ISM Code

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The ISM Code (International Safety Management Code) requires every company operating ships to establish a documented safety management system (SMS) covering safe operation of ships and pollution prevention. Made mandatory through SOLAS Chapter IX in phases from 1998, it applies to virtually all commercial seagoing ships of 500 GT and above.

Key elements include:

• A Designated Person Ashore (DPA) providing a direct link between the ship and the highest level of management
• Documented procedures, emergency preparedness, and reporting of non-conformities and near-misses
• Internal audits and management review

Compliance is certified through a Document of Compliance (DOC) for the company and a Safety Management Certificate (SMC) for each ship, typically issued by classification societies acting for the flag state.

The code emerged from casualties of the 1980s — most notably the 1987 Herald of Free Enterprise capsize, whose inquiry famously found the operating company “infected with the disease of sloppy management.” Its legal significance is substantial: SMS documentation is now routinely central evidence in casualty litigation and in questions of owners’ liability limitation.