A new bilateral agreement that extends the long-standing agreement on cooperation between ABS and the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) has been signed by the two societies in St Petersburg (Russia). The wide ranging, cooperative agreement principally addresses the provision of field surveys for ships and floating structures in service and under construction, design approval, technical documentation and certification of materials and products. Signing the new agreement were Dr. Sergey S. Koshchy, Senior Vice-General Director of RS, and Antonio Lino Costa, Vice-President of ABS. “Our two societies have a long history of bilateral cooperation and of working closely together as members of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS),” said Dr. Koshchy. Dr.