Permit to Work Management Plan (1st Edition, 2026)

The ISM Code requires companies to establish procedures for key shipboard operations and to assess identified risks to ships, personnel and the environment. Within that framework, the permit-to-work system is an important shipboard control for hazardous work.

This Permit to Work Management Plan provides a ship-specific framework for the safe management and control of hazardous work activities on board the ship.
Chapter 1 establishes the overarching principles of the PTW system. The PTW system operates within the ship’s Safety Management System and is supported by applicable SOLAS requirements and recognised safe working guidance, including enclosed-space entry requirements under SOLAS regulation XI-1/7.
Chapter 2 addresses the procedures for entering and working in any space on board that has limited openings for entry and exit, inadequate ventilation, and is not designed for continuous worker occupancy. The chapter covers risk assessment procedures, gas detection requirements, and the use of portable atmosphere testing instruments carried in accordance with SOLAS regulation XI-1/7.
Chapter 3 covers all work capable of generating sufficient heat, sparks or flames to ignite flammable materials or atmospheres, including welding, flame cutting, grinding and the use of spark-producing tools. The chapter defines permitted and prohibited hot work locations, establishes gas testing requirements prior to and during hot work operations and sets out the risk assessment process.
Chapter 4 addresses all tasks performed at a height above deck level, outside the ship's guard rails or in any position where a fall could result in injury. The chapter covers risk assessments and the use, as appropriate, of fall-protection equipment and rescue arrangements, including guidance on suspension trauma response.
Where working aloft involves enclosed spaces (such as cargo or ballast tanks) or equipment with energy sources (such as radar scanners on masts), the chapter requires the use of additional enclosed space entry and/or LOTO permits in conjunction with the working aloft PTW.
Chapter 5 establishes procedures for the positive isolation of hazardous energy sources during maintenance, repair, inspection or operational activities. The chapter identifies five categories of hazardous energy on board: electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic and thermal.
The Appendix provides example permit formats for each of the five PTW categories (enclosed space entry, hot work, working aloft, LOTO and general work), structured in three sections.

Systematic use of this Permit to Work Management Plan enables the Master, officers and crew to:
- Ensure that all hazardous work activities on board are formally risk assessed, authorised and controlled before work begins.
- Maintain an auditable record of all permits to work issued, including gas testing results, equipment checklists and personnel involved.
- Promote continuous improvement and the review of hazardous work controls, as well as lessons identified from permit-to-work operations.

Witherbys

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