THE MARITIME Authority of Jamaica (MAJ), with the sponsorship of the United States Military Liaison Office, recently conducted an International Safety Management (ISM) Lead Auditor Course at the United States Embassy in Kingston.
The ISM Code was promulgated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to ensure the safe operation of ships and for protection of the marine environment. The course comes ahead of the July 1, 2002 deadline for final phase for implementation of the ISM systems, when it will be mandatory for all ships of over 500 GT to have ISM certification in place.
The Code takes a comprehensive approach to allocating responsibility for safe management of ships not only to the masters, but also to shipping companies and their managers. This approach is based on the premise that "the cornerstone of good safety management is commitment from the top. In matters of safety and pollution prevention, it is the commitment, competence, attitudes and motivation of individuals at all levels that determines the end result."
The Code mandates that shipping companies and their managers should develop, implement and maintain safety management systems which should encompass environmental protection policies; procedures to ensure safe operation of ships and protection of property; procedures for reporting accidents and non-conformities; emergency response procedures and also procedures for internal audits and management reviews.
Director-General of the MAJ, Rear Admiral Peter Brady explained that as a member of the IMO, and signatory to a number of IMO Conventions relating to safety and environmental protection, Jamaica, through the MAJ has a responsibility to support the Code.
"The MAJ is responsible for conducting Port State Control inspections of the vessels that call at our ports. We therefore have to be competent to conduct ISM system audits of the shipping companies and the vessels to ensure that there is compliance with the Code, and hence the relevance of the course," he noted.
Participants in the course were drawn from the MAJ, the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI), the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard and the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ).
Michael Leadley, a Marine Engineer with extensive knowledge and experience as a Lead Auditor, delivered the course. Mr. Leadley is a lecturer at the Warsash Maritime Centre, Southampton, and is also a Consultant Trainer with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
