Classification society
Encyclopedia
A classification society is a non-governmental organization
that establishes and maintains technical standards for the construction and operation of ships
and offshore structures. The society will also validate that construction is according to these standards and carry out regular surveys in service to ensure compliance with the standards.
To avoid liability, they explicitly take no responsibility for the safety, fitness for purpose, or seaworthiness of the ship.
to ensure that they continue to meet the rules. Classification societies are also responsible for classing oil platform
s, other offshore structures, and submarine
s. This survey process covers diesel engines, important shipboard pumps and other vital machinery.
Classification surveyors inspect ships to make sure that the ship, its components and machinery are built and maintained according to the standards required for their class
’ coffee house to gossip and make deals including sharing the risks and rewards of individual voyages. This became known as underwriting
after the practice of signing one's name to the bottom of a document pledging to make good a portion of the losses if the ship didn’t make it in return for a portion of the profits. It did not take long to realize that the underwriters needed a way of assessing the quality of the ships that they were being asked to insure. In 1760, the Register Society was formed — the first classification society and which would subsequently become Lloyd's Register
— to publish an annual register of ships. This publication attempted to classify the condition of the ship’s hull and equipment. At that time, an attempt was made to classify the condition of each ship on an annual basis. The condition of the hull was classified A, E, I, O or U, according to the state of its construction and its adjudged continuing soundness (or lack thereof). Equipment was G, M, or B: simply, good, middling or bad. In time, G, M and B were replaced by 1, 2 and 3, which is the origin of the well-known expression 'A1', meaning 'first or highest class'. The purpose of this system was not to assess safety, fitness for purpose or seaworthiness of the ship. It was to evaluate risk.
Samuel Plimsoll
pointed out the obvious downside of insurance:
The first edition of the Register of Ships was published by Lloyd's Register in 1764 and was for use in the years 1764 to 1766.
Bureau Veritas
(BV) was founded in Antwerp in 1828, moving to Paris
in 1832. Lloyd's Register reconstituted in 1834 to become 'Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping'. Where previously surveys had been undertaken by retired sea captains, from this time surveyors started to be employed and Lloyd's Register formed a General Committee for the running of the Society and for the Rules regarding ship construction and maintenance, which began to be published from this time.
In 1834, the Register Society published the first Rules for the survey and classification of vessels, and changed its name to Lloyds Register of Shipping. A full time bureaucracy of surveyors (inspectors) and support people was put in place. Similar developments were taking place in the other major maritime nations.
Adoption of common rules for ship construction by Norwegian insurance societies in the late 1850s led to the establishment of Det Norske Veritas
(DNV) in 1864. Then after RINA
was founded in Genoa, Italy in 1861 under the name Registro Italiano, to meet the needs of Italian maritime operators. Six years later Germanischer Lloyd
(GL) was formed in 1867 and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai
(ClassNK) in 1899. The Russian Maritime Register of Shipping
(RS) was an early offshoot of the River Register of 1913.
As the classification profession evolved, the practice of assigning different classifications has been superseded, with some exceptions. Today a ship either meets the relevant class society’s rules or it does not. As a consequence it is either 'in' or 'out' of 'class'. Classification societies do not issue statements or certifications that a vessel is 'fit to sail' or 'unfit to sail', merely that the vessel is in compliance with the required codes. This is in part related to legal liability of the classification society.
However, each of the classification societies has developed a series of notations that may be granted to a vessel to indicate that it is in compliance with some additional criteria that may be either specific to that vessel type or that are in excess of the standard classification requirements. See Ice class
as an example.
, has led to competition between classification societies and to a relaxation of their standards.
The first open register was Panama in 1916. Fear for political instability and high and excessive consular fees led the president of Liberia
, William Tubman
, in 1948 to start an open register with the help of Edward Stettinius, Jr.
. The World Peace of Stavros Niarchos
was the first ship in that register. In 1967 Liberia passed the United Kingdom as the largest register. Nowadays, Panama, currently the largest register, and Liberia have one third of the world fleet under their flag.
