Classification News

The global provider of classification and technical advisory services to the marine and offshore industries ABS published its updated Best Practices for Operation of Ballast Water Management (BWM) Systems Report, offering fresh insight on best practices to overcome key challenges with selecting, installing and operating a BWM system.First published in 2017, the updated 2019 Report captures the key discussion items, lessons-learned and valuable insight gathered and shared during its global program of industry workshops…

The Panama Canal Authority and A.P. Moller – Maersk A/S are the latest entities to join the International Maritime Organization (IMO)-supported Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping (GIA).According to the UN body, the GIA now has 18 members, including leading shipowners and operators, classification societies, engine and technology builders and suppliers, big data providers, oil companies and ports.The new members signed up to the GIA during the fifth meeting of the GIA Taskforce at IMO Headquarters in London…

Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) has secured a five-year contract from India’s largest shipping company, The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) – to undertake Emergency Response Service (ERS) for 33 vessels.The classification society’s ERS is aimed at providing round-the-clock technical support by way of speedy assessment of the intact/damage stability as well as longitudinal strength of any vessel involved in a major incident e.g. grounding, collision or fire. Issues potentially arising from such incidents include excessive trim/heel…

Carver Pump, a manufacturer of American-made pumps, has obtained DNV GL certification for their line of GH end-suction centrifugal pumps.DNV GL (Det Norske Veritas and Germanischer Lloyd) is a global quality assurance and risk management company that provides classification, technical assurance, and certification to the maritime, oil & gas, power and renewables industries. This certification verifies that the GH line from Carver Pump can be used reliably in marine vessels, such as offshore drilling units…

As maritime digests a number of historical changes, Norway’s Fjellstrand shipyard wants to put aside the rule book and look at the whole process in a new way, reducing engineering costs up to 70% and production costs up to 20%.The process of designing and building a ship, even in today’s highly standardized mass manufacturing environment, remains largely a one-off, one-of-a-kind design and build. Ships are most often built to a shipowner’s or operator’s specific requirements, which are often based on fixed parameters such as speed…

The ship classification society, Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) has secured a five-year contract from India’s largest shipping company, The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) – to undertake Emergency Response Service (ERS) for 33 vessels.The classification society’s ERS is aimed at providing round-the-clock technical support by way of speedy assessment of the intact/damage stability as well as longitudinal strength of any vessel involved in a major incident e.g. grounding, collision or fire.

Metal Shark Expands Internationally with New Croatia Engineering Facility.Shipbuilder Metal Shark has established a foothold across the Atlantic with the opening of a dedicated European engineering office.Metal Shark’s first location outside of the United States, “Metal Shark Croatia” is a new engineering facility recently opened in the city of Rijeka on Croatia’s northern Adriatic coast.The facility currently employs nearly 20 naval architects, machinery systems engineers, and…

Fortune Technologies, a Greek provider of integrated maritime software solutions and Microsoft's Dynamics NAV partner, announced a strategic alliance with RINA, the classification, certification, inspection, testing and consulting multinational, to create value added services for the Greek and global shipping market.RINA aims to further enhance its presence in the maritime market, and in particular within the digital technology sector, by further developing the RINACube digital platform with Fortune Technologies, a leader in IT and maritime ERP systems.By leveraging RINA's network and know-how, as well as Fortune Technologies' specialization in maritime ERP…

ABS announced it was assigned Recognized Organization (RO) status by the Canadian Department of National Defense (DND). ABS is now authorized to survey non-combatant vessels and undertake certification activities in key hazard areas identified by the Naval Ship Code.“ABS was selected as the exclusive classification organization for all non-combatant vessels in service with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in 2017 before expanding our class and certification services to the entire Canadian Coast Guard fleet in 2018—and now we have been assigned RO status by the DND…

Carnival Corporation has released the results of an independent, two-year scientific scrubber wash-water study.The study shows the company’s advanced air quality systems (i.e. scrubbers) are in compliance with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 2020 requirements, which include regulations for cleaner air emissions and strict wash-water quality standards.The study also concluded that the wash-water samples from scrubbers were below the limits set by several major national and international water quality and land-based water discharge standards…

The Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) has won an order for providing classification services for a series of 8 Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvettes to be constructed for the Indian Navy. The order was awarded under competitive bidding in which other classification societies participated, after qualifying stringent technical requirements.The ships are to be constructed at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd, Kolkata and will be built to IRClass’ Naval Rules 2015.These ships are designed for combating threats posed by submarines and special underwater craft…

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has joined SEA\LNG, the multi-sector industry coalition aiming to accelerate the widespread adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel. Vancouver Fraser Port  is the first North America port member to join the industry group.The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is the federal agency of the Port of Vancouver, Canada’s largest port, and the fourth port member to join the coalition, alongside Port of Rotterdam, Yokohama-Kawasaki International Port Corporation (YKIP), and most recently the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

Classification society DNV GL has announced that all DNV GL classed vessels are now able to utilize the possibility of remote surveys for some inspections through the Veracity data platform. This means that for a range of surveys, a DNV GL surveyor will not be required to travel to the vessel. Instead, by using an online connection or video streaming link, a dedicated team of remote surveyors can provide support to vessels anywhere in the world with documentation, images, video (streaming or recordings), and input provided by the customer and crew.

