company's head office.
4.3 Initial verification
4.3.1 The company should apply to the Administration for ISM
Code certification.
4.3.2 An assessment of the shoreside management system undertaken by the
Administration would necessitate assessment of the offices where such management is
carried out and possibly of other locations that may perform delegated safety
management system tasks, depending on the company's organization and the functions
at the various locations.
4.3.3 On satisfactory completion of the assessment of the shoreside safety management
system, arrangements/planning may commence for the assessment of the company's
ships.
4.3.4 On satisfactory completion of the assessment, a Document of
Compliance will be issued to the company, copies of which should be made available
to each shoreside premises and each ship in the company's fleet. As each ship is
assessed and issued with a Safety Management Certificate, a copy of that certificate
should also be forwarded to the company's head office.
4.3.5 In cases where certificates are issued by a recognized organization, copies of
all certificates should also be sent to the Administration.
4.3.6 The safety management audit for the company and for a ship will involve the
same basic steps. The purpose is to verify that a company or a ship complies with
the requirements of the ISM Code. The audits include:
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.1 verification of the conformity of the company's safety management system
with the requirements of the ISM
Code, including objective evidence demonstrating that the
company's safety management system has been in operation for at least three
months and that the safety management system has been in operation on board
at least one ship of each type operated by the company for at least three
months; and
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.2 verification that the safety management system ensures that
the objectives defined in paragraph
1.2.3 of the ISM Code are met. This includes verification that
the Document of Compliance for the company responsible for the operation of
the ship is applicable to that particular type of ship, and also includes
assessment of the shipboard safety management system to verify that it
complies with the requirements of the ISM
Code and that it is implemented. Objective evidence demonstrating
that the company's safety management system has been functioning effectively
for at least three months on board the ship and ashore should be available,
including records from the internal audit performed by the company.
4.4 Annual verification of Document of Compliance
4.4.1 Annual safety management audits are to be carried out to maintain the validity
of the Document of Compliance and should include examining and verifying the
correctness of the statutory and classification records presented for at least one
ship of each type to which the Document of Compliance applies. The annual
verification will address all the elements of the safety management system and the
activities to which the requirements of the ISM
Code apply. The purpose of these audits is to verify that the safety
management system is functioning effectively and that any modifications made to the
safety management system comply with the requirements of the ISM
Code.
4.4.2 Annual verification is to be carried out within three months before or after
each anniversary date of the Document of Compliance.
4.4.3 Where the company has more than one shoreside premises and/or the company
delegates safety management system tasks, the annual assessments should endeavour to
ensure that all sites are assessed during the period of validity of the Document of
Compliance.
4.4.4 During the annual verification, Administrations should verify whether the
company is operating all the ship types stated on the Document of Compliance.
Appropriate action should be taken if the company has stopped operating a particular
ship type.
4.5 Intermediate verification of Safety Management Certificates
4.5.1 Intermediate safety management audits should be carried out to maintain the
validity of the Safety Management Certificate. The intermediate verification will
address all the elements of the safety management system and the activities to which
the requirements of the ISM Code apply. The purpose of these audits is to verify
that the safety management system is functioning effectively and that any
modifications made to the safety management system comply with the requirements of
the ISM
Code. In certain cases, particularly during the initial period of
operation under the safety management system, the Administration may find it
necessary to increase the frequency of the intermediate verification. Additionally,
the nature of non-conformities may also provide a basis for increasing the frequency
of intermediate verifications.
4.5.2 If only one intermediate verification is to be carried out, it should take
place between the second and third anniversary date of the issue of the Safety
Management Certificate.
4.6 Renewal verification
Renewal verifications are to be performed before the validity of the Document of
Compliance or the Safety Management Certificate expires. The renewal verification
will address all the elements of the safety management system and the activities to
which the requirements of the ISM
Code apply. Renewal verification may be carried out within three months
before the date of expiry of the Document of Compliance or the Safety Management
Certificate, and should be completed before the date of expiry.
4.7 Additional verification
4.7.1 The Administration may, where there are clear grounds, require an additional
verification to check if the safety management system still functions effectively.
Additional verifications may be carried out following situations beyond normal
procedures such as port State control detentions, or in the case of reactivation
after the interruption of operations due to a period out of service, or in order to
verify that effective corrective actions have been taken and/or are being properly
implemented. Additional verifications may affect the shore-based organization and/or
the shipboard management system. The Administration should determine the scope and
depth of the verification, which may vary from case to case. The additional
verifications should be completed within the time period agreed, taking into account
the guidelines developed by IMO. The Administration should follow up on the results
of the verification and take appropriate measures, as necessary.
4.7.2 On satisfactory completion of the shipboard assessment, the Safety Management
Certificate should be endorsed for additional verification.
4.8 Safety management audits
The procedure for safety management audits outlined in the following paragraphs
includes all steps relevant for all verifications, even if the scope of the audits
for interim and additional verification may be different from that of the audits for
initial, annual, intermediate and renewal verification.
