Maritime Regulatory Framework

An introduction
• Load Line – The first international conference was held in 1930 in the UK but there had been
considerable activity both in the UK and elsewhere prior to then.

• Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) – The first international conference was held in 1914 in the UK. To
a certain extent this was driven by the “Titanic” disaster but, as with the load line conference, there
had been considerable work done on aspects of safety at sea prior to this. Two further conferences
were held in the UK in 1929 and 1948.

• MARPOL
Structure of the IMO
Ship Classification Society

In 1760, a group of underwriters who

frequented Lloyd’s coffee house and were
becoming concerned at the high number of
insurance claims being made for lost ships and
seamen, formed the Register Society.

The Society’s first Register of Ships was

printed in 1764

To give both underwriters and merchants an

idea of the condition of the vessels they
insured and chartered
• Bureau Veritas (BV) 1828

• Registro Italiano Navale (RINA) 1861

• American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) 1861

• Det Norske Veritas (DNV) 1864

• Germanische Lloyd (GL) 1867

THE CLASSIFICTION / STATUTORY LINK
• Four key International Conventions - main framework

• 1966 Load Line Convention.

• 1969 Tonnage Convention.

• 1973 Marine Pollution Convention as amended by the 1978 Protocol thereto,
and Amendments (known as MARPOL 73/78 and Amendments thereto).

• 1974 Safety of Life at Sea Convention and Amendments thereto (SOLAS '74).
• The SOLAS Convention and its amendments require that every
cargo ship of 500 tons gross and over engaged on international
voyages must have a Cargo Ship Safety Construction
Certificate (SAFCON Certificate) and all passenger ships
engaged on international voyages must have a Passenger Ship
Safety Certificate.
• This meant that ships had to be classed with a recognised
classification society
Change on the 1st July 1998
“In addition to the requirements contained elsewhere in
the (SOLAS) Regulations, ships shall be designed,
constructed and maintained in compliance with the
structural, mechanical and electrical requirements of a
classification society which is recognized by the
Administration in accordance with the provisions of
Chapter XI/1, or with applicable national standards of
the Administration which can provide an equivalent level
of safety.”
1966 International Load Line Convention
Strength and Intact Stability of Hull Ships
• A ship which is designed, constructed and maintained in
compliance with the appropriate requirements of an
organisation, including a classification society, which is
recognized by the Administration or with applicable
national standards of the Administration in accordance
with the provisions of regulation 2-1, may be considered
to provide an acceptable level of strength
The classification / statutory link
Class notations
— Main Class Notation.
— Ship type notations
— mandatory ship type notations
— optional ship type notations.
— Additional Class Notations
— mandatory additional notations
— optional additional notations
— Service area restriction.
Class notations
Class certificate
• The Society will issue a Class Certificate as proof of assignment
of Class.
• Class may be assigned with Conditions of Class
(A requirement that specific measures, Repairs or Surveys
shall be carried out within a specific time limit in order to
retain Class.)
 Flag State
Regulations International
Conventions &
Regulations
Coastal State
Regulations

Classification
The Marine Regulatory Framework Rules
An Overview
Port State
Controls

Chartering &
Vetting
Criteria

Safety & Quality

Management
Underwriting
Systems
Clauses

Operational Industry
Procedures Standards
Surveys
• Periodical surveys will belong to one of the following categories
according to the level of survey requirements:

• annual survey
• intermediate survey
• complete survey

• The survey required in conjunction with issuance of a new class

certificate is denoted:
• renewal survey
Surveys
The due date is the end of the time window for that survey.

The anniversary date is the day and the month given in the
certificate of class which corresponds to the expiry date of the
certificate.

The survey time window is the fixed period during which the
annual and intermediate surveys are to be carried out.
Annual survey schedule
• Due date in general corresponds to the
anniversary date of the class
assignment
• Survey - within a time window of three
(3) months on either side of the due
date

Intermediate survey schedule

• due date shall normally correspond to
the date 2.5 years after the expiry date
of the previous class certificate
• within a time window of nine (9)
months on either side of the due date
• Main class intermediate survey shall
be completed concurrently with the
second or third main class annual
survey in each period of the
classification certificate
• Complete surveys are denoted:
• complete survey (2.5 years), or
• complete survey (5 years), or
• complete survey (15 years).

• Complete survey schedule is as

follows:
• the due date corresponds to 2.5
years, 5 years or 15 years interval
• the survey shall normally be
carried out within a time window of
nine (9) months before and six (6)
months after the due date
• survey required to be concurrent
with the renewal survey shall be
completed no later than at the
completion of the renewal survey.
• Renewal survey schedule is
as follows:
• the due date is set at five (5)
years interval and
corresponds to the expiry
date of the classification
certificate

• the survey shall normally be

completed within a time
window of three (3) months
before the due date

• the survey may be

commenced at the fourth
annual survey or between the
fourth and fifth annual surveys