ISM and ISPS Certification: GL opens Certification Hub Greece

1. Sep. 2010 | Athens / Greece - ISM and ISPS certification services are now offered from a special customer service hub of Germanischer Lloyd (GL) in Greece. The new team in Piraeus provides order management, audit instructions, audit report review, issuance of certificates and approval of ship security plans for clients in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Turkey, Lebanon and Morocco. Customers located in these countries are now able to forward their inquiries and audit requests directly to the certification hub in Greece.

"In response to its customer demand for local support, GL established an ISM & ISPS coordination and certification centre, following the successful example of the Greek team of 'Fleet in Service'", explained Athanasios Reisopoulos, Vice President, the expansion of the classification society's activities in Greece, the Mediterranean and South Africa. The certification hub coordinates ISM and ISPS certification activities with Greek personnel trained in GL's head office in Hamburg, Germany.

The ISM Code provides an international standard for the safe management and operation of ships and for pollution prevention. SOLAS adopted the ISM Code in 1994 and incorporated it into chapter IX. By 1998 much of the commercial shipping community was required to be in compliance with the ISM code. The International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code is an amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention (1974/1988) on minimum security arrangements for ships, ports and government agencies. Having come into force in 2004, it prescribes responsibilities to governments, shipping companies, shipboard personnel, and port/facility personnel to detect security threats and take preventative measures against security incidents affecting ships or port facilities used in international trade.

Contact details for GL's new ISM and ISPS Certification Hub in Greece:

Email: hub-greece@gl-group.com
Tel.: +30 210 42 90 373
Fax.: +30 210 42 90 357
Audit requests can also be made through fleet on line

Germanischer Lloyd press release