For those working aboard vessels it’s critical to know the ISM code in detail. Here is a short primer:

The International Safety Management Code (ISM Code) provides International standards for the safe management and operation of ships and for prevention of marine pollution.

When was the ISM Code first enacted?

SOLAS adopted the ISM Code in 1994 and incorporated it into chapter IX. By 1998 much of the commercial shipping community was required to be in compliance with the ISM code. By 2002 almost all of the international shipping community was required to comply with the ISM Code.

What is the purpose of the ISM Code?

* To ensure Safety at Sea
* To prevent injury or loss of life to seafarers
* To avoid damage to the environment and to the ship.

Who is tasked with verifying and enforcing compliance with ISM Code?

Each ship that is required to be ISM compliant is inspected regularly by class to check that their Safety Management System (SMS) is effective . Once the classification society verifies SMS is working effectively, the vessel is issued a Safety Management Certificate. Comments from the classification society and from the ship are incorporated into the SMS by the vessel owner or manager .

What are the duties of the Designated Person?

The Designated Person ensures the safe operation of each ship and is the link between the Company and those on board. This person should have direct access to the highest level of management. The responsibility and authority of the designated person or persons includes monitoring vessel safety and pollution-prevention aspects of the operation of each ship to ensure adequate shore-based support is applied.

What are the minimum requirements for the vessel’s Master?

The Company should ensure that the master is:
.1 properly qualified for command;
.2 fully conversant with the Company’s safety management system; and
.3 given the necessary support so that the master’s duties can be safely performed

What is the IMO’s guidance on which procedures need to be enacted by vessel operators?

The Company should establish procedures for the preparation of plans and instructions for key shipboard operations concerning the safety of the ship and the prevention of pollution. The various tasks involved should be defined and assigned to qualified personnel.

What are some links for finding more information on the ISM Code?

• Bimco – ISM Guidance
• The International Maritime Organization’s ISM Page

My first step aboard an exploratory drillship was overwhelming. The ship’s size was not my concern, I had recently signed off a 1000 ft + crude oil tanker, no it was the simultaneous operations, the complexity of the positioning and drilling systems, and the sheer number of people aboard (well over 100). I dealt with this complexity by narrowing my focus, concentrating on what I needed to know about moving and maintaining the hull. For years I mostly ignored the other operations happening around me and, worst of all, the people conducting them.

Maritime training concentrates first on individual tasks (e.g. practical navigation, radar plotting, radio communication) and second on activities of a team (bridge resource management, firefighting, etc) but it’s missing a critical component; dealing with people outside your department, or even, external to the ship entirely.

In a recent interview with uber-successful executive Susan Lyne, CEO of the Gilt Groupe, the New York Times explored leadership practices and one comment jumped off the pages:

Q. What would you like business schools to teach more, or less, of?
A. There are a lot of great courses on managing or developing a strategic agenda, but there is very little about how to work with your peers where you need to get X done, and you need these other three departments to give you X amount of time in order to succeed at that.

The people who truly succeed in business are the ones who actually have figured out how to mobilize people who are not their direct reports. Everyone can get their direct reports to work for them, but getting people who do not have to give you their time to engage and to support you and to want you to succeed is something that is sorely missing from B-school courses.

The key to managing large ships is not individual ability, although that’s an important prerequisite to command, it’s all about meeting the broad needs of the operation by employing the skills and work of people outside your direct control. You simply cannot succeed without the assistance of engineering, management, operations and the myriad of other topic experts aboard the vessel.

Think this skill is only important to those working aboard large, complicated vessels? Think again! A tugboat master, with crew of five, needs to deal with port captains, Coast Guard Inspectors, and cargo specialists (to name just a few!). By starting to understand their jobs, engaging them in personal relationships and allowing them to assist in the tasks that need to be done, the master can quickly rise in effectiveness and reputation.

Today’s SotD is the crude oil tanker Harad (IMO: 9220952, port of registry: Nassau, Bahama’s) which is 333 metres long, 56 metres wide and has a draught of 22.5 metres. These dimensions give the vessel a deadweight tonnage of 303,000. The vessel is owned by the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia and operated by Mideast Ship Management Limited. She was built in 2001 by Samsung Heavy Industries, Korea and is powered by a 44,640 HP Samsung engine.

The Harad is scheduled to arrive later this evening at the TEAM terminal, Rotterdam Europoort.

Links:

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