DOC, SMC and the DPA
Compliance is evidenced by two certificates: the Document of Compliance (DOC) held by the company and the Safety Management Certificate (SMC) held by each ship. The Code also requires a Designated Person Ashore (DPA), a direct link between the highest level of management and those on board, with the authority to act on safety and pollution matters.
Implementation, not paperwork
The SMS must define responsibilities, procedures, reporting of non-conformities and accidents, drills, maintenance and document control. The test an auditor applies is simple: does the crew use the system, and does it actually drive how decisions are made? A binder that nobody opens fails that test.
The audit cycle
The DOC is verified annually and the SMC at least once between issue and renewal, alongside the company's own internal audits. Treating internal audits as a genuine rehearsal, rather than a formality, is what keeps external verifications uneventful.