IACS values greatly its role as the principal technical advisor to the IMO and the advice, expertise and experience of IACS’ twelve Members is always available both to the Organization and the wider maritime industry in pursuit of shared objectives of cleaner and safer shipping.
In terms of the Purposes and Aims of IACS, the IACS Charter states that IACS “assists international regulatory bodies and standard organisations to develop, implement and interpret statutory regulations and industry standards in ship design, construction and maintenance, with a view to improving safety at sea and the prevention of marine pollution“.
Having received its consultative status as a non-governmental international organization at the IMO in 1969 (one year after establishment of IACS), for over 50 years IACS has been working actively and consistently in support of the IMO on areas of regulatory development within the scope of classification societies and recognized organizations in pursuance of its mission and that of the IMO.
The recognition of the synergies of the scope of IACS and the IMO can be found in the statutory regulations, which were adopted in key IMO instruments:
SOLAS, regulation II-1/3-1 on structural, mechanical and electrical requirements for ships
“In addition to the requirements contained elsewhere in the present regulations, ships shall be designed, constructed and maintained in compliance with the structural, mechanical and electrical requirements of a classification society which is recognized by the Administration in accordance with the provisions of regulation XI-1/1, or with applicable national standards of the Administration which provide an equivalent level of safety.”
SOLAS, regulation II-1/3-10 on goal-based ship construction standards for bulk carriers and oil tankers
“3 The requirements of paragraphs 2 to 2.5 shall be achieved through satisfying applicable structural requirements of an organization which is recognized by the Administration in accordance with the provisions of regulation XI-1/1, or national standards of the Administration, conforming to the functional requirements of the Goal-based Ship Construction Standards for Bulk Carriers and Oil Tankers.”.
LL Annex B, Annex 1, Chapter I, Regulation 1 on strength and intact stability of ships
“(2) A ship which is designed, constructed and maintained in compliance with the appropriate requirements of an organization, including a classification society, which is recognized by the Administration or with applicable national standards of the Administration in accordance with the provisions of regulation 2-1, may be considered to provide an acceptable level of strength. The above provisions shall apply to all structures, equipment and fittings covered by this annex for which standards for strength and construction are not expressly provided.”.
These two sets of Rules were developed independently and in order to remove variations and achieve consistency, IACS decided to harmonise these Rules. There is now a single set of Rules “Common Structural Rules for Bulk Carriers and Oil Tankers” (CSR BC & OT) comprising of two parts; Part One gives requirements common to both Bulk Carriers and Double Hull Oil Tankers and Part Two provides additional specialised requirements specific to either Bulk Carriers or Double Hull Oil Tankers.
IACS implemented the CSR-OT and CSR-BC maintenance program via the IACS CSR Knowledge Centre (KC). All the agreed Q&As are published on the IACS web site in order to assist its Member Societies and Industry in implementing the CSR in a uniform and consistent manner.
A Knowledge Centre (KC) for the CSR BC & OT was also implemented by IACS as an online repository of questions, observations and feedback during the development of these Rules and it will continue to be used to facilitate the management and maintenance of the CSR BC & OT. The IACS Knowledge Centre may be accessed by IACS Members only at the following link:
IACS organisational structure and work process and procedures pertaining to maintenance, harmonisation and further development of IACS CSR BC & OT are detailed in IACS Procedure Volume 4.
In Nov 2008 IACS launched the IACS CSR Tracking Database (www.iacs-csrtrack.org.uk) to provide users easy and quick access to full revision history of CSR Rules on a paragraph by paragraph basis.
Note: All the Q&As and CIs posted in this area are checked on a daily basis by IACS CSR Secretariat and updated, with new data if any.
Industry comment may be given via e-mail to csr@iacs.org.uk or via a Class Society member of IACS.
IACS’ representation in Brussels
IACS has a Representative to the EU, based in Brussels. The Representative promotes the aims of IACS by interacting as required with EU Commissioners and Cabinet advisors, MEPs and Intergroups, maritime industry associations and EU Member State governments.
IACS maintains a permanent office in Brussels in order to liaise with the relevant European institutions and stakeholders. The IACS European Union (EU) Representative supports a permanent IACS expert group, known as EG/EU, through monitoring and analysing of EU initiatives applicable to shipping. The group meets twice per year in Brussels.
In response to the European Commission’s increased involvement of stakeholders in the preparation and follow-up of its legislative deliberations, IACS decided to become actively involved in EC expert groups relevant to the scope of the association and the activities of its members. These expert groups include the European Sustainable Shipping Forum (ESSF) and its sub-groups, the Expert Group on Passenger Ship Safety and the Group on Places of Refuge. As an example of the work undertaken by IACS through these expert groups, the Association has contributed to the latter by compiling an IACS Recommendation for the Operation of Shore-Based Emergency Response Services.
While IACS’ primary contact at European Commission level is with DG MOVE – and specifically the Maritime Safety Unit – continuous working contacts have been established over the past years with other Directorate-Generals, such as CLIMA and ENV. The cultivation of these relationships goes hand-in-hand with an increased legislative focus on environmental topics, specifically on tackling emissions from shipping.
Close relations also exist with the European Member States and the European Parliament in their role as European co-legislators.
Even though the EU is a regional body, its contributions towards the IMO have gained a high level of traction and are therefore closely followed by IACS. The ESSF sub-groups, comprising representatives from the Commission, Member States and industry, have produced several submissions to relevant IMO committees. IACS and its member societies are involved in several of these sub-groups, notably the ones dealing with liquefied natural gas as ship’s fuel and exhaust gas cleaning systems.
