IACS Council, meeting last week in London for its 88th session (C88), welcomed the significant progress being made by the Association to deliver measures to ensure the safe decarbonisation of the industry.
According to IACS’ statement, as the scale and pace of digitalisation within shipping continues to accelerate, IACS Council emphasised that implementing the many and varied benefits of digital solutions can also introduce new safety risks to the ship. To support industry in managing these changes safely, and recognising the multi-decadal nature of the challenge, C88 agreed to establish a new ‘Safe Digital Transformation Panel’ (SDTP).
Furthermore, IACS noted that work towards Unified Requirements (UR) in support of battery power, hydrogen and carbon capture is well advanced while a UR on Ammonia as a fuel will be published imminently.
Alongside IACS submissions to IMO, IACS is also meeting its commitment to working closely with flags and industry in the shared drive to decarbonise, most recently through the signing of a Letter of Intent with Singapore and the establishment of a joint industry working group on safe decarbonisation, as per their statement.
In combination with our efforts to embed Human Element considerations across the IACS work programme, we are now well positioned to quickly develop and publish common technical requirements necessary for the various alternative fuels and technologies and digital solutions that are being considered by the industry
… said Nick Brown, IACS Chair. C88 was also the last meeting under the tenure of Nick Brown (CEO LR), whose term as Chair of the Association finishes at the end of the year and who will handle over to Roberto Cazzulo (RINA) on 1 January 2024.
Bringing all IACS’ current digitalisation activities within a single forum allows for issues such as MASS, cyber safety, data management and exchange, and digital assurance, as well as their associated regulatory structures, to be taken forward in a holistic manner.
Elsewhere at C88, Council was advised that all IACS QSCS audits returned to pre-COVID levels in 2023 and also welcomed the substantial progress that the International Quality Review Body (IQARB) is making in achieving wider recognition at IMO while also expanding to non-IACS ROs and in allowing greater flag State participation.
C88 also noted IACS ongoing engagement with the IMO, both in its contribution to the committees (over 150 papers submitted in the last 24 months) as well as in support of the IMO Secretariat.
The IACS Council also met with a number of industry association representatives where useful exchanges were held on the implications of decarbonisation for seafarers and port operations, IACS’ plan for industry consultation on the evolution of common structural rules and the consequential impacts, the outcomes from Tripartite and IQARB.
A lot of work planned in the next couple of years within IACS will be about safe decarbonization and safe digitalization, contributing to the IMO strategy, not forgetting the human element and the role of surveyors and technical staff dealing with novel technologies.
… stated Incoming Chair, Roberto Cazzulo
Finally, C88 endorsed the election of the new General Policy Group Chair, Dr. Ajay Asok (ClassNK) who will take over from Li Zhiyuan (CCS) on 1 July 2024.
