Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM)
A safe and sustainable workplace, fully compliant with laws and regulations, is essential for a productive and compliant maritime operation.
Onboard health and safety is coming under increased scrutiny from European and global laws and regulations. An Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) plays a vital role in this and therefore is obliged by June 2025 to carry on board of all ships of 500 GT and above.
An IHM is an integral part of the Hong Kong Convention, adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2009. The convention aims to ensure that ships can be dismantled safely, with minimal risks to people or environment. The IHM has the added advantage of improving safety while vessels are in use.
What are the benefits of an IHM?
SGS experts can perform full Inventory of Hazardous Materials for your vessel(s), enabling you to:
- Ensure a safe workplace for your employees
- Identify any dangerous substances on a ship, such as asbestos, mercury, lead-containing paints or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- Be compliant to current and future regulations, such as SOLAS and MARPOL
- Take further actions, promoting the safety, usability and durability of your ship
About the inventory
An Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) not only states which hazardous materials are present on board a ship, but also in what quantities and their specific properties. For example, tests are performed to establish the presence of asbestos, PCBs, mercury (compounds), cadmium (compounds), radioactive substances and hexavalent chromium. As well as onboard testing, an IHM includes research, during which a certified surveyor collects samples for analysis in an accredited laboratory. An IHM report is “dynamic”, meaning the report eventually covers the entire life cycle of a vessel: in the building stage, in the operational stage and in the recycling stage. For more detailed information about IHMs, please download the brochure.
How can we help?
Flexible, fast and independent, our experts are certified to perform IHM analyses during all life stages of the ship. With more than 2.600 offices and laboratories around the world, we are present in every major port worldwide. We are on standby 24 hours a day and, if needed, we can fly our surveyor to your ship so that analyses can be performed as you continue your journey while the samples are analyzed in our own laboratory. This means that the results can be made available to you in the shortest time.
We can support the maritime sector across the full spectrum of environmental, safety and health related shipping issues. We offer a variety of environmental studies and analyses to support your operations, ranging from an IHM to scrubber analyses and the testing of ballast water. With presence in all major ports around the world, our services are available whenever and wherever you need them.
