ISM Compliant Ships Make Fewer Claims: Insurer

Protection and indemnity (P&I) and hull insurer, The Swedish Club reported that a study it conducted showed direct evidence that ships complying with the International Safety Management code (ISM) have made significantly fewer claims than non-ISM vessels. The primary objective of the ISM code is to minimize human error by development and implementation of procedures. The analysis, which examined hull and P&I claims over a four-year period ending June 30, 1999, revealed that claims levels have fallen by about 30 percent in both categories for vessel types that were required to achieve certification by July 1, 1998, versus vessels subject to a July 1, 2002 deadline.