Flags of convenience have lower standards for vessel, equipment, and crew than traditional maritime countries and often have classification societies certify and inspect the vessels in their registry, instead of by their own shipping authority. This made it attractive for ship owners to change flag, whereby the ship lost the economic link and the country of registry. With this, also the link between classification society and traditional maritime country became less obvious - for instance Lloyd's
with the United Kingdom and ABS
with the United States. This made it easier to change class and introduced a new phenomenon; class hopping. A ship owner that is dissatisfied with class can change to a different class relatively easily. This has led to more competition between classes and a relaxation of the standards. In July of 1960, Lloyds Register published a new set of rules. Not only were scantlings relaxed, but the restrictions on tank size were just about eliminated. The other classification Societies quickly followed suit. This has led to the shipping industry losing confidence in the classification societies, and also to similar concerns by the European Commission
.
To counteract class hopping, the IACS
has established TOCA (Transfer Of Class Agreement).
In 1978, a number of European countries agreed in The Hague on memorandum that agreed to audit whether the labour conditions on board vessels were according the rules of the ILO
. After the Amoco Cadiz
sank that year, it was decided to also audit on safety and pollution. To this end, in 1982 the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris MoU) was agreed upon, establishing Port State Control
, nowadays 24 European countries and Canada. In practice, this was a reaction on the failure of the flag states - especially flags of convenience that have delegated their task to classification societies - to comply with their inspection duties.
, Lloyd's Register
, Bureau Veritas
and the American Bureau of Shipping
.
Classification societies employ ship surveyors, material engineers
, piping engineers, mechanical engineers
, chemical engineers
and electrical engineers, often located at ports and office buildings around the world.
Marine vessels and structures are classified according to the soundness of their structure and design for the purpose of the vessel. The classification rules are designed to ensure an acceptable degree of stability, safety, environmental impact, etc.
In particular, classification societies may be authorised to inspect ships, oil rigs, submarines, and other marine structures and issue certificates on behalf of the state under whose flag the ships are registered.
As well as providing classification and certification services, the larger societies also conduct research at their own research facilities in order to improve the effectiveness of their rules and to investigate the safety of new innovations in shipbuilding.
There are more than 50 marine classification organizations worldwide, some of which are listed below.
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
that establishes and maintains technical standards for the construction and operation of ships
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
and offshore structures. The society will also validate that construction is according to these standards and carry out regular surveys in service to ensure compliance with the standards.
To avoid liability, they explicitly take no responsibility for the safety, fitness for purpose, or seaworthiness of the ship.
Responsibilities
Classification societies set technical rules, confirm that designs and calculations meet these rules, survey ships and structures during the process of construction and commissioning, and periodically survey vesselsShip
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
to ensure that they continue to meet the rules. Classification societies are also responsible for classing oil platform
Oil platform
An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
s, other offshore structures, and submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s. This survey process covers diesel engines, important shipboard pumps and other vital machinery.
Classification surveyors inspect ships to make sure that the ship, its components and machinery are built and maintained according to the standards required for their class
History
In the second half of the 18th century, London merchants, shipowners, and captains often gathered at Edward LloydsEdward Lloyd (coffeehouse owner)
Edward Lloyd ran the Lloyd's Coffee House in Lombard Street in the City of London which became a meeting place for merchants and shipowners. From the habit of their members to meet there, Lloyd's Coffee House spawned Lloyd's of London, Lloyd's Register, and Lloyd's List. There is no connection...
