The 96th session of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), held in London, May 11-20 2016, has confirmed the ship construction rules for bulk carriers and oil tankers submitted by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) are in conformity to the goal-based standards set by IMO, the RS said Thursday.
The goal-based standards amendments in SOLAS regulation II-1/3-10 were adopted in 2010 and entered into force in 2012, with a date of 1 July 2016 set for application to new oil tankers and bulk carriers of 150 m in length and above, for which the building contract is placed on or after 1 July 2016, satisfy applicable structural requirements conforming to the functional requirements of the International Goal-based Ship Construction Standards for Bulk Carriers and Oil Tankers (GBS Standards) (resolution MSC.287(87)).
The standards include a set of functional requirements for ships and cover the entire life cycle, from the initial design to decommissioning.
An important element of the verification process has been to confirm that the classification societies’ rules and regulations do indeed ensure that the functional requirements included in the goals, and therefore the goals themselves, will be met.
RS submitted all the necessary documents and materials to the IMO Secretariat. In 2014 a team of independent experts nominated by IMO Member States carried out the audit of RS ship construction rules. IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) was given the recommendation to confirm the ship construction rules of RS conform to IMO GBS.
Now, RS is authorized to class new oil tankers and bulk carriers for which the building contract is placed on or after 1 July 2016