A shipping company is required to have an impeccable safety, quality

and environmental system. Excellence in service towards clients while

ensuring the safety and security of the crew, vessel, cargo and
environment is what makes a company well-established and gains the
confidence of its clients and human power that is employed.

There are many ways that a company can learn, control and manage
any issue that may occur in the process of a project. Some of those are
the following:
a) Senior shore side and sea staff conducts fleet audits and
investigations to ensure compliance with Company vessel operating
policies. The group also makes recommendations to the Head of
Shipping Operations, contributing to the continuous improvement
across the fleet and in shore side technical offices.
b) Reporting systems that provide seafarers and shore side personnel
with the ability to report any unusual or irregular matter on a
confidential basis.
c) New technology that has been developed and deployed across the
fleet such may improve compliance with environmental protection
requirements.
d) Staff feedback and new ideas gathered through periodic surveys of
shipboard personnel garners new ideas on how to enhance system
and management processes, environmental equipment, personnel
management, purchasing practices and protective equipment.

However, the above mentioned activities are internal and

unfortunately, they cannot provide any kind of official certification.

In order, for a company, to establish its principles and procedures

quality it must apply a system of quality assurance. Quality assurance
System is a total of planned systematic actions and procedures
necessary to ensure that a process satisfies certain conditions.
Furthermore, it is also defined as the organization, the means and the
manpower needed, in order to accomplish the whole process of the
quality assurance system.

With this action, the company assures that, the following production
procedure is in accordance with the specifications and the quality that
has, itselve, set as a model. On top of that, clients will know with
clarity, that his product or service is in complete accordance with what
he expects, without any discrimination or misunderstandings.

Summarizing the above, we come to the following conclusion. A

company must know from the beginning, what are the specifications
and needs of the production procedure. Those must be completely
known and tangible from all the parties that will be needed to the
production. This will assure quality.

The process of setting up a healthy and well organized safety, quality

and environmental system is complicated and may raise many issues
in different sections. The term quality is difficult to define with
accuracy, since it applies in so many sections, of a company, that have
different needs. A lot of misconceptions may occur and the result
would be catastrophic.
This is the reason, why companies have the need to follow certain rules
that are accepted, worldwide

ISO (International Standards Organization) a worldwide organization

has assumed the responsibility to accredit companies around the
globe, for the quality of their services. ISO has main standards and
policies that companies should fulfill, in order to acquire a worldwide
accepted diploma (standard) that certifies they meet those, often
highly standards that are required from its clients.

Shipping companies must obtain certain codes registration from ISO, in

order to be eligible for their operation.

To begin with safety factor, a shipping company must obtain an ISM

Code. ISM code provides an international standard for the safe
management and operation of the ships. Furthermore it also applies to
the pollution prevention. The code is expressed in broad terms, so that
it can have a widespread application. The reason is that it must be
applicable in all different levels of management. Whether is shore –
based or based at sea, it requires varying levels of knowledge.

The assembly adopted a resolution. It invited all governments to take

the necessary steps to safeguard the shipmaster in the proper
discharge of his responsibilities

The objectives of the code are

· To ensure safety at sea.
· Prevention of human injury and/or loss of life.
· Avoidance of environmental damage (in particular the marine
environment and property).

The quality requirements of this code may be applied to any type of

ships.

The standards of the ISM Code are provided from the SOLAS (safety of
life at sea) convention. Solas convention is regarded as one of the most
important of the international treaties, whose main agenda is the
safety of merchant ships.
The objective of the SOLAS convention is to specify the minimum
standards that ship construction, equipment and operation must meet,
in order to be considered as safe and eligible for shipping. The
companies are responsible for ensuring that ships under their flag
comply with its requirements.

The quality factor can be certified with the ISO 9001:2000. Mainly, ISO
9001 is used when a supplier needs to meet certain standards in a
production cycle of a product/service. A production cycle includes the
development stage, the designing stage, the production stage, the
installation stage and the after sales stage.

An ISO 9001:2000 standard specifies requirements for a quality

management system where an organization
• Νeeds to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product
that meets customer and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Αims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective
application of the system, including processes for continual
improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to
customer and applicable regulatory requirements.

For a company that may require, further certifications for its quality
management system, there is the ISO 9004:2000 standard. This
international standard provides, guidelines beyond the requirements
given in an ISO 9001 standard.

This happens, in order to consider both the effectiveness and efficiency

of a quality management system. Furthermore it also applies for the
potential improvement of an organization’s performance. This
international standard is applicable to the processes of an organization
and consequently the quality management principles in which it is
based can be deployed through the organization.

The objective of ISO 9004:2000 standard is the achievement of an

ongoing improvement, measured through the satisfaction of customers
and other interested third – parties.

Lastly for the environmental quality accredit, there is the ISO

14001:2004 standard. This standard specifies the requirements for an
environmental management system. It enables an organization to
develop and implement a policy and objectives which take into account
legal requirements and information about significant environmental
aspects.

ISO 14001Q2004 is applicable to any organization that wishes to

establish implement, maintain and improve an environmental
management system to assure itself of conformity with its sated
environmental policy and to demonstrate conformity with ISO
14001:2004 by

a) Making useful –determination and self declaration or

b) seeking confirmation of its conformance by parties having an
interest in the organization
c) Seeking confirmation of its selves declaration by a party external
to the organization.
d)
All the requirements in ISO 14001:2004 are intended to be
incorporated into any environmental management system. Also
provides in annex a, informative guidance on its use.

As in ISM code, the guidelines for the ISO 14001:2004 standard, have
been decided by the MARPOL international convention. Marpol’s
convention agenda is the prevention of pollution of the marine
environment by ships from operational or accidental causes. It is a
combination of two treaties adopted in 1973 and 1978 respectively
and updated by amendments through the years. This convention is
considered one of the most important international marine
conventions.

It was designed to minimize pollution of the seas including dumping oil

and excaust pollution. Its stated objectives are preservation of the
marine environment, through the complete elimination or minimization
of pollution by oil, or other harmful to the environment, substances.

All ships flagged under countries, that are signatories to MARPOL, are
subject to its requirements.

In conclusion, shipping company needs to obtain all the above

standards, in order to be able and elligible to provide its services to
clients.