IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) met at the Organization’s London Headquarters for its 92nd session from 12 to 21 June 2013. Among others the MSC adopted amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) relating to passenger drills, it also discussed recommendations arising from the Costa Concordia incident and considered matters related to piracy and armed robbery against ships and other items submitted by the IMO sub-committees.
On the 19 June 2012, a Port State Control Inspector from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) boarded a Panama registered vessel at Portland. During his inspection the Inspector noted that access was being made into the vessel’s ballast tanks without proper procedures being in place. The Master was issued with a Prohibition Notice requiring entries be made in the correct manner in accordance with the Code of Safe Working Practices.
Recently IACS released guidance regarding Risk Assessment in Ship Operations. The development as well as the implementation of a safety management system also involves taking into consideration risk management. The development of a written procedure involves looking at the company’s activities and operations and identifying what could go wrong in order to decide what should be done to try to prevent it from being happening.
The International Safety Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention (ISM Code) is an international standard for the safe management and operation of ships focusing towards the protection of the environment and the safety of the crew as well as equipment. The ISM Code is mandatory for all vessels of more than 500 gross tonnages including mobile offshore drilling units.
ISO 9001:2008 specifies requirements for a quality management system which ensures that a company provides products/services that meet customer as well as any applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. Moreover, ISO 9001 aims to enhance customer satisfaction.
Both ISO 9001 and the ISM Code specify a systematic approach to management by those responsible for management of ships. ISM Code with ISO 9001 provides a basis for ensuring management systems are also driven by customer needs for the continued success of a shipping company.
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Officer of the Watch 