During its presence at Nor-Shipping 2019, the Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) is seeking growth opportunities in the European market. As of now, IRClass has won some business with ferry operators in the Greek market.
Having a strong presence in Asia and Middle East, after opening new offices the last two years in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Malaysia and Indonesia, IRClass is now planning to target Europe.
In fact, IRClass has received recognition from European Union in 2016 and has offices in the UK, Greece, the Netherlands and Turkey, along with representative offices in Malta, Cyprus and Bulgaria.
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Currently the classification society is focusing on ferries and small vessels and has already won some business with ferry operators in the Greek market.
IRClass is looking forward to exhibiting at Nor-Shipping this year as our company is already making in-roads into the European market with our high-quality professional services
Arun Sharma, Executive Chairman, noted.
IRClass’s MD, Suresh Sinha will also be giving a talk on ‘Sustainability in Shipping’, on 5th June, aiming to share perspectives on the IMO target of a 50% reduction in GHG emissions by 2050.
Earlier in the year, SAFETY4SEA Team met with Mr. Suresh Sinha, Managing Director, and Mr. S. Patil, Business Development, of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) to discuss about industry’s key challenges and their expansion plans in the Greek market.
When asked about IRClass performance in the Greek market so far, Mr. Sinha commented:
This is a new market for us. We opened our office in 2010 and we see a lot of potentials there, so we are currently trying to position ourselves and enhancing our focus in Greece. We have already presence in Europe, we have office in Malta, in Cyprus, we are present in Bulgaria, and we are also looking forward to open an office in Germany
He also referred to the imminent sulphur cap, which is ‘basically the main regulatory change that the shipping industry is facing today’, as he commented.
There are concerns about the availability of the compliant fuels, the pricing part is uncertain, there is also a concern about the compatibility of blended fuels. Switching over to the alternative fuels will be a long-term solution, but then it has its own challenges and cost implications
…he added while for scrubbers he noticed that they have their own regulatory and technical challenges.
Weighing by the present trend, not more than 10% of the ships will likely be using scrubbers. There are definitely some uncertainties
…Mr. Sinha commented with respect to scrubbers.
In addition, SAFETY4SEA also met with Arun Sharma, Executive Chairman, Indian Register of Shipping, during Sea Asia 2019. Mr Sharma explained that ‘there is no option but to operate a safe and low-emissions ship.’
