(www.MaritimeCyprus.com) Quality standards, safety management, the human element and safety culture all have a high profile within the maritime industry and feature prominently in the work of IMO aimed at improving performance by focusing on people. The need for improvement in the management and operation of ships, together with the need to create a genuine link between companies and the responsibilities emanating from the operation of ships, including the management of seafarers, eventually led to the development and adoption, in 1993, of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code.
The adoption of a new strategic direction on ʺAddress the human elementʺ within the Revised Strategic Plan for the Organization for the six-year period 2018 to 2023 (resolution A.1149(32)) in December 2021, highlighted, inter alia, the importance of the responsibility and authority of those involved in the management and operation of ships.
In this context, the Secretariat commissioned a Study on the effectiveness and effective implementation of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code (referred to hereafter as "the Study") in order to support any possible regulatory action of the Organization in the context of the ISM Code, with a view to responding to the needs of safe, secure, environmentally sound, efficient and sustainable shipping.
Objectives of the Study
The Study focuses on the assessment of the effectiveness and effective implementation of the ISM Code and its related instruments and associated provisions, with a view to obtaining objective evidence and drawing conclusions on the current relevance of, and difficulties, gaps, flaws or failures relating to, the implementation of the aforementioned instruments within their respective scopes of application, i.e. Governments, ships and ships' crews, and shipping companies.
The areas assessed in the Study include:
- the current structure of the ISM Code and its related instruments;
- the application of a risk-based approach, as part of the assessment to be conducted by companies, as provided in the ISM Code, including the usefulness and effectiveness of this assessment and the establishment of corresponding safeguards;
- the human side of management for both companies and seafarers, including:
.1 the linkage between companies and responsibilities emanating from the operation of ships, including the management of seafarers; and
.2 the way authority and responsibility are allocated, interpreted, and discharged by all parties within their respective scope, i.e. companies, Administrations, masters and seafarers, starting with the provision of the necessary resources to run ships effectively and efficiently, from the safety, environmental and operational points of view, taking into account that one of the first actions of management taken by companies is the proposal of their ships' minimum safe manning to the corresponding flag State Administration; - linkage between companies and the discharge of responsibilities emanating from the operation of ships, including the management of seafarers;
- contributing factors to, or root causes of, very serious marine casualties, and their linkage with the implementation of ISM-related provisions; and
- verification and certification practices.
Arrangements of the Study
The Study was based on a multi-method approach and incorporates insights and perspectives from stakeholders representing different fields of the industry, through a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection intended to ensure that the collective experience of all stakeholders linked with the ISM Code is considered. It should be emphasized that the role and willingness of the various stakeholder groups, including flag State Administrations, port State control regimes, recognized organizations, shipping industry and seafarer representatives, to provide relevant information has been fundamental for the conduct of the Study. In this context, all efforts have been made towards the collection and analysis of quantitative data, including those from analysis of accident reports, to examine trends and identify patterns, as well as insights of stakeholders with long-standing experience in the sector.
Consolidated recommendations from the IMO Secretariat on ISM:
Recommendation 1: the International Maritime Organization (IMO) should consider improving the implementation of the ISM Code, in order to ensure consistency in the uniform application and interpretation of mandatory provisions, as well as compliance and enforcement by Administrations and/or companies. It is recommended that consideration be given for a comprehensive review and revision of the guidelines on the implementation of the ISM Code by Administrations and companies, in particular resolution A.1188(33) on Guidelines on the implementation of the ISM Code by Administrations and MSC-MEPC.7/Circ.8 on Revised guidelines for the operational implementation of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code by Companies
Recommendation 2: IMO should consider reviewing the port State control guidelines in relation to the ISM Code, in order to ensure that the provisions of the ISM Code are implemented consistently on all ships.
Recommendation 3: IMO should consider reviewing elements of the ISM Code.
Recommendation 4: IMO should consider initiating a holistic review of its instruments dealing with resources and personnel.
Recommendation 5: IMO should consider effective measures to promote the development of training guidance for non-technical skills to optimize the human contributions to organizational safety. This should specifically address human factors competency designed for shipping, and training should initially focus on risk assessment, decision making, incident analysis (including root cause analyses), open reporting, communication, handling non-conformities, task management and fatigue.
Recommendation 6: IMO should consider enhancing capacity building on the effective implementation of the ISM Code and its related instruments.
For more details, download below The IMO Secretariat study and a Submission to facilitate and streamline the discussions at MSC 109:
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| IMO Study on ISM | IMO Considerations for Sumbission |
Source: IMO
