INTERNATIONAL SAFETY MANAGEMENT CODE

The ISM Code provides an international standard for the safe management and operation of ships and for pollution prevention. The ISM Code requires that the ship's owner establish safety objectives that ensure safety at sea, prevention of human injury or loss of life, and avoidance of damage to the environment, in particular to the marine environment and to property. To view the full text of the ISM Code, see www.imo.org/Safety/mainframe.asp?topic_id=478.

Application of the ISM Code should support and encourage the development of a safety culture in shipping. An appropriate organization of management, ashore and on board, is needed to ensure adequate standards of safety. A systematic approach to management by those responsible for management of ships therefore requires the implementation of a Safety Management System (SMS) with the following objectives:

1. Provide for safe practices in ship operation and a safe working environment.
2. Establish safeguards against all identified risks.
3. Continuously improve safety management skills of personnel ashore and aboard ships, including preparing for emergencies related both to safety and environmental protection.
4. Comply with mandatory rules and regulations.
5. Consider applicable codes, guidelines, and standards recommended by marine safety organizations, the government of the state under which the ship is flagged (or an authorized organization acting on their behalf), the classification societies, and the maritime industry organizations.
6. Provide adequate resources and shore-based support to enable the designated person or persons to carry out their functions.

Specifically, the SMS must establish procedures for the following:

1. Definition and documentation of the responsibility and interrelation of all personnel who manage, perform, and verify work relating to and affecting safety and pollution prevention.
2. Assurance that the ship is manned with qualified, certified, and medically fit seafarers in accordance with national and international requirements.
3. Familiarization of new personnel and personnel transferred to new assignments with safety- and protection-related issues of the environment and with their duties. Instructions, which must be provided prior to sailing, should be identified, documented, and disseminated.
4. Assurance that all employees have an adequate understanding of relevant rules, regulations, codes, and guidelines.
5. Identification of any training that may be required in support of the SMS and assurance that such training is provided for all personnel concerned and that their training is maintained.
6. Identification, description, and response to potential emergency shipboard situations.
7. Development of a program for drills and exercises to prepare for emergency actions.
8. Provision for measures ensuring that the ship owner's organization can respond at any time to hazards, accidents, and emergency situations involving its ships.
9. Assurance that nonconformities, accidents, and hazardous situations are reported to the ship owner and investigated and analyzed with the objective of improving safety and pollution prevention.
10. Development of procedures for implementing corrective action.
11. Assurance that the ship is maintained in conformity with the provisions of the relevant rules and regulations and with any additional requirements established by the ship's owner. This assurance can be provided by conducting inspections at appropriate intervals, reporting any nonconformity with its possible cause (if known), reporting the corrective action taken, and keeping records of the above activities.
12. Identification of equipment and technical systems the sudden operational failure of which may result in a hazardous situation. 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 standby arrangements and equipment or technical systems that are not in continuous use.
13. Development of procedures to maintain and control all documents and data that are relevant to the SMS. These procedures must ensure that valid documents are available at all relevant locations, changes to documents are reviewed and approved by authorized personnel, and obsolete documents are promptly removed.

Upon implementation of the SMS, the government of the state under which the ship is flagged (or an authorized organization acting on their behalf) must verify that the SMS complies with the requirements as stipulated in the ISM Code, as well as verify compliance with mandatory rules and regulations. Upon verification of compliance with the requirements of the ISM Code, a Document of Compliance (DOC) will be issued to the ship's owner and a Safety Management Certificate (SMC) will be issued to the ship.

It is the responsibility of the ship's owner and their staff to ensure that the JOIDES Resolution is in compliance with the ISM Code. Because TAMU (through ODP) operates and staffs research facilities aboard the JOIDES Resolution, ODP has elected to assist the ship's owners and the crew in their efforts to ensure compliance.