Statutory Certification Services News

Panama Maritime Authority has authorized Dromon Bureau of Shipping (DBS) as a Classification Society, Recognized Organization (RO) and Recognized Security Organization (RSO) to perform class and statutory certification services on behalf of the Flag Administration. The agreement was signed by Fernando Solorzano, General Director of Merchant Marine of the Republic of Panama and Andreas Nicolaou, Managing Director of DBS. The signing ceremony took place on 24th of November 2017 at the presence of Honourable Jorge Barakat Pitty, Minister of Maritime Affairs of the Republic of Panama, Ms Yaritza Romero, Chief of Staff of Panama Maritime Authority and the top Management of DBS.

Jaco Osseweijer of Verweij & Hoebee, a subsidiary of BMT Group, is an expert on inland navigation vessels. As Chairman of the technical committee of the Netherlands Bureau for Inspections of inland navigation vessels (NBKB) he is involved in the mandatory inspection regime for these vessels and explains how the system works. To those involved with deep sea or blue water shipping, brown water shipping is a bit of a mystery. The extent and variety of ships using the world’s major rivers is vast.

Korean Register (KR), an IACS member classification society, announces that it has signed an MOU governing the delegation of statutory certification services for vessels registered in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. KR is now fully authorized by the Government of Luxembourg to deliver statutory services and is Luxembourg’s 7seventh Recognized Organization (RO). KR is now able to conduct relevant surveys, audits and issue certificates to Luxembourg flagged ships for SOLAS, MARPOL, ITC, ILL, ISM Code, ISPS Code and MLC.

ABS has added the first Japanese-flagged vessel to its classed fleet after having been awarded the status of a 'Recognized Organization' (RO) by the Japanese government. YAMATOGAWA, a 302,488 deadweight-ton very large crude carrier owned and managed by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. ("K" Line), recently transferred flag, a move which made ABS the first foreign classification society to class a vessel flying the Japanese flag. "We are honored to become the first foreign class society to include a Japanese-flagged vessel in our fleet. This is testament to our long-term commitment to delivering the high levels of professionalism that are demanded by the top Japanese shipowners," said Derek Novak, President and COO for ABS' Pacific Division.

ABS was granted authorization by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to serve as a Recognized Organization of the State of Japan. This authorization allows ABS to provide statutory certification services to Japanese-flagged vessels on behalf of the government. “This authorization strengthens our global coverage and allows vessel owners and operators greater operational flexibility,” said Christopher J. Wiernicki, President and CEO, ABS. Working in close cooperation with the flag Administration of Japan…

International classification society RINA has been recognized by Sweden’s Clean Shipping Project as being able to verify ships and shipping companies in accordance with verification guidelines developed for ranking in the Clean Shipping Index. The Clean Shipping Index is backed by a number of Swedish bodies, many of Sweden’s largest cargo shippers, and the EU. It is an index taking a holistic perspective on the environmental issues of shipping. It takes into account the environmental effects connected to shipping, such as emissions to air and water, and the use of chemicals and anti-fouling, and ranks vessels or shipping companies according to their performance under each criteria. It is aimed at giving charterers a clearer view of the environmental performance of shipping providers.

Bureau Veritas has entered an agreement with the Ministry of Transport of the delegating BV the authority to conduct statutory certification services and to issue certificates for vessels registered in the Russian International Registry of Ships.  The agreement was signed in Moscow this week by Alexey Klyavin, Director of Department of State Policy for Maritime and River Transport,  Ministry of Transport of the and Bernard Anne. It covers delegation to Bureau Veritas of the right to conduct surveys and issue statutory certificates for all the normal IMO international certification.

ABS has signed an expanded agreement of cooperation with Vietnam Register (VR) covering the provision of a wide range of classification and statutory certification services. Christopher J Wiernicki, ABS President and Nguyen Van Ban, General Director of Vietnam Register signed the agreement at ABS’s Corporate Headquarters in Houston on Monday 14 May. The two societies had been operating under a more limited cooperative agreement, originally signed in 1994 and subsequently amended in 1999. A key element of the new agreement is a program that will be instituted by ABS to train and qualify VR surveyors to ABS standards. The agreement also…