INDUSTRY MARINE BUSINESS
www.signwell.fi
Generally, ship classification by an established international classification society is accepted by all countries.
In exceptional cases, some countries require an additional
national classification.
”Quite often, a classification society will carry out statutory safety-related or other inspections on behalf of the state
authorities of the ship’s flag nation, in accordance with mutual
contracts.”
”
Ship classification is
a necessary process.
MORE WORK TO BE EXPECTED
In the near future, new international conventions may affect
the ship classification procedures.
”For example, the new Maritime Label Convention –
or MLC – is a new certificate that may need to be taken into
account in inspections,” notes Rönnberg.
”Also, it seems that a new ballast convention will be ratified shortly. It will require mandatory processing equipment
for ballast water to be installed aboard the ships.”
In the words of Mr. Rönnberg, ship classification is challenging work, even in normal cases.
”If for some reason a ship has been built and completed
without classification at the shipyard, an entry into class is still
possible afterwards – but it is a highly complex and expensive
way to do things. In such a case, the shipowner would have
to be able to prove that the ship has been built to meet classification standards,” Rönnberg points out.
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