Passenger Manifests, Built to Marine Order 504
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Marine Order 504, Schedule 1, clause 15(7)–(8) requires a passenger manifest for any voyage of at least 12 hours. SMS Marine builds that manifest into the app — so you create it once, print it before departure, and keep every voyage on file without touching a spreadsheet.
Create the manifest, or import it in seconds
Open the Passenger Manifest module, tap + New manifest, and fill in the voyage details — vessel, voyage route, date and master. Then add passengers two ways:
- Type on screen — add a row for each person, fill in the fields, tap + Add row for the next.
- Import a CSV — export your booking list from any system, click Import CSV, and the whole passenger list drops in at once.
Either way, the app captures every field the marine order asks for: full name, local address, home address, phone, email, and any medical or safety needs relevant in an emergency (clause 15(8)).
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Print it for the Master before departure
When the manifest is complete, tap the print icon. The app generates a clean, branded document that includes:
- Vessel name and unique identification number (auto-filled from your vessel profile)
- Voyage details — route, date, master
- Total persons on board (auto-counted)
- Full passenger table — name, local address, home address, phone, email, medical/safety needs
Print it as a PDF or to paper. The Master keeps a copy on board; the onshore copy is retained in the app. Both obligations in clause 15(7) are met in one step.
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Every voyage retained and ready
Every manifest you save is stored against your vessel and listed by date, voyage and master. You can reopen any past manifest, reprint it, or hand read-only access to an AMSA inspector without touching your live records.
Marine Order 504 requires passenger manifests to be kept for the same period as logbook entries. SMS Marine keeps them alongside your logbook — one system, one retention schedule, no separate filing.
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What it covers — at a glance
- Built for Marine Order 504, Schedule 1, clause 15(7)–(8)
- Two entry methods — type on screen or import a CSV
- All required fields: name, local address, home address, phone, email, medical/safety needs
- Auto-fills vessel name and UVI; auto-counts persons on board
- Prints as a clean, branded manifest — PDF or paper
- Onshore copy retained in the app alongside your logbook
- Past manifests reopenable for audits, inspections or reprint
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I import passengers from a spreadsheet?
Yes. Manifests can be built two ways — type passengers in directly, or import the whole list from a CSV file in one step.
The CSV columns are: Full name, Local address, Home address, Phone, Email, and Medical / safety needs. If you already export bookings from a reservation system, that export can usually be reshaped into those columns and brought straight in.
Importing adds rows to whatever is already in the manifest. If you are replacing a list rather than adding to it, use Clear all first.
Does the manifest include crew and the Master?
Yes, and it should. Clause 15(8)(e) of Marine Order 504 requires details for each person on board the vessel, not each passenger — which means crew and the Master are included.
SMS App treats every person on board as a manifest entry. A voyage with ten passengers and three crew produces a manifest of thirteen people, and the printed record shows the total persons on board rather than a passenger count.
This is the requirement operators most often miss when building manifests from a booking export.
Can I print a manifest before departure?
Yes. One click produces a clean printable manifest laid out to the marine order — vessel name, Unique Identification Number, voyage, date, Master, total persons on board, and every person's contact details and medical or safety needs.
Print it for the Master before departure, or on board whenever it is needed. Each printed copy carries a record number, a timestamp and the account that produced it, so you have a clear audit trail of which version went out with which voyage.
Are previous manifests kept for audits and AMSA requests?
Yes. Every manifest you create is saved and listed by date, voyage, Master and number of persons on board. Any previous manifest can be reopened, edited and reprinted.
Older records can be archived so the working list stays manageable, without anything being deleted. When an inspector asks for the manifest from a voyage eight months ago, you open it and print it.
Does the vessel information have to be entered every time?
No. Vessel name and Unique Identification Number pull automatically from your vessel record, so two of the fields required by clause 15(8) are populated before you type anything. You add the voyage, the date and the Master.
Does this satisfy the requirement to hold records both on board and onshore?
Section 9(b) of Marine Order 504 requires records to be kept both on board the vessel, where practicable, and onshore with shore-based personnel. Because manifests are held in the platform rather than on a single device, the onshore copy exists as a matter of course, and the note to that section confirms records may be kept electronically provided the method is reliable for accessibility purposes.
Operators remain responsible for their own compliance and should satisfy themselves that their arrangements meet the marine order.
Where can I read the actual legal requirements?
Our guide to passenger manifest requirements under Marine Order 504 walks through the relevant clauses in full — when a manifest is required, what it must contain, which vessels are exempt, and how manifests differ from passenger counts.
See it in action
Book a short demo and we will walk you through the passenger manifest module — from creating your first manifest to printing it and finding it again six months later.
SMS Marine helps you build and maintain the passenger manifest records required under Marine Order 504, Schedule 1, clause 15(7)–(8). It is a management tool to help you demonstrate your safety management system; it does not replace your obligations as owner or master, or approval of your SMS by AMSA. For a plain-English explanation of the passenger manifest requirement, see our article Passenger Manifest Requirements Under Marine Order 504.