The ISM Code becomes mandatory for passenger ships and cargo ships over 500
gross tons on 1 July 1998, by which time 30,000 ships and 7,000 shipping
companies are required to comply. In the past safety regulations have tended to
focus on the physical rather than the managerial aspects of the shipping business,
so the ISM Code represents a new direction in maritime regulation. Inevitably it
raises many new problems over implementation and policing of such a complex
system.