The shore-based team at CEMEX Marine was recently audited by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in order to verify the effectiveness of its Safety Management System (SMS) that enables personnel to implement effectively, the company safety and environmental protection policy.

The company is required to have an effective SMS in order to comply with the International Safety Management (ISM) Code for the safe operation of ships and for pollution prevention. The objectives of the Code are to ensure safety at sea, prevention of human injury or loss of life, and avoidance of damage to the environment, and to property.

A successful audit allows the MCA to issue a ‘Document of Compliance’ (DOC) for a period of five years and Marine’s DOC is now valid until June 2027, subject to annual verification.  During the audit, no non-conformities were raised and just a single observation was noted.

Following the audit, a comprehensive audit report was received from the MCA auditors, the conclusion of which included the comments below:

“All items were discussed in an open and honest manner with the Auditors, and the cooperation of the staff was appreciated. The SMS in use, is a mature and well used system. The company is achieving many benefits through their digital systems, both in terms of efficiency and quality. There was strong evidence to suggest a positive safety culture, with numerous hazard observations actioned, frequent drills, and meaningful audits being completed. Satisfactory objective evidence was witnessed throughout the audit, demonstrating close compliance with the ISM code.”

During discussions, MCA Auditors commented that CEMEX Marine have a fluid and transparent culture which allows the people and business to communicate extremely well throughout the organisation.

This was particularly welcome feedback given that some roles have changed since previous audits and the successful audit demonstrated that the transitions have been managed effectively.