IACS Brussels Office
Astrid Silvia Grunert
IACS Representative to the EU
Résidence Palace, Rue de la Loi 155, Bte 97, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
Email: astridgrunert@iacs.org.uk
One of the ways that IACS contributes to driving forward pan-industry initiatives is through the use of Joint Working Groups (JWGs). These are established periodically in response to a particular technical or policy development where it is recognised that either additional operational/3rd party input is required or where the issue identified clearly affects not only IACS Members but other segments of the industry. The objective of establishing a JWG is to allow other stakeholders to assist IACS in the development of a Resolution (URs, UIs or PRs) or Recommendation that will be of value to the wider industry.
Tripartite meetings – so called because their principal participation comes from shipyards, ship-owners and classification societies – have been held annually since 2002. Tripartite meets, on a rotating basis, in one of the major shipbuilding nations (China, Japan, Korea) and the meetings were originally established to facilitate high-level discussions between the parties on areas of policy and common interest. The original meeting in Shanghai discussed matters such as shipbuilding standards, contractual relationships and ship yard capacity. Important outcomes included universal acknowledgement of the need to ensure that ships were designed and built ‘fit for purpose’ and there was general acceptance of the desirability of more robust designs.
Over the years Tripartite discussions have covered many important issues and worked well as a unique forum to identify and address key issues facing the industry. Tripartite’s success has, however, led to an increasingly crowded agenda with many highly technical issues being brought forward. In parallel, the years since Tripartite’s inception have also seen an increase in the provision of technical forums where such matters can be better discussed.
Representation in International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
IACS’s relationship and objectives with respect to the work carried out by ISO have to be considered in view of the fact that both develop technical criteria or requirements, and both are observers at IMO. This gives both organisations the possibility to influence IMO. IACS overriding strategy must be to maintain its presence as the foremost authority in developing criteria related to ship structural strength, and mechanical and electrical systems. Such fields of work are traditionally within the scope of classification and, as of 1 July 1998, are principal criteria which ships built after 1 July 1998 must meet under SOLAS Regulation II-1/3-1.
IACS representatives attend meetings held by the ISO. Currently there are 30 IACS representatives in the following ISO subcomittees, technical committes and working groups:
TC8 – Ships and Marine Technology
SC1 Lifesaving and Fire Protection
SC2 Marine Environment Protection
SC2/WG14 Ship Environmental Data Quality Management
SC3 Piping and Machinery
SC4 Outfitting and deck machinery
SC6 Navigation and Operations
SC6/WG17 Speed trial data analysis
SC8 Ship design
WG17 Speed Trial Data Analysis
SC8 Ship design Chair of Hull Panel
SC11 Intermodal and Short Sea Shipping
SC12 Large Yachts
SC25 Maritime GHG Reduction
SC26 Smart Shipping
TC17 – Steel
SC3 Steels for Structural Purposes
TC28 – Petroleum Products and Lubricants none
SC4 Classifications and Specifications
TC43 – Accoustics
SC3 Underwater Accoustics
TC67 – Materials, equipment and offshore structure for petroleum and natural gas industries
SC7 Offshore Structures
TC70 – Internal Combustion Engines Chair of Machinery Panel
SC8 Exhaust Gas Emissions Measurement
TC104 – Freight Containers
SC1 General Purpose Containers
SC2 Specific Purpose Containers
SC4 Identification and Communication
TC176 – Quality Management and Quality Assurance
TC184 – Industrial automation system and integration
SC4 Industrial Data
International Labour Organization (ILO) acts as the primary regulator of seafarers living and working conditions through development related Conventions and particularly through development and update of Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006). IACS Members are actively involved as Recognized Organisations (ROs) in verification of compliance and implementation of MLC, 2006 measures onboard vessels of MLC, 2006 ratifying flags. IACS was admitted to ILO special List of Non-Governmental International Organizations in January 2014 with Observer status at ILO and should therefore give the high priority to those subjects under discussion at ILO which have a close relationship to the functions of ROs. Every effort should be made to maintain this relationship and seek new ways to deepen the relationship even further.
Continuity of interaction with ILO is important to IACS and it is therefore necessary to ensure IACS permanent communication with ILO.
– Permanent monitoring and identification of ILO meetings of IACS importance (MLC, 2006 STC Meeting and other)
– Preparation for participation to ILO meetings
– Participation to ILO Meeting
– Reporting of ILO Meetings and post meeting activities
– Submission of IACS proposals for MLC, 2006 amendments
To : Shipbuilders
For over two decades, the annual Tripartite meeting has served as a unique and useful forum in which the shipbuilders, shipowners and classification societies can gather together to freely exchange information and ideas concerning the future development of ship design, building and operation.
During recent years, the disruption caused by the global pandemic has resulted in Tripartite meetings being held virtually which, while still productive, has not been as useful and informative as traditional sessions. We therefore greatly welcome the return of an in-person meeting of Tripartite in Tokyo this year and especially the opportunity to engage once more with the major ship-building nations of the world. In recognition of the value we place on input from the shipbuilding community, the agenda of Tripartite has been restructured to provide for a dedicated session on the shipbuilders outlook for the immediate future and it is also proposed that a high-level, private lunch be arranged between the principal representatives of our respective organisations and their member companies.
The challenges posed by decarbonisation and the novel fuels and technologies that will accompany that process, together with ongoing and increasing digitalization of vessels and the relentless pace of change in technology generally, means that collaboration across industry sectors is more vital than ever.
In this context, we very much hope that the shipbuilding community will be fully represented and engaged at this year’s Tripartite meeting in Tokyo so that full consideration can be given to the concerns of your sector in addressing our common goals.
From: BIMCO, IACS, ICS, INTERCARGO & INTERTANKO
