Company Policies

The Management of BLUE SEAS SHIPPING S.A. is committed to take all reasonable precautions and measures, during the operation of managed vessels, in order to ensure safety at sea, prevention of human injury or loss of life and avoidance of damage to property.

The Company’s goal is to achieve ZERO accidents through continuous improvement.

To fulfil this goal, the management is committed to the following approach:

• Compliance with mandatory rules and regulations and taking into consideration the Codes, guidelines and standards recommended by the IMO, Flag Administrations, Class Societies and Industry organizations, applicable to operations of managed vessels.
• Adherence to an SMS System (SMS) by all Company’s employees, including managed vessels, which promotes the concept of safety and environmental excellence, continuous improvement and enhancement of personnel skills.
• Assigning employees possessing sound skills and capabilities in required areas of responsibility, including adequate verification resources.
• Defining the organization, responsibility, authority and interfacing of the various management functions within the frame of the SMS.
• Providing for safe and environmentally sound practices in the operation of managed vessels.
• Providing and maintaining a safe working environment onboard to assist in preventing human injury and loss of life.
• Providing the necessary training to ensure that Company’s employees are capable of achieving safety and pollution prevention objectives in the work they perform.
• Providing the necessary training and infrastructure to ensure that Company’s employees both on board and ashore are capable of achieving cyber security objectives.
• Providing facilities, systems/equipment and a maintenance system that is suited for the purpose of achieving objectives.
• Conducting management review meetings and management system audits.

This Policy has the full support of Top Management and applies to all Company’s employees.

BLUE SEAS SHIPPING S.A. endeavours to earn the confidence of the ship-owners, charterers, seafarers and the marine industry and be recognized as a high quality, trustworthy and dependable international ship manager. This can only be achieved by providing flawless services that satisfy all relevant requirements. The Company shall always provide professional ship management services to owners and charterers, protect their interests and assets under its care, and fulfil all their expectations.

The Company is committed to always comply with all applicable legal and other requirements that relate to the pertinent hazards and to continually improve the effectiveness of its SMS.

The Company adopts a proactive approach concerning the needs of its clients and is responsive to their requests, suggestions or complaints, always trying to improve the value of its services.

The Company encourages employee teamwork, personal improvement, cooperation, innovative thinking, initiative, leadership, decisiveness and focus on client’s needs and satisfaction.

The Company sets measurable and meaningful HSQE objectives and targets and reviews them when appropriate. In order to objectively assess its performance, the Company:

• Establishes criteria for the quality of its services.
• Monitors, measures and analyses its objectives and targets.
• Reviews its objectives and targets for continual suitability to verify that processes are effectively implemented.

The SMS defines the methods used to achieve Company’s Policies and the associated objectives and targets. Its implementation ensures that all applicable requirements related to managing the ships of its clients will be satisfied, thus providing the necessary confidence between the Company and its customers.

The Company’s management considers the SMS as the basic tool for providing consistent and effective ship management service and improvement, provides sufficient resources and reviews it regularly to ensure its continuous suitability and effectiveness. The management commits itself in active implementation of the SMS and requires all involved personnel to do the same.

Every suggestion for improvement will be given full attention and will be brought to the highest level of the management.

All Company’s employees, ashore and at sea, are expected to comply with this policy and work towards achieving Company’s objectives. The success of the Company depends on the commitment and involvement of each individual employee.

This policy is continuously reviewed for its continuing suitability as well as in the Management Reviews and is available to the public and the Company’s customers, vendors and suppliers.

BLUE SEAS SHIPPING S.A. is committed through continuous efforts to improve environmental performance in all areas required by the international regulations and laws and Company’s SMS towards a cleaner environment, and to ensure:

• Pollution prevention that emphasizes source reduction, including necessary funding and human resources, to effectively maintain the onboard systems, equipment and components.
• Continuous reduction of environmental risks.
• Sharing information on environmental performance with external stakeholders.

The Company’s goal is to achieve ZERO spills through continuous improvement.

