Regulations
Inventory of Hazardous Materials is governed by the following regulations:
- Regulation (EU) No. 1257/2013 of the European Parliament on Ship Recycling (EU SRR), entered into force in December 2013
- Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 SR/CONF/45 (HKC), which is not yet ratified
Both the EU SRR and the HKC require ships to develop and maintain an IHM and undergo survey and certification to verify that the requirements are met.

Since 31st December 2020, existing vessels of 500 GT and above, that are flying the flag of an EU/EEA Member State & UK or calling at a port or anchorage of EU/EEA & UK, must have an Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM-Part I) and a valid Certificate/Statement of Compliance on board. Navy ships and domestic ships are excluded.
New buildings flying the flag of an EU/EEA Member State & UK are required to have onboard an IHM Certificate (IC) issued on behalf of the flag, starting from 31st December 2018.
Prior to recycling, the Inventory of Hazardous Materials shall, in addition to the properly maintained and updated Part I, incorporate Part II for operationally generated waste and Part III for stores, and be verified by the administration or a recognised organisation authorised by it.
IHM preparation
An outline of the methodology for compilation of the Inventory of Hazardous Materials in accordance with MEPC. Resolution 269(68)/2015, has the following steps:
- Collection of necessary information & documents (i.e., plans, manuals, certificates, etc.)
- Assessment and definition of scope of assessment
- Preparation of Visual/Sampling Check Plan (VSCP)
- Onboard Visual/Sampling Check (Targeted sampling and possible random sampling applying a sampling methodology)
- Laboratory Analysis of Samples
- Preparation of IHM and related documentation
- IHM desktop approval & onboard verification by Class for issuance of SoC/IC IHM
Why EPE?
EPE has a record with numerous IHM surveys onboard vessels since 2006 and is an active company in marine business worldwide for more than 40 years dedicated to the protection of marine environment and human life.
EPE holds the following accreditations:
- IHM Service Supplier approved by five major Classification Societies: DNV GL (worldwide 1st), Lloyd’s Register (LR), American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Korean Register (KR) and Bureau Veritas (BV)
- IHM Expert Company recognized by Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) and Liberian Registry (LISCR)
- Highly experienced, IACS approved HazMat Surveyors
- ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, SA 8000:2014 for identification, sampling, reporting and preparation of Inventory of Hazardous Materials
- Member of International Ship Recycling Association (ISRA)
EPE has established a co-operation on a constant basis with accredited laboratories according to EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017, and testing methods which are in-line with IMO MEPC. Resolution 269(68)/2015 & EMSA IHM guidelines.


HAZDASH is an intelligent Cloud-based platform supported by experienced HazMat experts which allows the Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) onboard a ship to be kept fully up to date. Managed by highly trained and experienced Hazardous Material experts of EPE, the new platform ensures regulatory compliance by streamlining the IHM maintenance process for both shipowners and suppliers. HAZDASH allows shipowners, suppliers & vessels to exchange information securely and ensure IHM-related orders and documents to be accessed and submitted with ease. Specifically, HAZDASH aims to:
Shipowners
Suppliers to Marine Industry
Key Features
- Reduce costs with a turn-key online service
- Save time by interacting on a user-friendly interface
- Ensure fleet compliance digitally
- Relieve the burden for Purchasing Dept. & Suppliers
- Gain insights by accessing valuable data
- Information available in real-time (24/), anywhere, without installing unnecessary software
- API integrated (ability to connect to all ERP Systems)
- Secure web servers that guarantee secure data
- Boost reliability with an IHM Service Provider approved by 5 Classification Societies (DNV, ABS, LR, BV & KR) and 2 Flag States (Marshall Islands & Liberian Flag)
How does it work?

HAZDASH along with a team of highly experienced Hazmat Experts can aid you with this process and relieve you on unnecessary, costly and time intensive procedures.
Shipowners only need to provide initial IHM & PO data, while EPE’s Hazmat Expert team via HAZDASH does the rest.
EPE uploads data to its custom maintenance software tool and via HAZDASH:
- Identifies relevant POs to IHM Maintenance
- Collects MDs & SDoCs from Suppliers
- Reviews Collected Documents for Validity & Hazmats Contained
- Archives all accompanying MDs and SDoCs
- Updates Inventory of Hazardous Materials Part