Workboat Code 3: is your SMS ready, and can you prove it?

What changes on 13 December 2026

Workboat Code Edition 3 requires every certificated vessel to have a safety management system that is proportionate to the operation, implemented, and operational by 13 December 2026. The emphasis is on the last two words. A folder of procedures that nobody opens does not meet the requirement; a system that the crew use every day, and that leaves a record behind, does.

In practice an SMS has to do three things:

• Set out how things are done. Procedures, checklists and the supporting documents the crew need to follow them.
• Keep evidence of what actually happens onboard. Checks completed, defects raised, incidents reported, drills logged, certificates and qualifications current.
• Follow through when something needs putting right. Findings recorded, actions assigned, and closed out with a trail that shows who did what and when.

Most operators already do the first. It is the second and third that are hard to demonstrate when the evidence lives on a whiteboard, in a WhatsApp group or in an inbox.

Where CrewSmart fits

CrewSmart's digital Integrated Management System is built to support an SMS rather than replace it. Your procedures stay your procedures; the system makes sure they are followed and keeps the record. It brings together:

• Safety procedures and the documentation that supports them, with read-and-acknowledge tracking so you know who has seen the current version
• Crew qualifications and vessel certification, with expiry tracking and minimum requirements by role, vessel and contract
• Planned maintenance, defect and incident reporting, completed and signed off onboard
• A corrective actions register that records findings and tracks every action through to closure

Because the evidence is captured as part of the day's work, nobody has to assemble it afterwards. When a surveyor or auditor asks how a procedure is followed, the answer is a report, not a search.

"The operators we talk to are not short of procedures. What they are short of is proof. Workboat Code 3 puts a date on that. If the system cannot show that the crew did the checks, raised the defect and closed the action, then as far as the surveyor is concerned it did not happen."

— Christian Adams, Managing Director, CrewSmart

Preparing for the deadline

Whether you are putting an SMS in place for the first time or want your existing system to stand up better at audit, there is time to do it properly before December, but not a great deal of it. We can walk through your current procedures and show you how they would run in CrewSmart, usually in about twenty minutes.

Book a compliance check or get in touch for a chat.