Alexander Klyavin (left), Assistant Secretary Deputy Minister of Transportation of the Russian Federation, and Dr Hermann J. Klein, Executive Board Member of Germanischer Lloyd signing the agreement.
The Russian Maritime Authority has authorized classification society Germanischer Lloyd (GL) to perform statutory duties on ships with Russian flag. Germanischer Lloyd is the very first foreign society to be granted this right. Russian shipowners can now choose GL as their recognized organization, and thus profit from the society's longtime expertise in the maritime industry. The authorization includes surveys, plan approval and issuance of certificates for international conventions such as SOLAS, Load Line, Colreg, Tonnage as well as MARPOL Annex I, II and IV. Parallel to the authorization of Germanischer Lloyd for the Russian flag, the German flag administration Seeberufsgenossenschaft (See-BG) has approved the Russian Maritime Register. The Russian society is now authorized to carry out surveys on German-flagged ships.
The signing took place during an official German-Russian Shipping Conference in Moscow. The agreement was signed by Alexey Klyavin, Director of State Policy for Maritime and River Transport, Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, and Dr Hermann J. Klein, Executive Board Member of Germanischer Lloyd. The head of the German delegation, Bernd Toerkel, Director of Shipping of the German Ministry of Transportation, welcomed the agreement which signifies a further intensification of the German Russian relations and an opening of the Russian market. The Russian state has already started to revive national shipbuilding. Domestic yards,
fleet operators and oil companies had been asked to forward suggestions to create three shipbuilding giants in strategic areas of the country. The Russian government will invest billions in funds and tax incentives in a strategy to support the fledgling shipbuilding industry.
Germanischer Lloyd's service network in Russia managed by Guido Foersterling encompasses offices in St Petersburg, Volgograd, Komsomolsk-on-Amur and a new office in Vladivostok. Another office will be opened in Novorossijsk soon. The classification society offers the full range of services for shipowners from newbuilding surveillance to International Safety Management (ISM) audits. GL also closely cooperates with the State Marine Technical University of St Petersburg (SMTU), jointly propagating high scientific standards and practical relevance for a first class maritime education.