’ coffee house to gossip and make deals including sharing the risks and rewards of individual voyages. This became known as underwriting
Underwriting
Underwriting refers to the process that a large financial service provider uses to assess the eligibility of a customer to receive their products . The name derives from the Lloyd's of London insurance market...
after the practice of signing one's name to the bottom of a document pledging to make good a portion of the losses if the ship didn’t make it in return for a portion of the profits. It did not take long to realize that the underwriters needed a way of assessing the quality of the ships that they were being asked to insure. In 1760, the Register Society was formed — the first classification society and which would subsequently become Lloyd's Register
Lloyd's Register
The Lloyd's Register Group is a maritime classification society and independent risk management organisation providing risk assessment and mitigation services and management systems certification. Historically, as Lloyd's Register of Shipping, it was a specifically maritime organisation...
— to publish an annual register of ships. This publication attempted to classify the condition of the ship’s hull and equipment. At that time, an attempt was made to classify the condition of each ship on an annual basis. The condition of the hull was classified A, E, I, O or U, according to the state of its construction and its adjudged continuing soundness (or lack thereof). Equipment was G, M, or B: simply, good, middling or bad. In time, G, M and B were replaced by 1, 2 and 3, which is the origin of the well-known expression 'A1', meaning 'first or highest class'. The purpose of this system was not to assess safety, fitness for purpose or seaworthiness of the ship. It was to evaluate risk.
Samuel Plimsoll
Samuel Plimsoll
Samuel Plimsoll was a British politician and social reformer, now best remembered for having devised the Plimsoll line .-Early life:Plimsoll was born in Bristol and soon moved to Whiteley Wood...
pointed out the obvious downside of insurance:
- The ability of shipowners to insure themselves against the risks they take not only with their property, but with other peoples’ lives, is itself the greatest threat to the safe operation of ships.
The first edition of the Register of Ships was published by Lloyd's Register in 1764 and was for use in the years 1764 to 1766.
Bureau Veritas
Bureau Veritas
Bureau Veritas S.A. is a multinational company providing conformity assessment, certification and consulting services to industry, government and individuals. Originally formed in Antwerp in 1828 as Bureau de Renseignements pour les Assurances Maritimes , the Bureau Veritas name was adopted in 1829...
(BV) was founded in Antwerp in 1828, moving to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1832. Lloyd's Register reconstituted in 1834 to become 'Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping'. Where previously surveys had been undertaken by retired sea captains, from this time surveyors started to be employed and Lloyd's Register formed a General Committee for the running of the Society and for the Rules regarding ship construction and maintenance, which began to be published from this time.
In 1834, the Register Society published the first Rules for the survey and classification of vessels, and changed its name to Lloyds Register of Shipping. A full time bureaucracy of surveyors (inspectors) and support people was put in place. Similar developments were taking place in the other major maritime nations.
Adoption of common rules for ship construction by Norwegian insurance societies in the late 1850s led to the establishment of Det Norske Veritas
Det Norske Veritas
Stiftelsen Det Norske Veritas is a classification society organized as a foundation, with the objective of "Safeguarding life, property, and the environment". The organization's history goes back to 1864, when the foundation was established in Norway to inspect and evaluate the technical condition...
(DNV) in 1864. Then after RINA
Registro Italiano Navale
"For over 140 years at the service of the shipping and industrial world."RINA was founded in Genoa in 1861 under the name REGISTRO ITALIANO NAVALE, by the "Associazione della Mutua Assicurazione Marittima" [established in Genoa in 1857 by ship managers and shipowners , to cover risks related to...
was founded in Genoa, Italy in 1861 under the name Registro Italiano, to meet the needs of Italian maritime operators. Six years later Germanischer Lloyd
Germanischer Lloyd
The Germanischer Lloyd SE is a classification society based in the city of Hamburg, Germany. As a technical supervisory organization Germanischer Lloyd conducts safety surveys on more than 7,000 ships with over 100 Mio GT...
(GL) was formed in 1867 and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai
Nippon Kaiji Kyokai
is a ship classification society.It is also known by the brand name “ClassNK” or often in the industry as just “NK”. It is a not for profit society dedicated to ensuring the safety of life and property at sea, and the prevention of pollution of the marine environment.The principal work of the...
