Sea Malta, Bureau Veritas host seminar
In an effort to share the experience and procedures involved in obtaining Inter-national Safety Management accreditation (ISM), Sea Malta together with Bureau Veritas recently hosted an afternoon seminar for the various players in the industry...
In an effort to share the experience and procedures involved in obtaining Inter-national Safety Management accreditation (ISM), Sea Malta together with Bureau Veritas recently hosted an afternoon seminar for the various players in the industry including representatives of Gozo Channel, the Malta Maritime Authority and Tug Malta.
Although compliance with the ISM code for cargo carriers became compulsory earlier this year, Sea Malta obtained ISM accreditation for the mv Zebbug in November 1999 and the Maltese Falcon in July 2000.
Introducing the seminar, Sea Malta chairman Marlene Mizzi said: "In organising this seminar, we wanted to share our experience in obtaining ISM accreditation with other local organisations, who are still in the process of obtaining this prestigious accreditation.
"Sea Malta's ISM accreditation, long before it became compulsory, underlines not only the company's commitment to quality, but also highlights the dedication of all crew members and the management and staff. The accreditation also emphasises the pro-active strategy being adopted by Sea Malta in its endeavours to place itself on an equal footing with other shipping lines, if not in terms of size, certainly in terms of quality."
The seminar was also addressed by Sea Malta general manager Joseph Bugeja, who in his presentation "A practical approach", gave a detailed overview of all the procedures and planning processes that were been implemented prior to accreditation.
Mr Bugeja said that "the purpose of this code is to provide an international standard for the safe management and operation of ships and for pollution prevention. The ISM certification is a strict code of practice consisting of 13 guidelines, which vary from safety precautions in case of emergencies to maintenance of the vessel and respective equipment on board.
Other speakers at the seminar were Mr A. Cachia, DPA Sea Malta, who spoke about the ISM from a DPA's perspective, and Mr N. Baldacchino from Bureau Veritas, who gave a detailed overview of the ISM Code of Practice.