What is International Safety Management Code (ISM Code)

The safety and health of merchant seafarers is of grave concern. With the ongoing global pandemic, the weaknesses in the governance structure to protect the safety and health of seafarers have been further exposed. Safety and health on ships is governed by two international instruments, the International Safety Management Code (ISM) and the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC). Yet, the maritime industry is challenged with how to effectively manage safe and healthy working conditions in the global merchant fleet. Regulations in and of themselves have been found to be inadequate. Other considerations are important such as representative participation, which has been neglected as a viable mechanism in the maritime safety and health regulatory regime. This chapter foregrounds representative participation as necessary for effective safety and health management on ships. It argues that along with enabling regulations and other supports for its effective implementation and practice, representative participation might help to address the challenges in safety and health management on ships.