Germany: GL Issues Safety Management Certificate for 5000th Vessel

GL celebrated the hand-over of the Safety Management Certificate and International Ship Security Certificate to the MV KOTA BERKAT.

The Kota Berkat, owned by Pacific International Lines (Pte) Ltd (PIL) and managed by Apex Ship Management, is the 5000th vessel sailing with ISM and ISPS certificate issued by GL as a Recognized Organization (RO) and being periodically audited for compliance. This marks an important milestone for the GL Group and its new service delivery section “GL Systems Certification” which has recently been established to offer both marine and non-marine management systems certification, including certification according to the ISM-/ISPS-Code, ISO standards, and the upcoming Maritime Labour Convention, 2006.

“We were delighted to discover that one of our managed vessels has marked the milestone of 5000th vessel sailing with Class GL ISM & ISPS certificates. Apex is looking forward to enhance the safety management system, environmental protection and security compliance working together with and under the guidance of Class GL,” said Philip Tay Chief Executive of Apex Ship Management Pte Ltd.

Apex Ship Management, the Singaporean operator of the Kota Berkat, has recently taken over some 15 GL classed vessels. Compliance with the ISM-/ISPS-Code certification allows them to demonstrate to clients that they operate to a high level of safety, security and environmental protection. Lukasz Luwanski, GL’s Area Manager for South Asia and Oceania said: “We are very pleased to be able to recognise Apex’s commitment to safety and security through this certification and we look forward to a continuing and productive relationship working with them.”

As part of their efforts in ensuring their vessels’ compliance with the ISPS code the owner PIL has, among other things, installed the automatic identification system to enhance vessel-to-vessel and vessel-to-shore identifications and communications, on board installation of a ship security alert system, developed vessel security plans, conducted shore-to-ship security exercises, and complied with flag state security certification requirements.

At the beginning of 2010, GL merged the industrial non-marine certification business with maritime certification standards. This allows maritime customers coming to GL to be offered any combination of certification services with one point of contact. These can also be complemented by training through the GL Academy.

GL has been involved since the very beginning in safety management certification and was one of the certification bodies for the ISMA code, the predecessor of the ISM code. GL was a founding member of ISMA, developing the code in Cyprus with ship managers and other certification bodies. With the introduction of the ISM Code in 1994 GL’s marine management systems certification service began to grow from its origins as an ISM-Code certification team. The introduction of the ISPS-Code in 2003/4 saw a significant expansion to certify ships for compliance with the newly introduced regulations.

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Source: GL Group, September 26, 2011.