For achieving this goal, the Company:

• Complies with all applicable environmental laws, regulations and requirements and applies responsible standards where laws, regulations and requirements do not exist.
• Responds quickly and effectively to environmental incidents resulting from its operations, in co-operation with industry organizations and authorized government agencies.
• Assesses all identified risks to the environment and establishes appropriate safeguards.
• Shows concern and respect for the environment, emphasizes every employee's responsibility in environmental performance and fosters appropriate operating practices and training.
• Undertakes appropriate reviews and evaluations of its operations to measure progress and to foster compliance with this Policy.
• Manages its business with the goal of preventing environmental incidents and of controlling emissions and wastes to below harmful levels.
• Designs, operates and maintains facilities to this end.
• Shares its experience with others to facilitate improvements in industry performance.

This Policy has the full support of Top Management, is available to the public and applies to all Company’s employees.

BLUE SEAS SHIPPING S.A. holds health and hygiene as first priority in its operations, while its outmost concern is to always ensure that all employees execute their work under safe and hygienic conditions. In order to ensure high standards of health and hygiene, the Company:

• Complies with all applicable legislation and regulations, observes relevant guidelines, and applies responsible standards where laws and regulations do not exist.
• Seeks to identify and evaluate health and hygiene risks related to its operations that potentially affect employees, contractors or the public and establishes appropriate safeguards.
• Communicates knowledge about health and hygiene risks to individuals in potential risk or organizations and the scientific community.
• Determines at the time of employment and thereafter, as appropriate, the medical fitness of employees to perform their work without undue risk to themselves or others.
• Implements programs and appropriate protective measures to control such risks, including appropriate monitoring of employees in potential risk.
• Provides or arranges, as appropriate, for medical services necessary for the treatment of employee occupational illnesses or injuries and for the handling of medical emergencies.
• Provides voluntary health and hygiene promotion programs designed to enhance employees’ wellbeing and personal safety. These programs should supplement, but not interfere with, the responsibility of employees over their own health care.
• Undertakes appropriate reviews and evaluations of its operations to measure progress and to foster compliance with this Policy.

The Company’s goal is to achieve the highest standards of health and personal hygiene through continuous improvement.

Information about employees are confidential and should not be revealed to non-medical personnel except at the request of the employee concerned, or when required by law, when dictated by overriding public health considerations, or when necessitated by the Company’s Drug and Alcohol Policy.

This Policy has the full support of Top Management, is available to the public and applies to all Company’s employees.

It is the Company’s Policy that no seafarer, of any rank, will navigate the vessel or will operate its equipment while impaired by drugs or alcohol or where there is any risk of such impairment.

In following Policy, BLUE SEAS SHIPPING S.A.:

• Has banned alcoholic beverages except from low alcohol content drinks which are stored in the stores locker and is distributed as per defined schedule.
• Has banned any form of drug, with the exception of prescribed drugs, as well as the misuse of legitimate drugs. If a crewmember is found to be in possession of drugs then the Local Authorities will be contacted immediately.
• Has implemented random testing of all crew for banned substances and alcohol.
• Controls the use of all medical supplies on board the managed vessels.
• Will dismiss and impose penalty, as per National and International regulations, to anybody:

  - using alcohol or banned substances on board the vessel;

  - caught in possession of alcohol or banned substances;

  - found to have been instrumental in bringing alcohol or banned substances on board;

  - found to have a positive trace in any random testing sample, unless prior notice with authorisation for use, had been given to the Master.