(ClassNK) in 1899. The Russian Maritime Register of Shipping
Russian Maritime Register of Shipping
The activities of Russian Maritime Register of Shipping are aimed at providing the safety of navigation, safety of life at sea, security of ships, safe carriage of cargo, environmental safety of ships, prevention of pollution from ships, performance of authorisations issued by Administrations and...
(RS) was an early offshoot of the River Register of 1913.
As the classification profession evolved, the practice of assigning different classifications has been superseded, with some exceptions. Today a ship either meets the relevant class society’s rules or it does not. As a consequence it is either 'in' or 'out' of 'class'. Classification societies do not issue statements or certifications that a vessel is 'fit to sail' or 'unfit to sail', merely that the vessel is in compliance with the required codes. This is in part related to legal liability of the classification society.
However, each of the classification societies has developed a series of notations that may be granted to a vessel to indicate that it is in compliance with some additional criteria that may be either specific to that vessel type or that are in excess of the standard classification requirements. See Ice class
Ice class
Ships with an Ice Class have a strengthened hull to enable them to navigate through sea ice.-History:The first requirements for merchant ships to be escorted by icebreakers were set in Finland in 1890, after winter traffic to the port of Hanko was started. In the past, different classification...
as an example.
Flags of convenience
The advent of open registers, or flags of convenienceFlag of convenience
The term flag of convenience describes the business practice of registering a merchant ship in a sovereign state different from that of the ship's owners, and flying that state's civil ensign on the ship. Ships are registered under flags of convenience to reduce operating costs or avoid the...
, has led to competition between classification societies and to a relaxation of their standards.
The first open register was Panama in 1916. Fear for political instability and high and excessive consular fees led the president of Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, William Tubman
William Tubman
William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman was a Liberian politician. He was the 19th President of Liberia from 1944 until his death in 1971....
, in 1948 to start an open register with the help of Edward Stettinius, Jr.
Edward Stettinius, Jr.
Edward Reilly Stettinius, Jr. was United States Secretary of State under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, serving from 1944 to 1945....
. The World Peace of Stavros Niarchos
Stavros Niarchos
Stavros Spyros Niarchos was a Greek shipping tycoon, sometimes known as "The Golden Greek." In 1952, Stavros Niarchos built the first supertankers capable of transporting large quantities of oil, and subsequently earned millions of dollars as global demand for his ships increased.- Early life :He...
was the first ship in that register. In 1967 Liberia passed the United Kingdom as the largest register. Nowadays, Panama, currently the largest register, and Liberia have one third of the world fleet under their flag.
Flags of convenience have lower standards for vessel, equipment, and crew than traditional maritime countries and often have classification societies certify and inspect the vessels in their registry, instead of by their own shipping authority. This made it attractive for ship owners to change flag, whereby the ship lost the economic link and the country of registry. With this, also the link between classification society and traditional maritime country became less obvious - for instance Lloyd's
Lloyd's Register
The Lloyd's Register Group is a maritime classification society and independent risk management organisation providing risk assessment and mitigation services and management systems certification. Historically, as Lloyd's Register of Shipping, it was a specifically maritime organisation...
with the United Kingdom and ABS
American Bureau of Shipping
The American Bureau of Shipping is a classification society, with a mission to promote the security of life, property and the natural environment, primarily through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities...
with the United States. This made it easier to change class and introduced a new phenomenon; class hopping. A ship owner that is dissatisfied with class can change to a different class relatively easily. This has led to more competition between classes and a relaxation of the standards. In July of 1960, Lloyds Register published a new set of rules. Not only were scantlings relaxed, but the restrictions on tank size were just about eliminated. The other classification Societies quickly followed suit. This has led to the shipping industry losing confidence in the classification societies, and also to similar concerns by the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
.
To counteract class hopping, the IACS
International Association of Classification Societies
The International Association of Classification Societies is a technically-based organization consisting of thirteen marine classification societies headquartered in London.-History:...
has established TOCA (Transfer Of Class Agreement).
