RS Rules recommended as compliant with IMO GBS
In July 2015, RS received the final report of Goal-Based Standards verification audit which contained the recommendation to IMO to confirm the compliance of RS rules with IMO Goal-Based Standards (GBS).
According to the SOLAS Chapter II-1 Regulation 3-10, oil tankers and bulk carriers above 150 m in length and contracted for construction on or after 1 July 2016 are to be designed and constructed in accordance with the so-called IMO Goal-Based Standards so that they are safe and environmentally friendly during their service life subject to proper operation and maintenance. The GBS are a set of functional requirements for each stage of the ship’s life cycle starting from its design and up to safe recycling.
The national requirements of IMO Member States for the design and construction of these ship types as well as the requirements of organizations recognized by those States are subject to audit by IMO for compliance with the functional requirements of GBS. To verify compliance with the requirements IMO established international audit teams and the interested parties were to submit sets of required documents to the IMO Secretariat for audit. This work had to be completed in advance so that IMO could confirm compliance of national requirements and classification societies’ rules in May 2016 during the regular session of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee.
In 2012-2013, Russian Maritime Register of Shipping continuously updated and improved its normative documents to bring them in line with the functional requirements of IMO GBS in order to subsequently submit them to IMO for audit before the end of 2013.
RS application for GBS verification audit was sent to the IMO Secretariat on 18 December 2013 together with required supporting letter from the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation. The application contained the set of RS normative documents, in particular, Rules for the Classification and Construction of Sea-Going Ships, Rules for Technical Supervision of Ship Construction and Manufacture of Materials and Products for Ships as well as Rules for the Classification Surveys of Ships in Service.
The satisfactory outcome of the GBS verification audit carried out in April-December 2014 is a result of major efforts by RS experts aiming at bringing the Rules in compliance with GBS and its submission to IMO, and also a result of efficient rules development procedures within RS, which allows RS to maintain the quality of rules up-to-date.
