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Glossary · Ship supply & procurement

IMPA codeInternational Marine Purchasing Association code

A six-digit number from the IMPA Marine Stores Guide that identifies one ship-store item, so buyer and chandler mean exactly the same thing on a requisition.

Term

IMPA CODEALSO: IMPA NUMBER · IMPA ITEM CODE · MARINE STORES GUIDE CODETOPIC: SHIP SUPPLY & PROCUREMENTSOURCES: 4

Reviewed 2026-10-10

Definition

IMPA is the International Marine Purchasing Association, the trade body of ship-owner and ship-manager purchasers and their suppliers, with more than a thousand member companies. Its best-known product is the Marine Stores Guide (MSG): a catalogue in which every listed item — a shackle, a pair of safety boots, a tin of paint, a flange — has its own unique six-digit code. When someone asks for "the IMPA number" of an item, or the "full form" of IMPA, this is what they mean.[1,2]

The guide started as a printed book in 1978, the year IMPA was founded, and is now in its 8th edition with more than 50,000 codes; that edition alone carried over 40,000 changes and more than 3,000 new codes. The code is published jointly by IMPA and Fuji Trading Co. of Japan, which holds the copyright — so a purchasing system that loads the code list needs a data licence, while quoting a code on a requisition does not.[2,3,4]

For a buyer the value is comparability. "Mooring rope, 40 mm" can be priced three ways by three suppliers; an IMPA code fixes the material, construction and unit, so the bids that come back can be compared line by line. The code also drives the pack and unit of measure — order in the guide's unit, or state clearly when you buy in a different one. Items outside the guide (owner-specific spares, branded chemicals) still need a maker, part number and drawing reference instead.

Our IMPA catalogue is arranged by the guide's sections, and every line posted on the platform carries its code, so verified suppliers at your port bid on the same specification.

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Sources

  1. [1] IMPA — International Marine Purchasing Association — https://www.impa.net/
  2. [2] IMPA Marine Stores Guide — About — https://www.marinestoresguide.com/about
  3. [3] IMPA Marine Stores Guide — the 8th edition book — https://www.marinestoresguide.com/book
  4. [4] IMPA Marine Stores Guide — Data licence — https://www.marinestoresguide.com/data-licence/

A working definition for buyers, not legal advice — the contract, the convention text and your club or class have the last word.

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