IJCA - Volume 2 - Flipbook - Page 25
2023 | Volume 2, Issue 1
25
©Freepik
accreditation cycle, which is the
third-party attestation for the
carriage of specific conformity
assessment tasks based on the
competence of the organization,
should not be longer than five
(5) years. To determine this
period, the risk of the associated
conformity assessment should be
taken into consideration.
In addition, a sample of the
scope of accreditation should be
assessed every two (2) years.
The ISM code mandates that a
Safety Management Certificate
(SMC) issued to a ship should
be valid for no more than five
(5) years and the validity of
such certificate is subject to an
intermediate verification between
the second and third anniversary
dates of the Safety Management
Certificate (SMC) [26].
Another aspect that should be
considered is the risk of failure
of the member state to exercise
its functions. The impact of a
maritime accident is huge [27]
and hence, the severity of the IMO
audits in terms of global shipping
for the safety and environmental
protection is considerable.
Conclusion
Proposition: There are two options,
which based on the writers’ opinion
can be equivalent or ground for
further study:
A. The cycle should be limited
to four years with an intermediate audit, with the scope to
sample some of the functions
of the member state under
each capacity (i.e., port state,
flag state, coastal state).
B. Alternatively, a five-year cycle
with an intermediate audit,
with the scope to full audit of
the functions of the member
state under each capacity
(i.e., port state, flag state,
coastal state).
As further study, we can propose
the researchers go deeper on
some case studies for member
states. These case studies
should be drowned from member
states that have undergone the
IMO member state audit, but
conformity has not been fully
achieved. This non-fulfillment of
conformity can be shown by their
overall performance in the global
Port State Control databases and
other third-party assessments,
such as the International Chamber
of Shipping (ICS) Annual Flag
State Performance Report.
Author Biography
The author, Vasileios Lymperopoulos, is a PhD candidate at Bolton University. Vasileios joined LiberoGroup in
2010. His background is Mechanical Engineer. Since 2011, Vasileios has been appointed Deputy Registrar under
several International ship registries. Since 2013, he has worked as Certification Manager of LiberoAssurance
- LiberoGroup affiliate company, which obtained accreditation from Hellenic Accreditation System (ESYD),
the International Accreditation Service of United States (IAS), and Accredited Auditing firm (ASI). Being a lead
management System Auditor for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 50001, ISO 45001, ISO 39001, ISO 22301, ISO 41001,
ISO 55001, ISO 37001 as well as Appointed Flag State Surveyor, Auditor for ISM-ISPS-MLC, and Statutory
Certification, Vasileios has deep knowledge in auditing, training, and surveying, is an Accident Investigator and
Certified Designated Person Ashore (DPA), and he has performed audits on Maritime Training Centres and
Recognized Organizations on behalf of Maritime Administrations.
The co-author, Sotirios Karagiannis, is Supervisor of Doctoral Studies at New York College of Greece and
Research Associate at the Research Centre of Economic Analysis. He is also Senior Manager of the Global
Investment & Innovation Incentives department at Deloitte Greece and an Economist, member of the Economic
Chamber of Greece. Sotirios has significant professional experience in financial and business advisory for
funding firms and leading large-scale investments in hospitality, logistics, manufacturing, and the energy sector
under State Aid regulations, feasibility studies and business plans, financial modeling, market research, national
or regional operational programs, as well as in supporting services for the use of tax incentives. During his
professional career, he also gained a lot of expertise in the provision of consulting services to public authorities,
he was a team member of several European cross-border research projects, and he participated as a team
member providing technical assistance to the Recovery and Resilience Facility Agency, Ministry of Finance.
Sotirios holds a degree in Mathematics from the University of Patras, MSc in Finance & Management from the
University of Essex (UK), and a PhD (hon) in Applied Economics from the University of Peloponnese.