Class Societies: The Inspectors of the Sea

Class societies are not perfect, but they are absolutely necessary. We need organizations to provide quality assurance on ships, whose primary motivation lies solely in the quality of the ship, and not with national interests. Despite this necessity, a class society works best when we remember that they are not perfect. Everyone has their bias, and when we balance these biases, we create a fine seaworthy ship.
View more tips and helpful articles at www.dmsonline.us/
References
[1] M. Stopford, Maritime Economics, New York, NY: Taylor & Francis, 2009.
[2] T. L. Y. Lam-Bee GOH, "A Way Forward for Ship Classification and Technical Services," The Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 051-075, April 2014.
[3] Lloyds List, "The Classification Societies Top 10," Lloyds List, Dec 2015. [Online]. Available: icsclass.org/wp-content/uploa.... [Accessed 26 Nov 2020].
[4] Office of Comercial Vessel Compliance, "List of Class Society Authorizations," United States Coast Guard, 14 Sep 2020. [Online]. Available: www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DC.... [Accessed 26 Nov 2020].
[5] Nonprofit Explorer, Research Tax-Exempt Organizations, "Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax," Propublica, 31 Dec 2018. [Online]. Available: projects.propublica.org/nonpr.... [Accessed 26 Nov 2020].
[6] Wikipedia Authors, "HMAS Derwent (DE 49) QF 4.5-inch Mk I - V naval gun, Rockingham Naval Memorial Park, March 2020 06," Wikimedia Commons, 14 Mar 2020. [Online]. Available: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi.... [Accessed 1 Dec 2020].
[7] United States Department of State, "Law of the Sea Convention," US Department of State, 7 Mar 2019. [Online]. Available: www.state.gov/law-of-the-sea-.... [Accessed 1 Dec 2020].
[8] Wikipedia Authors, "Money-1428594 1920.jpg," Wikimedia Commons, 23 Jun 2012. [Online]. Available: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi.... [Accessed 01 Dec 2020].

[@AndieBlack13]

"Flags of convenience" are the bane of humane & civilized behaviour aboard vessels...

[@DanielMakaiBlanchard]

Great video, thanks Nick! I really appreciate you contributions to Maritime education online! If you're ever out in the PNW I'd love to give you a tour of Seattle Maritime Academy and brainstorm about creating cool hands-on stability training exercises for college and high school students.

[@vinsbalancio9986]

I belong to Class society, and I totally agreed with you. We are NOT perfect! We simply decide with in the limits of Class Rule and Flag administration interpretations.

[@zqtech.5421]

Good one.....

[@TonyOlsenFerris]

Thank you for this video. :-) How much, if any, does this apply to vessels that remain outside the EEZ (200+ nautical miles) permanently, like certain oil platforms?

[@DatawaveMarineSolutions]

The class societies specifically have rules for offshore structures, so it definitely applies. There may be some alternatives to class societies, based on your country's national laws. But I'm almost certain that a class society would be required for offshore structures outside the EEZ.

[@EdmundRobinson]

Hi Nick, Hoping you are still planning a comparison of Atlantic proa, Pacific proa, and HarryProa type boats.

[@k9killer221]

Where the springs fly out of the watch mechanism is when you come up with a totally novel design. Like a carbon fibre, hybrid diesel-electric trimaran with lots of batteries. Watch the classification societies meltdown, because they usually just base their "review" on the same type of vessel as yours that they have done previously.

[@governmentisslavery]

Seems like a good example of a private solution being better than government regulations. While not as clear cut as a government dictate, it seems to serve the industry and individuals much better than any government would.