Ship classification society

A ship classification society or ship classification organisation is a non-governmental organization that establishes and maintains technical standards for the construction and operation of ships and offshore structures. Classification societies certify that the construction of a vessel complies with relevant standards and carry out regular surveys in service to ensure continuing compliance with the standards. Currently, more than 50 organizations describe their activities as including marine classification, twelve of which are members of the International Association of Classification Societies.

A classification certificate issued by a classification society recognised by the proposed ship register is required for a ship's owner to be able to register the ship and to obtain marine insurance on the ship, and may be required to be produced before a ship's entry into some ports or waterways, and may be of interest to charterers and potential buyers. To avoid liability, classification societies explicitly disclaim responsibility for the safety, fitness for purpose, or seaworthiness of the ship, but is a verification only that the vessel is in compliance with the classification standards of the society issuing the classification certificate.

Classification societies also issue International Load Line Certificates in accordance with the legislation of participating states giving effect to the International Convention on Load Lines (CLL 66/88). When the classification societies are issuing certification on behalf of maritime administrations are called recognized organizations and recognized security organizations when they issue certification for International Ship and Port Facility Security Code. When the act on behalf of International Maritime Organization member states they have to comply with the RO code. The RO Code provides flag States with a standard that will assist in achieving harmonized and consistent global implementation of requirements established by the instrument of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for the assessment and authorization of recognized organizations (ROs)

Classification societies set technical rules based on experience and research, confirm that designs and calculations meet these rules, survey ships and structures during the process of construction and commissioning, and periodically survey vessels to ensure that they continue to meet the rules. Classification societies are also responsible for classing oil platforms, other offshore structures, and submarines. This survey process covers diesel engines, important shipboard pumps and other vital machinery. Since the 1950s, the USSR (now Russian) Register of Shipping has classified nuclear ships, the only classification society to do so.

Classification surveyors inspect ships to make sure that the ship, its components and machinery are built and maintained according to the standards required for their class.

In the second half of the 18th century, London merchants, shipowners, and captains often gathered at Edward Lloyd's coffee house to gossip and make deals including sharing the risks and rewards of individual voyages. This became known as underwriting after the practice of signing one's name to the bottom of a document pledging to make good a portion of the losses if the ship didn't make it in return for a portion of the profits. It did not take long to realize that the underwriters needed a way of assessing the quality of the ships that they were being asked to insure. In 1760, the Register Society was formed — the first classification society and the one which would subsequently become Lloyd's Register — to publish an annual register of ships. This publication attempted to classify the condition of the ship's hull and equipment. At that time, an attempt was made to classify the condition of each ship on an annual basis. The condition of the hull was classified A, E, I, O or U, according to the state of its construction and its adjudged continuing soundness (or lack thereof). Equipment was G, M, or B: simply, good, middling or bad. In time, G, M and B were replaced by 1, 2 and 3, which is the origin of the well-known expression 'A1', meaning 'first or highest class'. The purpose of this system was not to assess safety, fitness for purpose or seaworthiness of the ship. It was to evaluate risk.

Samuel Plimsoll pointed out the obvious downside of insurance:

The first edition of the Register of Ships was published by Lloyd's Register in 1764 and was for use in the years 1764 to 1766.