Section 8 in The Merchant Shipping (Management for the Safe Operation of Ships) Rules, 2000
8. The Certification Process.
(1)The Company shall apply to the Central Government for International Safety Management Code certification, with relevant information, which shall include the size and total number of each type of ship covered by the Safety Management System and any other documentation considered necessary.(2)The certification process relevant for the issuance and maintenance of a Document of Compliance for a Company and a Safety Management Certificate to a ship shall generally involve, including audit of the Safety Management System; -(a)initial verification,(b)periodical or intermediate verification, and(c)renewal verification.(3)For issuing a Document of Compliance to a Company, the Central Government may have Initial Verification, by way of :-(a)Review of document review in order to verify that the Safety Management System complies with the International Safety Management Code requirement.(b)Company audit, in order to verify the effective functioning of the Safety Management System for at least three months in the office as well as in ship.(4)For issuing a Safety Management Certificate, the Central Government may have initial verification of a ship by way of:-(a)Verifying that the Company's Document of Compliance is valid and relevant to that type of ship;(b)Verifying audit, in order to verify the effective functioning of the Safety Management System which has been in operation for atleast three months on board the ship.(5)The Central Government may have intermediate verification which shall take place between second and third annual date of Safety Management Certificate or as the case may be of the Document of Compliance, to maintain the validity of the Document of Compliance and the Safety Management Certificate issued by it to verify -(a)the effective functioning of the Safety Management System;(b)that possible modifications of the Safety Management System comply with the requirements of the International Safety Management Code;(c)that corrective action has been implemented; and(d)that statutory and classification certificates are valid and no surveys are overdue.(6)Renewal Verification audit for the issuance of a fresh Document of Compliance to a Company or a Safety Management Certificate to a ship shall be carried out six months before the date of expiry of the existing Document of Compliance or Safety Management Certificate and shall be completed before the date of expiry.
