Since the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the NMA has received several inquiries from shipowners and Recognised Organizations (RO) regarding ISM certification.
Who does this apply to?
This note shall apply to all Norwegian flagged vessels registered in the Norwegian Ordinary Ship Register (NOR) or the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS), as well as all fishing vessels required to hold an ISM certificate.
What is subject to the extended deadline?
The inquiries refer to the implementation of statutory ISM audits, cf. section 4 (including initial audit, intermediate audit, annual audit or renewal audit) and ISM 12.2 Internal audit for vessel and company.
REG-2014-09-05-1191 Regulations on a safety management system for Norwegian ships and mobile offshore units
Periodical audit or renewal audit of ISM certificates
The NMA has decided that companies and vessels for which periodical audit or renewal audit of ISM certificates is due to take place within before 12 June 2020, will be granted an extended deadline of 3 months without further approval by the NMA.
Internal audits – ISM 12.1
"Internal audits of DOC/DMC that expire within 12 June 2020 are granted an extension of 3 months.
If the 12-months interval for internal audit is exceeded, this must be reported in the non-conformity systems and handled according to the company's internal procedures for non-conformity management.