# Ship SMS and Document Management System | Faromo

Canonical: https://faromo.com/en/products/document-management
Language: en

Manage version, approval, effective date, vessel distribution, acknowledgement and audit trail for ISM and SMS documents.

Modified: 2026-08-16

Reviewed: 2026-08-16

Organize manuals, procedures and forms, and track their approval and distribution. See which version is current and who has acknowledged it.

A procedure being present in a folder does not prove that the correct version is in use. Author, approver, effective date and vessel distribution must remain traceable.

Faromo separates draft, review, approval, effective and archive states. It creates distribution lists by vessel and role and records acknowledgements in the audit trail.

## Version control

Store each revision with number, date, change summary and previous-version link.

## Review and approval

Define author, reviewer and approver roles by document type.

## Effective-date control

Make approved documents effective on a defined date and archive older versions in a controlled way.

## Vessel distribution

Target documents to the relevant vessel, department or role.

## Acknowledgement

Record who acknowledged which version and when.

## Form and record linkage

Link procedures to related forms, checklists, audits or actions.

## Workflow

1. Create draft: Document information, owner and change scope are recorded.
2. Review and approve: Authorized roles evaluate content and revision.
3. Distribute and activate: The correct version is released to target vessels and roles.
4. Preserve acknowledgement: Acknowledgements and later revision history are retained.

## Are old document versions deleted?

No. Older versions are archived in a controlled way and their effective periods are retained.

## Can acknowledgement be mandatory?

Acknowledgement can be required by document type, vessel or role, with overdue acknowledgements tracked.

## Can an SMS manual be managed by section?

A document hierarchy can link manuals, procedures, instructions and forms as separate controlled records.

## Can vessels access documents offline?

Effective documents distributed to a vessel can remain available locally, with new versions synced when connectivity returns.

## Sources

- [International Safety Management (ISM) Code](https://www.imo.org/en/ourwork/humanelement/pages/ismcode.aspx)
- [Maritime cyber risk management](https://www.imo.org/en/ourwork/security/pages/cyber-security.aspx)