ISO document to increase confidence in certification of ship recycling

a newly published iso publicly available specification (pas) for bodies providing audit ａnd certification of ship recycling management will help to increase the safety of workers ａnd protection of the environment by providing requirements for independent recognition of good practice. iso／pas 30003:2008, ships ａnd marine technology – ship recycling management systems – requirements for bodies providing audit ａnd certification of ship recycling management, aims to instill confidence that the certification process has been carried out in a competent, consistent ａnd reliable manner. the document will thus facilitate the recognition of accredited certification bodies ａnd the acceptance of their certifications on an international basis.“certification is a recognized means for an organization to provide assurance that it has effectively implemented a system for ship recycling management” says capt. ｃharles piersall, chair of iso technical committee iso／tc 8, ships ａnd marine technology.
he adds, "clearly the independent third party certification provides the highest level of confidence to the customer – industry or government – in meeting their expectations. iso／pas 30003, as a publicly available specification, will address an urgent market demａnd, while awaiting the publication of this useful document as a full international stａndard”.
the document is principally targeted at third party audit ａnd certification bodies, but can be used by any body involved in the assessment of management systems for the recycling of ships of all types ａnd sizes, in both international ａnd domestic trade.
iso／pas 30003 will:
provide harmonized guidance for the accreditation of certification bodies applying for iso 30000 registration／certification define the rules applicable for the audit ａnd certification of a ship recycling management system complying with the stａndard’s requirements﹔ ａnd
offer customers the necessary information ａnd confidence about the way certification of their waste ａnd other material hａndling or service companies have been granted.
iso／pas 30003 will thus be of benefit to shipping ａnd ship recycling industries, shipyards, ship owners, maritime research institutes, universities for maritime technology, government ministries of shipping, navy, environment ａnd labour, port authorities, classification societies ａnd inspection agencies.
iso／pas 30003 is the second document available in a series of stａndards (iso 30000) on ship recycling management which promotes the safety of workers ａnd preservation of the environment, as well as the recovery ａnd reuse of steel ａnd other materials ａnd equipment.
currently, work is underway on the remaining stａndards of the series including: best practices for ship recycling facilities, guidelines for section of ship recyclers, guidelines for implementing iso 30000, information control for hazardous materials, illustration of location of hazardous materials onboard ships ａnd guideline for measures to prevent asbestos emission ａnd exposure in ships recycling.
the iso 30000 series will support ａnd supplement the work of the international maritime organization (imo)／international labour organization／basel convention. iso secretary general alan bryden commented: "iso stａndards constitute an important technical complement to different areas of imo＇s work. that is why iso cooperates closely with imo to develop stａndards that support imo requirements ａnd regulations, while carefully avoiding any overlap. together, iso ａnd imo provide a strong concerted contribution to ensuring a cleaner ａnd sustainable marine environment ".
in addition to cooperation with international organizations, these industry stａndards are being developed with active participation of relevant non﹣governmental organizations.