In 1978, a number of European countries agreed in The Hague on memorandum that agreed to audit whether the labour conditions on board vessels were according the rules of the ILO
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
. After the Amoco Cadiz
Amoco Cadiz
Amoco Cadiz was a very large crude carrier , owned by Amoco, that ran aground on Portsall Rocks, from the coast of Brittany, France, on 16 March 1978, and ultimately split in three and sank, all together resulting in the largest oil spill of its kind in history to that date.-Oil spill:Amoco Cadiz...
sank that year, it was decided to also audit on safety and pollution. To this end, in 1982 the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris MoU) was agreed upon, establishing Port State Control
Port State Control
Port State Control is the inspection of foreign ships in other national ports by PSC officers for the purpose of verifying that the competency of the master and officers on board, the condition of a ship and its equipment comply with the requirements of international conventions Port State...
, nowadays 24 European countries and Canada. In practice, this was a reaction on the failure of the flag states - especially flags of convenience that have delegated their task to classification societies - to comply with their inspection duties.
Today
Today there are a number of classification societies, the largest of which are Det Norske VeritasDet Norske Veritas
Stiftelsen Det Norske Veritas is a classification society organized as a foundation, with the objective of "Safeguarding life, property, and the environment". The organization's history goes back to 1864, when the foundation was established in Norway to inspect and evaluate the technical condition...
, Lloyd's Register
Lloyd's Register
The Lloyd's Register Group is a maritime classification society and independent risk management organisation providing risk assessment and mitigation services and management systems certification. Historically, as Lloyd's Register of Shipping, it was a specifically maritime organisation...
, Bureau Veritas
Bureau Veritas
Bureau Veritas S.A. is a multinational company providing conformity assessment, certification and consulting services to industry, government and individuals. Originally formed in Antwerp in 1828 as Bureau de Renseignements pour les Assurances Maritimes , the Bureau Veritas name was adopted in 1829...
and the American Bureau of Shipping
American Bureau of Shipping
The American Bureau of Shipping is a classification society, with a mission to promote the security of life, property and the natural environment, primarily through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities...
.
Classification societies employ ship surveyors, material engineers
Materials science
Materials science is an interdisciplinary field applying the properties of matter to various areas of science and engineering. This scientific field investigates the relationship between the structure of materials at atomic or molecular scales and their macroscopic properties. It incorporates...
, piping engineers, mechanical engineers
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
, chemical engineers
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
and electrical engineers, often located at ports and office buildings around the world.
Marine vessels and structures are classified according to the soundness of their structure and design for the purpose of the vessel. The classification rules are designed to ensure an acceptable degree of stability, safety, environmental impact, etc.
In particular, classification societies may be authorised to inspect ships, oil rigs, submarines, and other marine structures and issue certificates on behalf of the state under whose flag the ships are registered.
As well as providing classification and certification services, the larger societies also conduct research at their own research facilities in order to improve the effectiveness of their rules and to investigate the safety of new innovations in shipbuilding.
There are more than 50 marine classification organizations worldwide, some of which are listed below.
