ISM Code

The International Safety Management (ISM) Code is the International Maritime Organization (IMO) standard for the safe management and operation of ships and for pollution prevention. Adopted in 1993 and made mandatory in 1998 under SOLAS Chapter IX, it requires every shipowner and ship-management company to establish, implement, and maintain a documented Safety Management System (SMS).

The SMS must cover safety policies, emergency preparedness, reporting of accidents and non-conformities, scheduled maintenance of the ship and equipment, documented procedures for shipboard operations, and management responsibilities. Each ship must hold a Safety Management Certificate (SMC) and each company a Document of Compliance (DOC), both audited by the flag state administration or a recognised classification society.

ISM, ISPS, and PMS workflows are tightly interconnected in modern maritime ERP platforms — when a PMS task creates a finding, it should automatically link to the right ISM non-conformity record.