CLASSIFICATION SOCIETIES In the shipping industry, classification societies are non-governmental organizations or groups of professionals, ship surveyors and

representatives of offices that promote the safety and protection of the environment of ships and offshore structures. This is achieved by setting technical rules, confirming that designs and calculations meet these rules, surveying ships and structures during the process of construction and commissioning, and periodically surveying vessels to ensure that they continue to meet the rules. The first classification society was Lloyd's Register which originated from the famous 17th century coffee house in London frequented by merchants, marine underwriters, and others, all connected with shipping. Today there are a number of classification societies, the "big three" being Lloyd's Register, Det Norske Veritas and American Bureau of Shipping. Classification societies employ or comprise ship surveyors, engine surveyors, steel testing surveyors, forging inspectors, and electrical engineers, usually located at ports around the world. Marine vessels and structures are classified according to the soundness of their structure and design for the purpose of the vessel. The classification rules are designed to ensure an acceptable degree of stability, safety, environmental impact, etc. All nations require that ships and other marine structures flying their flag meet certain standards; in most cases these standards are deemed to be met if the ship has the relevant certificate from a member of the International Association of Classification Societies or another approved classification society. In particular, classification societies may be authorized to inspect ships and other structures and issue certificates on behalf of the state under whose flag the ships are registered. There are more than 50 marine classification organizations worldwide. International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) based in London, UK represents 10 of the most famous societies. IACS was formed by seven leading societies on 11 September 1968. Current members are ABS, BV, CCS, DNV, GL, KR, LR, NK, RINA and RS. IACS was given consultative status with International Maritime Organization (IMO), and remains the only non-governmental organization with observer status which is able to develop and apply rules. The status of the standards developed by member societies was enshrined in the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). CLASSIFICATION SOCIETIES Members ABS American Bureau of Shipping, headquarters in Houston, Texas, USA BV Bureau Veritas, headquarters in Paris, France. CCS China Classification Society, headquarters in Beijing, China DNV Det Norske Veritas, headquarters in Oslo, Norway GL Germanischer Lloyd headquarters in Berlin, Germany KR Korean Register of Shipping, headquarters in Daejeon, Republic of Korea LR Lloyd's Register headquarters in London, U.K. NK Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), headquarters in Tokyo, Japan RINA Registro Italiano Navale headquarters in Genoa, Italy RS Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, headquarters in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation Associates CRS Hrvatski Registar Brodova (Croatian Register of Shipping), headquarters in Split, Republic of Croatia IRS Indian Register of Shipping headquarters in Mumbai, India

EXERCISE Fill in the missing information and make up a sentence for each nationality after the following model: Our third deck mate is a Frenchman. He comes from France. He is French and he speaks only French. Choose from the following positions in the crew list: 2nd mate, 1st mate, Chief mate, Master, Chief engineer 1st engineer, 2nd engineer, 3rd engineer, Electrician, Bosun, OS, AB, Steward, Cook, Wiper, Oilman, Fitter Superintendent, Agent, Owners, Charterers, Shippers, Receivers Country United States of America France China Croatia Norway Germany Greece India Korea United Kingdom Japan Poland Russia Portugal Italy People An American A Frenchman A Croat Language American French Adjective

A Scot A Finn A Swede A Dane A Turk A Spaniard Iraq Pakistan Israel Philippines Holland Czechoslovakia England The Isle of Man Saudi Arabia Congo Peru Swiss Czech