It is basically the accredition of any existent aspect,
living or non-living, material or immaterial, big or small according to some attribute,
viz. some nomenclature and quality.
However when it comes to ships, our topic of interest, it becomes
slightly haywire with more or less the same meaning. The ships or any marine
vehicle trotting the 2/3rd of our globe and proving to be indispensable to the
lifelines of the world’s economy, commerce, transportation, logistics, defence,
industries or merely the leisure and pleasure of our lives are put into some
technical classification post-manufacture and are surveyed on a regular basis.
Classification societies or simply ‘Class’ does the tedious job of analysis and
checking the design, structure , function , working conditions, highs &
lows, strength & weaknesses or simply the ‘Status of a Ship’ to put in a
nutshell. Unlike companies, firms or multinationals all of which harnesses a
self-circumventing business and a
desirable profit, classification societies has to work on a regular basis to provide a survey of any ship from time to
time to ascertain the safety standards, the strength, the capabilities of the
vehicle under consideration for the better productivity to be put in more
economic terms, for the ship in the marine world and also to repair and resolve
any of its abnormalities or defects if any and finally qualify it as OK
to be a seafarering vessel. Contrary to certain beliefs, these are not neccessarily Government Organisations and only try to maintain certain techincal standards and do not assume explicite responsiblity for total safety or guarantee. Their certificates become handy especially during settlement of insurance claims and similar legal arguments pertaining to crew, personnel or customers as may be.
Under the International Association of Classification
Societies (IACS), there are 12 leading classification societies of the world
namely:
- Indian Register of Shipping
- American Bureau of Shipping(ABS)
- Stiftelsen Det Norske Veritas - Germanischer Lloyd.(DNV-GL)
- Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (Class NK)
- Registro Italiano Navale (RINA)
- Lloyd’s Register of Shipping (LRS)
- Bureau Veritas(BV)
- Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS)
- China Classification Society(CCS)
- Croatian Register of Shipping
- Korean Register
- Polish Rejster Statkow
IACS aims at “Safer and Cleaner Shipping”.
All the classification societies under it are dedicated towards
improving the quality, technical specification and other innovative aspects
of improving, maintaining and checking
the standards of shipping and the marine traffic all-round the globe.
On 14 December 2005 the Common Structural
Rules for Tankers and Bulk Carriers were unanimously adopted by the IACS
Council for implementation on 1 April 2006. The Council was satisfied that the
new rules have been based on sound technical grounds, and achieve the goals of
more robust and safer ships.
Leaders of the Game
ABS
It is a New York based non-profit
non-governmental organization founded in 1862. Its aim is to “Serve the public
interest as well as the needs of our members and clients by promoting the
security of life and property and preserving the natural environment”.
Since 150 years of its advent, it aims at
improving the quality of shipping, with special care about safely, securely,
judiciously and responsibly advocating the marine vehicles and offshore structures.
It spans across 70 countries with over 200
offices. It provides the vital classification
services.
It is also the second largest classification
society with a classified span of over 12000 vessel and other tertiary and
secondary offshore structures. Remember ‘Prestige’?
It was an oil tanker whose accident and oil spill off the Galician coast in the
vicinity of the French and Spanish mainland coastline caused massive damage to aquatic
life and property. Many of the Spanish governing bodies pinpointed the ABS for
its callous ‘misclassification’ and an agitated lawsuit followed. However, it was dismissed after the trial and
till date ABS remains one of the premier classification societies across the
globe.
Class NK
Nippon Kaiji Kyokai is the Japanese
Classification society .It conducts surveys regarding the safety, technical
aspects, but structures, but also safety equipment, cargo handling gear,
engines, machinery, and electrical and electronic systems among others.
According to a 2007 report, the society had
6658 ships under class which comprised about 21% of the world/s total fleet.
Globally, it has 78 survey sites.
It played as a motive force in the IACS common
guidelines for bulk carriers and is one of the chief founding members. Class NK has a cutting edge research and technology
and conducts classification services in a more advanced way through research.
The Indian Register of Shipping
IRS or Indian register of Shipping is our
country’s very own classification society. It has its country headquarters at
Mumbai.
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It is an internationally acclaimed society
founded in 1975 and has a commendable stake in the international maritime
business standards. Statutory design appraisals, research and design,
certification and surveys are regular activities. Its collaboration with the Indian
Navy in 2007 marked a great milestone.
Registro Italiano Navale
RINA made its advent in 1861 at Genoa, Italy to
manage and repair the damage of the hull and the rigging equipment and utility
of sail ships. It has extensive services in Italy, Great Britain and France. It
has forayed into Shipping, energy and infrastructure and is much more than a
classification society. RINA has a network of companies with which it
co-ordinates.
Today RINA's assets run into 300 million euros and now the oragnisation focuses on sustainable practices, respect for the environment, social progress, research, innovation with a view for the 21st century and beyond. It provides marine classification, business assurance, training across industries, evaluation and qualificaion of suppliers, product testing and supervision.
Today RINA's assets run into 300 million euros and now the oragnisation focuses on sustainable practices, respect for the environment, social progress, research, innovation with a view for the 21st century and beyond. It provides marine classification, business assurance, training across industries, evaluation and qualificaion of suppliers, product testing and supervision.
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The Lloyd's Register of Shipping
LRS is an Independent risk management
organisation and classification society
which is based in UK having its headquarters in London. It is under the Lloyd’s
Register foundation which is sole charitable non-profit and non-government
organisation that dedicates itself to funds in research and development,
construction and engineering and advanced science and development. Its long
forged history dated back to the early 1760 and has no shareholders except the
Lloyds Register Foundation since 2012.
Its areas of interest include maritime
research and shipping, energy, railway and metro, environment systems. Some of
the rules and compulsions imposed by it are:
- Materials used for construction of the vessel.
- Ship structural requirements and minimum scantlings, depending on ship type.
- Operation and maintenance of main and auxiliary machinery.
- Operation and maintenance of emergency and control systems.
DNV-GL (Read our interview with DNV GL)
Det Norske Veritas
and Germanischer Lloyd
were two exclusive societies which merged in 2013. The journey goes back to 1864 were the hull
structures and overall stabilities of the Norwegian ships and their resultant
problems were commonplace.
Remember Deepwater Horizon oil spill? It was instrumental in the assessment of the deepwater
oil spill and the US retained it for the entire investigation. It consists of:
DNV Maritime and Oil and Gas,
DNV Energy and Management,
DNV Business Assurance.
DNV –GL is a slowly expanding entity with a considerable influence over the inflating third world countries like India.
I won’t exaggerate the history and span of the societies, neither shall I throw light upon all the societies as of them having the same aim. Each has its pros and cons and has a different view regarding the safety factor and the complete “well-being” of a ship or an offshore structure.
What would it be like without them?
Well, it would be a world with frequent
(sometimes similar) accidents in the seas and oceans. All the structural and
functional utilities would be taken for granted and the innovative measures
would come to a standstill. An unclassified ship or structure is like building
a house at a densely populated area without any municipal reviews or launching
a bland SUV on the road without any checking and testing!LSD
Article By: Subhodeep Ghosh