. First impressions of the ISM Code In spring 1998 speculation was rife about whether the 12,000 or so ships required to meet the first International Safety Management (ISM) Code (SOLAS Chapter IX) deadline of 1 July 1998 would obtain the necessary certificates by the due date. Now, twelve months later, it is difficult to imagine that there was so much apprehension. Companies have their documents of compliance (DOCs), ships have their safety management certificates (SMCs), and the problems seem to have been gratifyingly few. Great credit is due both to shipping companies and their staff for the determined way in which they prepared for the Code, and to the auditing bodies who clearly approached the task in such a realistic way. There have of course been occasional reports of ships detained for failure to produce certificates, inadequate documentation or lack of understanding on the part of the crew, and no doubt every port state control inspector has some colourful ISM Code story to recount. But the very novelty of these incidents emphasises just how undramatic implementation of the Code has been and reveals that the industry as a whole has taken it in its stride. Now attention is beginning to switch to the second phase, entailing implementation of the Code by the remainder of the international merchant fleet before July 2002. It has been estimated that some 13,000 ships will be covered, and perhaps twice as many shipping companies as were involved in the first phase. Many of these companies will be small, regional operators, for whom the application of such standards may be a new experience. ICS is therefore making a special effort to urge companies to undertake the preparatory work in good time and not to leave things until the last minute. The ISM Code is an important document. Its value lies not in its initial implementation, but in the scope it offers for continuous improvement in a company's safety management procedures, and its success will be measured against an industry-wide enhancement of safety standards. In keeping with the mood of the moment, it presents the industry with a golden opportunity to demonstrate its willingness to regulate itself, and ensuring that the Code achieves its potential will be an important task of ICS for some years to come. .