The 75th session of the IACS Council (C75) held in Beijing last week once again made substantial progress on a range of issues. These included initiating a review to ensure that IACS Resolutions are fully adapted to handle the future development of ships with increased automation and connectivity and aligning the IACS strategic plan for the next five years to complement the vision and strategic directions of the IMO. Further, IACS continues developing an oversight programme that enables Administrations to oversee their Recognised Organisations in a robust and efficient manner. Set against the background of the decreasing trend in Port State Control detentions, the IACS Council was also pleased to confirm that all IACS Members had once more successfully completed their periodic membership review that ensures their ongoing membership of the Association.
C75 also marked the conclusion of CCS’ Chairmanship of IACS. Reflecting on his year in office, Dr Sun, stated ‘It has been a landmark year for IACS; collectively the IACS members have accomplished a range of initiatives including signing an historic Memorandum of Agreement with the IMO, achieving full GBS compliance at MSC 98, promoting work on cyber safety and innovative survey techniques and further strengthening relationships with regulators and industry.’
The IACS Chairmanship passes on 1 July ‘17 to Mr Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO Maritime, DNVGL. Addressing the IACS Council, Ørbeck-Nilssen highlighted his priorities for his Chairmanship which will be to further improve IACS quality systems and the assessment of IACS Members against those standards, to modernising Class in anticipation of the developments posed by digitalization and new technologies and to deepening IACS’ ongoing commitment to transparency in line with the expectations of our stakeholders and society at large. Having thanked Dr Sun for his dedicated leadership of IACS, Ørbeck-Nilssen went on ‘I look forward to the challenge of chairing IACS during this time of rapid technological change and digitalisation. The current tectonic shifts in markets, regulations and technology make it crucial that IACS retains its position as a key player in this evolving landscape with high standards of performance and quality.’
Immediately following C75, IACS hosted a high-level workshop on International Maritime Strategy attended by senior representatives from the IMO, Flag States, shipbuilders and shipowners where the future IMO strategy was discussed along with the role of Class and IACS in supporting its successful delivery. Closing the workshop Dr Sun stressed the need for ongoing dialogue and cooperation between all partners and concluded ‘Looking forward, I believe Mr. Ørbeck-Nilssen will lead IACS to future success and deliver on our common goal of safer ships on cleaner oceans.’
Ends
Contact: Robert Ashdown, IACS Secretary General
E: robertashdown@iacs.org.uk T: +44 (0) 20 7976 0660
International Association of Classification Societies
Permanent Secretariat 6th Floor 36 Broadway London SW1H 0BH UK
T: +44 (0)20 7976 0660 www.iacs.org.uk
Notes to Editors:
- Dedicated to safe ships and clean seas, the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) makes a unique contribution to maritime safety and regulation through technical support, compliance verification and research and development. More than 90% of the world’s cargo carrying tonnage is covered by the classification design, construction and through-life compliance Rules and standards set by the twelve Member Societies of IACS.
- More information about IACS can be found by visiting iacs.org.uk and in our Annual Review available online at http://www.iacs.org.uk/about/iacs-annual-review-2016/
- Photographs of Mr Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen and Dr Licheng Sun are attached to the covering email along with a resume for Mr Ørbeck-Nilssen.