ONBOARD Magazine autumn 2023

RECRUIT
Do you have class?
Chloe Collet of YPI Crew looks at the meaning of “Class”
and the role of classification societies
The maritime sector is an internationally regulated industry
with its own set of defined rules and regulations. These
rules have been developed over time and are constantly
revised and completed with new legislation in response to new
trends or world-wide environmental and/or social concerns. As a
professional in the yachting industry, you may have come across
the phrase “this yacht is out of Class” or “the yacht is undergoing
a class survey or inspection”. Have you ever questioned what
does this word “Class” relate to?
The term class makes reference to the maritime classification
societies. Classification societies are following the terms of the
European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA):“organisations which
develop and apply technical standards
for the design, construction and
survey of ships and which carry out
surveys and inspection on board ships”.
There are more than 50 classification
societies worldwide that define their
activities as providing some form of
marine classification services with
varying states of recognition from
country to country. In the European
Union for example there are only 11
recognised Classification societies. Class societies employ a
very wide array of specialised staff; naval architects and marine
engineers who may be experts not only in mechanics but also in
piping, electricity or materials and, of course, marine surveyors.
Classification societies have been in existence for over 260 years
and their creation can be dated back to the 1750s when marine
insurance underwriters and merchants based at Edward Lloyds
coffee house in London developed a system for the independent
technical assessment of the ships presented to them for insurance
cover. Following their informal meeting, a committee was born in
1760 and the earliest existing result of this initiative was the
birth of the Lloyds Register Book. The original purpose was thus
to evaluate insurance risk and not the safety or seaworthiness
of the ship as it has developed over time.
The original purpose was
thus to evaluate insurance
risk and not the safety or
seaworthiness of the ship
The Lloyds Register Book, after resolving a dispute with a rival
shipping register in 1834, united and the Lloyd’s Register of
British and Foreign Shipping was formed, today simply referred
to as Lloyds Register (LR). Rules for construction and survey
were published that same year.
In the early survey days the societies’ aim was to classify the
condition of each ship on an annual basis using the letters A,
E, I, O or U in relation to the quality of the construction and its
determined continued state of soundness or absence thereof. The
ships equipment was also classified as G – Good, M – Middling or
B – Bad. Over the years the letters G, M and B were replaced by
numbers, 1,2, and 3. The numbering system was subsequently
modified to A1 giving rise to the wellknown
term A1 or first or highest class.
It must be noted that in today’s
modern world a ship either meets
the relevant Class Society Rules or
does not with the consequence that
it is either “in” or “out” of “class”.
With the increase in international
marine trade and the development of
steam ships, vessels built in iron and steel instead of wood, the
necessity for classification became apparent and classification
societies were established in other major maritime nations. For
example, the French Bureau Veritas (BV) founded in 1828, the
Italian RINA (previously Registro Italiano Navale) in 1861 and the
American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) in 1862 who are all familiar
names within the yachting industry.
Classification societies have been recognised by the International
Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) as well as the
1988 Protocol to the International Convention on Load Lines
and thus continue to play a vital role within our growing yachting
industry.
Time now to check if you have class!
ONBOARD | AUTUMN 2023 | 233