The Skuld P&I Club – Liability of Classification Societies
Classification Societies play an important role in maritime business Classification Societies play an important role in many respects of maritime business. For all intents and purposes, it is impossible for a vessel to operate and trade without being classed and certified by a classification society. Both port and flag states rely on classification and in some respects statutory certification has been delegated to these societies.Many parties will therefore have an interest in knowing that the vessel is classed : apart from port and flag states this include insurers (both Hull and P&I), charterers etc.. To take SKULD as an example, the SKULD Rule 28.4.1 that requires an entered vessel to remain fully classed with a classification society approved by the club and 28.4.2 which require that the vessels classification society is not changed without the clubs prior consent.According to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) there are at present more than 50 organisations worldwide that offer marine classification but only 13 are approved by the EU. EMSA carried out an assessment of the approved classification societies every second year (http://www.emsa.europa.eu/implementation-tasks/visits-and-inspections/assessment-of-classification-societies.html).With a fairly large number of parties, both private and public, relying (in one way or another) on the work of ...
Read moreDetails