List of classification societies
| Name | Abbreviation | Date | Head office | IACS International Association of Classification Societies The International Association of Classification Societies is a technically-based organization consisting of thirteen marine classification societies headquartered in London.-History:... member? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lloyd's Register of Shipping | LR | 1760 | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
|
| Bureau Veritas Bureau Veritas Bureau Veritas S.A. is a multinational company providing conformity assessment, certification and consulting services to industry, government and individuals. Originally formed in Antwerp in 1828 as Bureau de Renseignements pour les Assurances Maritimes , the Bureau Veritas name was adopted in 1829... |
BV | 1828 | Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... |
|
| Registro Italiano Navale Registro Italiano Navale "For over 140 years at the service of the shipping and industrial world."RINA was founded in Genoa in 1861 under the name REGISTRO ITALIANO NAVALE, by the "Associazione della Mutua Assicurazione Marittima" [established in Genoa in 1857 by ship managers and shipowners , to cover risks related to... |
RINA | 1861 | Genoa Genoa Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria.... |
|
| American Bureau of Shipping American Bureau of Shipping The American Bureau of Shipping is a classification society, with a mission to promote the security of life, property and the natural environment, primarily through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities... |
ABS | 1862 | Houston | |
| Det Norske Veritas Det Norske Veritas Stiftelsen Det Norske Veritas is a classification society organized as a foundation, with the objective of "Safeguarding life, property, and the environment". The organization's history goes back to 1864, when the foundation was established in Norway to inspect and evaluate the technical condition... |
DNV | 1864 | Oslo Oslo Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King... |
|
| Germanischer Lloyd Germanischer Lloyd The Germanischer Lloyd SE is a classification society based in the city of Hamburg, Germany. As a technical supervisory organization Germanischer Lloyd conducts safety surveys on more than 7,000 ships with over 100 Mio GT... |
GL | 1867 | Hamburg Hamburg -History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808... |
|
| Nippon Kaiji Kyokai Nippon Kaiji Kyokai is a ship classification society.It is also known by the brand name “ClassNK” or often in the industry as just “NK”. It is a not for profit society dedicated to ensuring the safety of life and property at sea, and the prevention of pollution of the marine environment.The principal work of the... |
NKK | 1899 | Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
|
| Russian Maritime Register of Shipping Russian Maritime Register of Shipping The activities of Russian Maritime Register of Shipping are aimed at providing the safety of navigation, safety of life at sea, security of ships, safe carriage of cargo, environmental safety of ships, prevention of pollution from ships, performance of authorisations issued by Administrations and... (Российский морской регистр судоходства) |
RS | 1913 | Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea... |
|
| Hellenic Register of Shipping Hellenic Register of Shipping Hellenic Register of Shipping was founded in 1919 and is active in the industry inspections and certifications of facilities and equipment as well as the Certification of Management Systems... |
HR | 1919 | Piraeus Piraeus Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf.... |
|
| Polish Register of Shipping Polish Register of Shipping Polish Register of Shipping, , also known as PRS, is an independent classification society established in 1936. It is a non-profit organisation working on the marine market, developing technical rules and supervising their implementation, managing risk and performing surveys on ships... |
PRS | 1936 | Gdansk Gdansk Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the... |
|
| Croatian Register of Shipping Croatian Register of Shipping Croatian Register of Shipping , also known as CRS, is an independent classification society established in 1949. It is a non-profit organisation working on the marine market, developing technical rules and supervising their implementation, managing risk and performing surveys on ships... |
CRS | 1949 | Split Split (city) Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and... |
|
| China Corporation Register of Shipping | CR | 1951 | Taipei Taipei Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean... |
|
| China Classification Society China Classification Society China Classification Society is a classification society of ships, started in 1956 as a non-profit making body in the People's Republic of China to perform classification survey, certification survey and notarial survey of ships including offshore installations, containers and related industrial... |
CCS | 1956 | Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... |
|
| Korean Register of Shipping Korean Register of shipping The Korean Register of Shipping is a classification society founded in Korea offering verification and certification services for ships and marine structures in terms of design, construction and maintenance. Founded in 1960, the society employs 560 people. Its headquarters in Daejeon, Korea and... |