4.9 Application for audit
4.9.1 The company should submit a request for audit to the Administration or to the
organization recognized by the Administration for issuing a Document of Compliance
or a Safety Management Certificate on behalf of the Administration.
4.9.2 The Administration or the recognized organization should then nominate the lead
auditor and, if relevant, the audit team.
4.10 Preliminary review (Document review)
As a basis for planning the audit, the auditor should review the safety management
manual to determine the adequacy of the safety management system in meeting the
requirements of the ISM Code. If this review reveals that the system is not
adequate, the audit will have to be delayed until the company undertakes corrective
action.
4.11 Preparing the audit
4.11.1 The auditor should review the relevant safety performance records of the
company, for example flag State records, port State control reports and class and
accident reports, and take them into consideration when preparing the audit plan.
4.11.2 The nominated lead auditor should liaise with the company and produce an audit
plan.
4.11.3 The auditor should provide the working documents that are to govern the audit
with a view to facilitating the assessments, investigations and examinations in
accordance with the standard procedures, instructions and forms that have been
established to ensure consistent auditing practices.
4.11.4 The audit team should be able to communicate effectively with auditees.
4.12 Executing the audit
4.12.1 The audit should start with an opening meeting to introduce the audit team to
the company's senior management, summarize the methods for conducting the audit,
confirm that all agreed facilities are available, confirm the time and date for a
closing meeting and clarify any unclear details concerning the audit.
4.12.2 The audit team should assess the safety management system on the basis both of
the documentation presented by the company and of objective evidence of the
effectiveness of its implementation.
4.12.3 The objective evidence should be collected through interviews and through the
examination of documents. Observation of activities and conditions may also be
included, where necessary, to determine the effectiveness of the safety management
system in meeting the specific standards of safety and protection of the environment
required by the ISM Code.
4.12.4 Audit findings should be documented. After activities have been audited, the
audit team should review the objective evidence collected. This should then be used
to determine what is to be reported as major non-conformities, non-conformities or
observations, which should be done in terms of the general and specific provisions
of the ISM
Code.
4.12.5 At the end of the audit, prior to preparing the audit report, the audit team
should hold a meeting with the senior management of the company and those
responsible for the functions concerned. The purpose is to present the observations
in such a way as to ensure that the results of the audit are clearly understood.
4.13 Audit report
4.13.1 The audit report should be prepared under the direction of the lead auditor,
who is responsible for its accuracy and completeness.
4.13.2 The audit report should include the audit plan, identification of audit team
members, dates and identification of the company, and observations on any
non-conformities and on the effectiveness of the safety management system in meeting
the specified objectives.
4.13.3 The company should receive a copy of the audit report. The company should be
advised to provide the ship with a copy of the shipboard audit reports.
4.14 Corrective action follow-up
4.14.1 The company is responsible for determining and initiating the corrective
action needed to correct a non-conformity or to correct the cause of a
non-conformity. Failure to correct non-conformities with specific requirements of
the ISM
Code may affect the validity of the Document of Compliance and related
Safety Management Certificates.
4.14.2 Corrective actions and any subsequent audits should be completed within the
time period agreed. For corrective actions this should not normally exceed three
months. The company should apply for the follow-up audits as agreed.
4.14.3 Failure to take adequate corrective actions in compliance with the ISM
Code, including measures to prevent recurrence, may be considered as a
major non-conformity.
4.15 Company responsibilities pertaining to safety management audits
4.15.1 The verification of compliance with the ISM
Code does not relieve the company, management, those undertaking
delegated safety management system tasks, officers or seafarers of their obligations
to comply with national and international legislation related to safety and
protection of the environment.
4.15.2 The company is responsible for:
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.1 informing relevant employees and those undertaking delegated safety
management system tasks about the objectives and scope of the ISM
Code certification;
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.2 appointing responsible members of staff to accompany members of the team
performing the certification;
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.3 providing the resources needed by those performing the certification to
ensure an effective and efficient verification process;
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.4 providing access and evidential material as requested by those performing
the certification; and
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.5 cooperating with the verification team to enable the certification
objectives to be achieved.
4.15.3 Where major non-conformities are identified, Administrations and recognized
organizations should comply with the procedures stated in the Procedures
concerning observed ISM Code major non-conformities (MSC/Circ.1059-MEPC/Circ.401).
4.16 Responsibilities of the organization performing the ISM Code certification
The organization performing the ISM
Code certification is responsible for ensuring that the verification and
certification process is performed according to the ISM
Code and these revised guidelines. This includes management control of
all aspects of the certification in accordance with the appendix to these revised
guidelines.
4.17 Responsibilities of the verification team
4.17.1 Whether or not the verifications involved with certification are performed by
a team, one person should be in charge of the verification. The leader should be
given the authority to make final decisions regarding the conduct of the
verification and any observations. His or her responsibilities should include:
4.17.2 Personnel participating in the verification are responsible for complying with
the requirements governing the verification, ensuring confidentiality of documents
pertaining to the certification and treating privileged information with
discretion.