During its biannual meeting in London, last December, the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) focused on Quality issues. An agreement was reached to revise IACS internal benchmarking criteria for existing members, as well as an initiative to investigate the practical implementation of QSCS.
Reviewing Quality issues, C76 agreed four key Focus Areas for the ACB audits of IACS members in 2018:
- The ISM Code,
- Conditions of Class/Recommendations,
- Risk Management,
- Training & Competence.
Speaking in the meeting, IACS Chairman Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen said: “In this successful Council meeting, IACS members have once again demonstrated a clear commitment to the key values that drive IACS activities: Quality, Transparency, Technical Knowledge and Leadership. By agreeing to a series of concrete actions that build on these values, IACS once again reaffirms its centrality to the maritime industry and the added value it provides.”
The IACS Council also endorsed transparency, agreeing to include in the Annual Report the provision of key industry statistics and creating new procedures for the proactive distribution to industry partners and interested stakeholders of IACS Resolutions.
As far as modernising Class is concerned, good progress was made regarding the review of IACS Resolutions, in order to identify areas for revision that will enhance the development and implementation of new technologies, such as ship autonomy.
After the end of Council 76, IACS hosted its traditional high-level meeting with industry.
In this meeting topics regarding low sulphur fuels in preparation for the 2020 sulphur cap, cyber safety, and further industry collaboration ahead of the initiatives agreed at Tripartite earlier this year, were discussed.