Lloyd’s Register (LR), which ranks as one of the world’s largest providers of professional services for the engineering and technology sectors, has chalked out a new strategy for future growth in the energy market.The firm, which started out in 1760 as a marine classification society and now has more than 7,000 staff globally, said that the first phase of its new global strategy for its energy business to reposition the professional services portfolio for growth through the energy transition…

How can green technology and innovation help deliver International Maritime Organization (IMO) ’s initial strategy on reducing GHG emissions from ships?A press note from the UN body said that this was one of the questions being addressed this week at the Greentech in Shipping Global Forum in Hamburg, Germany (26-27 February).Speaking at the conference, IMO’s Camille Bourgeon addressed maritime sector experts in green technology and innovation, saying that their work will be important in delivering IMO’s Initial GHG Strategy and achieving the goal to make shipping carbon free.The Strategy…

Classification society ABS has published new guidance notes detailing best practices for their use on class surveys and non-class inspections.The Guidance Notes on the Use of Remote Inspection Technologies cover pilot-operated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) and robotic crawlers, collectively known as remote inspection technologies (RIT).“The use of RITs can reduce risk for Surveyors and inspectors by lessening the need to access potentially hazardous locations at height, or other hazardous inspection areas.

Incat delivered its latest large fast ferry, a 110-meter catamaran for Virtu Ferries of Malta dubbed Saint John Paul II.Saint John Paul II is the 44th large commercial fast ferry delivered by Incat and the sixth in excess of 5,500gt in the past decade; a decade also shared with 19 other Incat newbuilds of smaller passenger ferries and support vessels.“Using the latest computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and hydrodynamic free-running model test techniques, the well proven Incat Wave Piercing Catamaran hullform has been further developed for Mediterranean winter conditions…

Since opening its Greek office in 2010, the Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) has made inroads into the Greek shipping market, said a press release from the company.Based in Piraeus, the IRClass office has been actively engaged with Greek shipyards and owners to offer its full range of classification services.It has recently certified three Ro-Ro vessels in Greece for the Theodoropoulos shipyard and has also taken several other vessels into Class.Currently, IRClass is working on seeking authorisation from Greek maritime authorities to survey and certify all types of Greek flagged vessels…

Oceanco’s newest project, the 105-meter (345 ft) diesel-electric driven Esquel has been conceived and designed to explore new territories.Oceanco created Esquel in collaboration with Timur Bozca Design, stylist Gina Brennan, Lateral Naval Architects and Engineering and Pelorus—an experiential and yacht expedition travel company.Sporting a displacement hull with a plumb bow, Esquel has been designed for extensive cruising to remote regions extending from the North Pole to the South Pole and everywhere in between.A blend between an expedition vessel and a superyacht…

ABS has updated its Guide for Building and Classing International Naval Ships (INS Guide), expanding its guidance to strengthen safety and protection against a range of threats.“ABS is a world leader in naval classification and our 2019 INS Guide takes this to the next level,” said ABS Senior Vice President for Global Government, James Watson. “Naval vessels face an increasingly sophisticated range of threats and the ABS guidance is evolving to keep pace with the challenges they face…

RIMS BV has been a leader in the push for maritime inspection via drone, and the company recently announced it has received another two certifications from DNV GL and the Indian Class Register for the use of Remote Inspection Techniques (drones) during surveys of enclosed spaces.RIMS BV now with certification from nine classification societies, and the company aims to prove that drone technology with skilled pilots helps to reduce the safety risks and offer a much more cost-efficient solution for inspections of assets.

MAN Energy Solutions announced that its MAN 175D SCR system successfully completed its final Type Approval Test, and was awarded IMO Tier III certification by all major classification societies.According to the power company, since the beginning of its development it has intensively tested the MAN 175D SCR system at its Frederikshavn, Denmark test center, and during the process the SCR technology has accrued more than 5,000 operating hours, both in Frederikshavn and aboard an operative offshore vessel.“In order to deliver a very compact and cost-effective design…

Danish marine safety equipment manufacturer, Daniamant, has launched a tugboat version of its renowned Electronic Inclinometer, an advanced heel and pitch measuring device. The DanEI-300T fulfils the most recent Bureau Veritas Group’s regulations for escort tugboats and is approved by German BSH to the IMO (International Maritime Organization) performance standard MSC.363(92):2013. Bureau Veritas’ classification rules in the January 2019 edition stipulate that escort tugboats must be equipped with a calibrated heeling angle measurement system, otherwise referred to as an inclinometer.