• On no account shall a person under the influence of drugs or alcohol, be allowed to stand watch or perform any other duty, involving the safety of the vessel, her crew or cargo, and the public.
• Will take all disciplinary action, including dismissal, against anybody consuming alcohol, while ashore, for at least 4 hrs prior scheduled watch keeping duties or work period.
• Any crewmember suspected for being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, while on duty, shall be immediately relieved from his duty and placed under observation until the influence of drugs or alcohol subsides.
• All crewmembers understand that it is their duty and benefit, to report immediately to the appropriate Officer or the Master, if they suspect or have evidence that one of their fellow crewmembers is intoxicated.
• The use of alcohol on the part of the pilot while performing his duties is strictly prohibited; if a pilot is noticed to be under the influence of substances resulting to the incapability of performing his duties will not be allowed to be part of the Bridge team.
• Requires all new recruits, prior their embarkation, to undergo a Drug and Alcohol medical examination test.
• All crewmembers are adequately informed on the provisions of this Policy, are familiar with them and are complying with their intent

The Company guarantees its commitment on matters of security and declares that all works conducted by its personnel, either ashore or onboard, will be effectively supervised in order to comply with the aims listed hereunder in order of priority:

It is the policy of BLUE SEAS SHIPPING S.A. to provide a secure working environment by establishing and maintaining the required security measures to prevent unlawful acts, which endanger the safety and security of persons and property on board the ship.

Company objectives are to:

• Provide security procedures and practices for ship operations to protect the security of ports and the wider community.
• Establish safeguards to reduce the risk to passengers, crew and port personnel onboard.
• Improve the security skills and awareness of company personnel ashore and onboard.
• Prepare contingency measures for emergencies relating to possible security incidents.
• In case there is a conflict between commercial interests and the aims of the Security Policy, the Master will give priority to the above-mentioned objectives.

These objectives will be achieved by:

• Comprehensive training for company and ship personnel. The personnel undergo training both immediately upon hiring and continuously during their employment.
• Actively promoting security awareness amongst company and ship personnel.
• Taking into account the decisions of the international shipping community.
• Regular documented reviews and internal audits of security procedures and plans in order to allow for constant update and improvement to the plan.
• The voyage, the cargo handling and all ship's operations are scheduled in advance, in order to foresee possible dangers and take the necessary precautions.

All employees and crew members are expected to comply with the required procedures within the SSP and should be familiar with the relevant security duties required of them and the measures required to protect the ship from any unlawful act.

The Company declares that the COMPANY SECURITY OFFICER (CSO) and the SHIP SECURITY OFFICER (SSO) have adequate knowledge, and/or have received training, as required by Part A of the ISPS Code, taking into account the guidance given in Part B of that Code, that shipboard personnel having specific security duties have sufficient knowledge and ability to perform their assigned duties and that all other shipboard personnel will have sufficient knowledge of, and are familiar with, relevant provisions of the SSP.

The Company ensures that the CSO, the Master and the SSO are given the necessary support to fulfill their duties and responsibilities in accordance with SOLAS and the ISPS code.

BLUE SEAS SHIPPING S.A. in order to address cyber security items has published the following Cyber Security Policy. The purpose and objective of this Cyber Security Policy is to protect the company’s information assets from all threats, whether internal or external, deliberate or accidental, to ensure operations continuity, minimize damage and maximize return on investments and relevant industry opportunities.

POLICY

• Top Management has approved the Cyber Security Policy
• It is the Policy of the BLUE SEAS SHIPPING S.A. to ensure that:

  - Information and Systems identified as vulnerable to Cyber-attacks will be protected from a loss of: confidentiality, integrity and availability

  - Regulatory and legislative requirements are to be met

  - Cyber Security Contingency Plans have been produced for support

  - Cyber Security training will be available to all staff

  - All breaches of information security, actual or suspected, will be reported to, and investigated by, the Information Security Manager.

  - Cooperating Third Parties (service providers, producers etc) to be reviewed regarding their Cyber Security Policy and performance

• Guidance and procedures have been produced to support this policy. These include incident handling, information backup, system access, virus controls, passwords and encryption.
• The role and responsibility of the designated Information Security Manager is to manage information security and to provide advice and guidance on implementation of the Cyber Security Policy.
• The designated owner of the Cyber Security Policy has direct responsibility for maintaining and reviewing the Policy.
• All managers are directly responsible for implementing the Cyber Security Policy within their departments.
• It is the responsibility of each employee/crew member to adhere to the Cyber Security Policy.