Register says that societies will have to translate IMO standards into rules and their own solutions.

THE future of classification should be seen in the perspective of the International Maritime Organization-developed goal-based standards, according to Jan Jankowski, president of the Polish Register of Shipping board.

“These will totally transform the present state of safety assurance at sea and raise it to a higher and internationally defined level,” he said. “As for all classification societies, the biggest challenge is to find the right place in the maritime safety chain in view of the evolving safety system presently under development in IMO where safety standards (GBS) are established in intergovernmental co-operation in IMO and not directly by individual or associated class societies.

“Class societies will have to translate IMO standards into rules and own solutions, against which surveys will be carried out.”

The register, not a member of IACS, has a classed fleet of seagoing ships totalling 2.11m gt, together with 1,547 inland waterway vessels and docks, 316 seagoing yachts and 3,054 motorboats. So far this year, there have been 10 major newbuildings commissioned, launched or under construction to PRS class, including bulk carriers, multi-purpose vessels, lake vessels, advanced technology tugs and patrol boats.

The register is at present supervising several series of ships in Chinese shipyards — including three types of bulk carriers of 30,000 dwt, 38,000 dwt and 80,000 dwt being built to dual class with either Lloyd’s Register or Det Norske Veritas. Next year, work is due to start on eight more bulkers of 16,000 dwt. In addition, three 30,000 dwt multi-purpose vessels are being built to PRS (single) class at the Dalian Shipyard in China.

Recently, PRS has started providing various risk management and assessment, risk-based inspection and risk/reliability centred maintenance services to onshore and offshore industry such as oil and gas drilling, processing and transfer operators.

It has also moved into analysing measurements of electricity quality, which can help to increase ships’ operational reliability and eliminate disturbances leading to the failure of various devices. “Electric power distortions have a significant impact on the power networks and may contribute to more rapid wear of the equipment,” said Dr Jankowski. “These distortions often cause networks to overheat and problems in electrical installation.”

Investors operating in the maritime industry are showing a growing interest in electric propulsion for ships, he said.

A prototype solar water tram, with solar panels and batteries as the basic propulsion power source, was constructed to PRS rules for Bydgoszcz Municipal Transport Co.

● The register, the Polish Shipowners’ Association and the Maritime Office Gdynia organised a symposium in Gdansk last month for maritime administrations and shipowners from around the Baltic to discuss problems for Baltic shipping. This included a presentation by PRS and Gdansk University on the problem of ro-ro passengership survivability in damaged condition.

Lloyd's List, 6 May 2009