VALUE ISM REVIEW REPORTS
We also believe shipowners and operators should pay more attention to their masters’ SMS review reports. The 2008 update to the ISM Code made masters responsible for, ‘periodically reviewing the SMS and reporting deficiencies to shore-based management’. In our experience these vital reports are very often incomplete (or say everything is satisfactory) and are certainly not dealt with properly.
Masters should be encouraged to discuss the SMS reviews with crew members as they are the key users of the documentation and should have the biggest input into any proposed changes. The reports should be a priority for senior management, as failure to act on what their masters tell them could lead to a major casualty or major ISM non-conformance.
Senior management should give similar attention to ship safety committee meeting reports (SCMR), which are a requirement under the International Labour Convention. These too are often not filled in properly, particularly if the meetings focus on welfare issues rather than safety.
Internal auditors visiting ships for the annual ISM audit should be properly qualified to do so and should focus solely on carrying out
the ISM audit. We have noticed that these visits are often combined with a technical superintendent inspection which will result in the auditor focusing more on his expertise, the technical visit, and be less focused on the ISM review. This will ultimately lead to a non- effective ISM audit report which, on paper will satisfy the requirements, but in reality will not benefit the crew or safety.
ENSURE DRILLS ARE CARRIED OUT REALISTICALLY
Frequently, when the club surveys its entered tonnage, we find fire fighting or enclosed space or even abandon ship drill reports to be forged or the drill scenarios to be repetitive. In order for crew to be properly prepared in the unlikely event of an emergency, the drill scenarios should be realistic and regularly change. A properly trained and experienced crew can make the difference between life and death in an emergency.
In summary, yes, the implementation of the ISM code has brought with it a long list of improvements to the maritime industry and the safety of ships at sea. But only when implemented correctly and there are still ways to further improve the effectiveness of the ISM code. SMS manuals and checklists need to be concise, specific and easy to read in order
“
...the implementation of the ISM code has brought with it a long list of improvements to the maritime industry and the safety of ships at sea. But only when implemented correctly...”
for crew to use properly. Near- miss reports and non-conformities need to be reviewed and analysed properly with resulting actions directing the training given to crew. Masters and crew need to be educated in what the SMS reviews and SCMR are for and how best to conduct discussions and meetings prior to writing their reports. Equally, shore-based managers and staff need to know how to review the reports properly and, more importantly, how to improve the safety of their ships as a result.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Yves Vandenborn is a master mariner and sailed with Exmar Nv. Belgium on chemical/ product, LNG and LPG tankers. Since coming ashore in 2003, Yves has worked as a marine superintendent with a Singapore/Indonesian shipowner. He set up the ISM system and assisted the company in obtaining TMSA and Oil Major approval for the fleet.
Yves worked as an independent marine surveyor from 2006 until 2010 undertaking numerous P&I condition surveys, oil major SIRE pre-vettings, TMSA audits, pre-purchase surveys, bulk carrier hatch cover ultra-sonic tests and so on.
Capt Yves Vandenborn, AFNI Director of Loss Prevention The Standard Club
yves.vandenborn@
ctplc.com
Yves joined Charles Taylor in February 2010 as an in-house marine surveyor for the Singapore office of The Standard Club. In July 2013 he took over as Director of Loss Prevention for The Standard Club. As the director he is responsible for the risk assessment programme for the club’s worldwide membership. He is further responsible for the loss prevention initiatives, the club’s loss prevention publications and provision of technical advice to the membership, as well as to the underwriting and claims departments.
The Report • December 2018 • Issue 86 | 45
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