KR | 1960 | Daejeon Daejeon Daejeon is South Korea's fifth largest metropolis and the provincial capital of Chungnam. Located in the center of the country, Daejeon had a population of over 1.5 million in 2010. It is at the crossroads of Gyeongbu railway, Honam railway, Gyeongbu Expressway, and Honam Expressway. Within the... |
|
| Turk Loydu | TL | 1962 | Istanbul Istanbul Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and... |
|
| Biro Klasifikasi Indonesia | BKI | 1964 | Jakarta Jakarta Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre... |
|
| Registo Internacional Naval Registo Internacional Naval Registro Internacional Naval is the Portuguese maritime classification society.- Origin :RINAVE was formally established in 1973.On 23 May 1974, RINAVE was officially recognised by the Portuguese Government as a Classification Society and authorised to perform surveys on their behalf in order to... |
RINAVE | 1973 | Lisbon Lisbon Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban... |
|
| Indian Register of Shipping Indian Register of Shipping Indian Register of Shipping is an internationally recognized independent ship classification society, founded in India in 1975. It is a member of the International Association of Classification Societies .... |
IRS | 1975 | Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million... |
|
| International Naval Surveys Bureau | INSB | 1977 | Piraeus Piraeus Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf.... |
|
| Asia Classification Society | ACS | 1980 | Tehran Tehran Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to... |
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| Brazilian Register of Shipping | RBNA | 1982 | Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th... |
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| International Register of Shipping International Register of Shipping The International Register of Shipping or IS was established in 1993, and is an independent classification society which provides classification, certification, verification and advisory services... |
IROS | 1993 | Miami | |
| Ships Classification Malaysia | SCM | 1994 | Shah Alam Shah Alam Shah Alam is the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighboring Klang District. It is located about west of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor in 1978... |
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| Isthmus Bureau of Shipping | IBS | 1995 | Panama Panama Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The... |
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| Dromon Bureau of Shipping Dromon Bureau of Shipping Dromon Bureau of Shipping is an International Classification Society, providing classification and statutory certification services to ships and other marine structures, based on International Conventions, Rules and Regulations.... |
DBS | 2003 | Limassol Limassol Limassol is the second-largest city in Cyprus, with a population of 228,000 . It is the largest city in geographical size, and the biggest municipality on the island. The city is located on Akrotiri Bay, on the island's southern coast and it is the capital of Limassol District.Limassol is the... |
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| Intermaritime Certification Services | ICS Class | 2005 | Panama Panama Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The... |
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| Iranian Classification Society | ICS | 2007 | Tehran Tehran Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to... |
See also
- International Association of Classification SocietiesInternational Association of Classification SocietiesThe International Association of Classification Societies is a technically-based organization consisting of thirteen marine classification societies headquartered in London.-History:...
- Prestige oil spillPrestige oil spillThe Prestige oil spill was an oil spill off the coast of Galicia caused by the sinking of an oil tanker in 2002. The spill polluted thousands of kilometers of coastline and more than one thousand beaches on the Spanish, French and Portuguese coast, as well as causing great harm to the local fishing...
, an incident and following lawsuit that could have radically changed the role of class societies. - European Maritime Safety AgencyEuropean Maritime Safety AgencyThe European Maritime Safety Agency is a European Union agency charged with reducing the risk of maritime accidents, marine pollution from ships and the loss of human lives at sea by helping to enforce the pertinent EU legislation...
External links
- ABS American Bureau of Shipping
- ACS Asia Classification Society
- BKI Biro Klasifikasi Indonesia
- BV Bureau Veritas
- CCS China Classification Society
- CR China Corporation Register of Shipping
- CRS Hrvatski Registar Brodova (Croatian Register of Shipping)
- DBS Dromon Bureau of Shipping
- DNV Det Norske Veritas
- GL Germanischer Lloyd
- HRS Hellenic Register of Shipping for Greece
- IBS Isthmus Bureau of Shipping
- ICS Iranian Classification Society
- ICS Class Intermaritime Certification Services
- IRS Indian Register of Shipping
- IROS International Register of Shipping
- KR Korean Register of Shipping
- LR Lloyd's Register
- NK Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK)
- PRS Polish Register of Shipping (Polski Rejestr Statków)
- RBNA Registro Brasileiro de Navios (Brazilian Register of Shipping)
- RINA Registro Italiano Navale
- RINAVE Registro Internacional Naval SA
- RS Russian Maritime Register of Shipping
- GBS Guardian Bureau of Shipping
- SCM Ships Classification (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
- TL Turk Loydu
- IACS document explaining Classification societies