Consolidation ? the way forward?

The role of class is again under intense scrutiny, particularly in Europe, where pressure for ever-higher standards of shipping is the result of the Erika sinking.

Casualties and financial problems aside, Class faces major challenges as it attempts to make greater use of risk-based methodologies in the establishment and implementation of classification standards.

LR and other societies say they fully support the Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) approach, and consider that this approach will form the basis for future developments of rules and regulations aimed at improving safety and environmental performance.

Societies highlight the fact that FSA allows the incorporation into the rule development process of operability issues, the human factor, and also represents a good approach for dealing with technology.

Several IACS members, such as LR, say they recognise all too well that transfer of class remains a major issue. It should be incumbent on the receiving society to implement conditions of transfer of class fully, and not re-assign a vessel to a lower standard of safety, says LR, which feels confidence in Class will only be restored when port state detentions reduce and major incidents occur less frequently.

Other issues looming on the horizon include ensuring a smooth transition to the new system of harmonised survey and certification, and the on-going drive to improve safety and enhance environmental awareness ? a notable example of attention to environmental issues is DNV?s announcement in March that Royal Caribbean International?s Millennium class newbuildings are to be the first ships to bear its voluntary class notation ?Clean Design?.

The IMO?s Harmonised System of Survey and Certification (HSSC), covering international shipping regulations, came into force at the beginning of February, and brings SOLAS, MARPOL, and Load Lines survey cycles into alignment with the current SAFCON (safety construction) survey, the one exception to this being the Safety Management Certificate.

For the foreseeable future risk-based methodology is likely to supplement, rather than replace, prescriptive rule making, and the speed at which risk-based rule making is implemented will vary significantly. As ABS points out, in some cases, it requires considerable data related to specific performance history, and new methods of acquiring and analysing performance data are only now becoming available.

Consideration of human factors is also an integral part of risk assessment, and most societies agree that considerably more research will also be needed in this area.