OCEAN is a committee of ISSA, which is the International Shipsuppliers & Services Association representing nearly 2,000 ship suppliers throughout the world. Ship supply is at least 5,000 years old! In the ISSA Secretariat you can see a drawing of a Phoenician ship being supplied, although it is admitted that ISSA has not been around that long. The Association was formed in 1955 and celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2005 of half a century of service to the maritime industry. the webpage of ISSA is www.shipsupply.org

Membership
Today ISSA has 43 national associations of ship suppliers as full ISSA members and associate members in 52 other countries where no national association exists. There are over 500 locations that are served by ISSA members worldwide. ISSA members and the goods and services they offer can be found in every major port in the world.

Work with international NGO's
ISSA enjoys Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) status with both the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and UNCTAD and take part in promoting e-commerce through membership of MeCA (Maritime e-Commerce Association) and the Baltic Exchange. ISSA is an observer member of the SAFE Working Group at the WCO. The ISSA Secretariat is certified ISO 9001:2000 quality standard.

ISSA Quality Standard 2010
The 'ISSA Quality Standard' is based on the worldwide recognised by ISO 90001:2000 Standard , the ISPS code and takes into consideration the WCO Kyoto Convention but has been tailor-made to apply specifically to the ship supply industry. The aim of the ISSA Quality Standard is to demonstrate to the world's shipowners and shipmanagers that ISSA's commitment to a quality-driven service is absolute. ISSA’s Quality Standard has remained an important cornerstone of ISSA's focus More and more ISSA members are embracing the ISSA Quality Standard and work to update it by including additional aspects such as catering standards onboard ship; security aspects in light of ISPS and many environmental considerations such as avoiding the excessive use of packaging and better control of the disposal of toxic and carcinogenic material in port has received unprecedented support from the industry at large. Indeed, ISSA has received the finest endorsement to date for its efforts to improve the quality of global ship supply after the World customs Organisation praised the progress it is making in upgrading its 2010 ISSA Quality Standard.

What the World Customs Organization thinks about the "ISSA Quality Standard 2010"
In a letter to me, Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General, of the WCO, said the ISSA Quality Standard 2010 “clearly demonstrates ISSA Members’ commitment to comply with all statutory requirements and to play a leading role in both facilitating needs of the maritime industry while meeting the international and domestic requirements associated with vessel, port and supply chain security.” He stressed that while the relationships between customs administrations and companies involved in ship supply have never been more critical, it was clear that vessel delays cost big money. “Initiatives such as the ISSA Quality Standard are important building blocks to ensure high levels of trust exist between customs and Industry. The nature of the ship supply business is a unique one. Members of ISSA routinely import and export goods without the payment of customs charges and generally have unfettered access to customs controlled areas such as wharves and bonded stores, so they can go about their lawful business. As a direct consequence, it is not unreasonable of customs to expect in return high levels of voluntary compliance with customs and other legislation,” he wrote. This endorsement by the WCO follows similar support forwarded by InterManager.

ISSA Conditions
Ship supply is recognised as very much a "relationship" business. To ensure fair trading and best practice ISSA has developed a set of Conditions, which form the basis of any supply contract.

Code of Ethics
To strengthen the relationship between ship supplier and buyer still further, ISSA drew up a Code of Ethics, which Members abide by to ensure the highest standards are applied in day-to-day operations.

The Ship Supplier
ISSA publishes an informative and interesting magazine called "The Ship Supplier" at regular intervals containing news, views and relevant articles to the vibrant world of ship supply.  The  Ship Stores Catalogue is ISSA's premier publication. For details, click on http://www.theshipsupplier.com/

ISPS Guidelines for Shipsuppliers
ISSA drew up guidelines for Shipsupply companies to adress the ISPS Code.

ISSA Convention
The next ISSA convention will take place in November 2010 in Dubai.

Find out about the role of ISSA:
Dr. Joe Borg, Member of the European Commission responsible for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs "Developing shipping under an integrated Maritime Policy", 52nd ISSA Convention (International Ship Suppliers' Association)

You can contact the ISSA Secretariat at:
Mr. Spencer Eade (Secretary)
International Ship Suppliers Association
The Baltic Exchange
St Mary Axe
London EC3A 8BH
Tel. +44 20 7626 6236
Fax. +44 20 7626 6234
E-Mail : secretariat@shipsupply.org
www.shipsupply.org