ISM, ISPS and MLC Audit for Ships
Use this template to carry out an internal maritime safety management audit in accordance with ISM, ISPS and the MLC 2006 convention. It includes checks on certificates and documents, safe manning, crew qualifications and health, hours of work and rest, work permits, confined spaces, the engine room, critical equipment and planned maintenance. It also covers drills, patrols and security levels, access control, ship stability, heavy weather management and MARPOL records. Ideal for shipowners and operators who want to verify compliance and improve safety on board.
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How to Use This Checklist
- Record the date of the audit, who conducted it, and the location of the vessel before you begin, so the findings are tied to a specific inspection.
- Work through each section in turn and answer every question. Use **Satisfactory**, **Non-compliance**, **Observation**, or **N/A** where the item calls for a judgement on condition, and **Yes**, **No**, or **N/A** where it calls for a fact. Record supporting evidence for anything other than satisfactory.
- Where an item is marked non-compliant or raised as an observation, note the corrective action and the responsible person, then track it through to close-out on the next review.
- Carry out the audit as an internal review, then use the findings to prepare for an external inspection and to feed the vessel's cycle of management visits and safety committee reviews.
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What this audit covers
This is an internal audit template for verifying a vessel's compliance with three overlapping regimes: the International Safety Management (ISM) Code, the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, and the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC). It is intended to be run by the vessel's own officers or by a shore-side superintendent before an external inspection. Each section deals with a distinct area of the ship's management system.
Maritime Labour Convention 2006
The MLC section examines the documents, certificates and records that evidence compliance with the Convention. It asks whether the vessel carries a valid 2006 Maritime Labour Convention certificate and a valid copy of the company's Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance. It then moves to the crew: whether each seafarer holds a copy of their signed seafarer employment agreement, a valid ENG 1 medical certificate and the correct certification for the jurisdiction, backed up by STCW and, where applicable, OPITO certification. It covers hours of work and rest in some detail, checking that the vessel complies with the required hours, that records are signed by each crew member, that any non-conformity has been recorded, and that the watchkeeping schedule is posted and meets International Maritime Organization requirements. It also verifies the Minimum Safe Manning Certificate, the crew list verification by the Master, induction and familiarisation records, and the complaints procedure. Catering is covered through the cook's food risk assessment, the galley cleaning programme and product temperature monitoring. The section closes on management and training, including crew appraisals, training record books, the controlled copy of the safety management system signed by crew, management visits, and the risk assessment for young persons.
ISM and the safety management system
The ISM section works through the practical workings of the safety management system. It asks whether statutory drills and exercises required by the emergency response procedures are carried out and recorded in the official log book, and whether the vessel follows its safety training matrix and annual emergency drill programme. It checks that the latest internal and external audit is on board, whether any non-conformities from previous audits remain outstanding, and whether senior officers and crew know their job descriptions and the Master knows where to find the document establishing their overriding authority. The section also covers the company drug and alcohol policy, requiring a random drug test within the last 12 months and alcohol testing carried out and notified as the policy requires. It examines handover of responsibilities between senior officers, and then turns to adverse weather: whether the vessel holds the latest adverse weather campaign, receives updates from an approved forecasting service, and whether the Master can find the adverse weather flowchart and work through the adverse weather checklist and the deviation report form, with both recorded in the daily log book. Risk assessment is treated in several places, including cargo and flyaway operations, critical equipment failure, and dynamic risk assessment in line with the adverse weather policy. The section checks for the rescue boat and emergency response survey, bridge resource management courses for deck officers, the approved stability book and stability calculations before departure, during the voyage and before port entry, the echo sounder recorder reference marking, the lifting equipment survey and colour coding, contractor familiarity with emergency procedures and the safe working practices code, mooring rope and tackle certificates, the personnel locator deactivation procedure, the portable electrical equipment inspection and testing programme, and the training and competence of personnel in portable gas analysers. It closes on the Chief Officer's responsibilities as safety officer and the availability of previous safety officer inspection reports.
Safe systems of work and enclosed space entry
Two sections cover the controls around high-risk work. The permit to work section examines the safe system of work procedure, and the enclosed space entry section covers the arrangements for entry into tanks, cofferdams and other confined spaces. Both sit alongside the engine room checks, which look at the Chief Engineer's area and include a structured engine room tour, and the general vessel tour.
ISPS Code, access control and security
The ISPS section covers the ship security requirements of the Code. Further parts address access control, security levels, and security patrols and drills, with specific reference to Part B.9. The vessel's inspection database questions and the crew safety management system items complete the picture, checking that general ISM expectations are understood and applied by the crew.
Why the audit matters
Running this audit before an external inspection lets you correct non-conformities while you still have time, rather than argue about them after the event. It also keeps the vessel's documentary evidence current, so that certificates, records and signed statements are ready to produce. On a day-to-day level, checking items such as stability calculations, enclosed space procedures and lifting equipment surveys keeps the crew working to a defined standard rather than an assumed one.
Record keeping and follow-up
The audit relies on records being present and current: signed crew agreements, signed hours of work and rest records, the official log book, training record books reviewed every six months, the posted watchkeeping schedule, and reports from previous safety officer inspections and audits. Where an item is not satisfactory, record it as a non-compliance or an observation and note the corrective action so that outstanding items can be tracked on the next review.
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