Class society Türk Loydu has finally obtained membership at the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), after a successful verification of their compliance with the IACS membership criteria.
According to a statement from the IACS on Wednesday, the Istanbul-based classification society joined with immediate effect following a “thorough and robust application process”.
As it is reported, this process provides IACS with assurance that the entire Türk Loydu fleet is in full compliance with all IACS Resolutions, with the exception of some ships that are readily identifiable on the Türk Loydu website.
In accordance with IACS’ Membership criteria, these ships will also either become fully compliant within 3 years or will need to de-classified by Türk Loydu after that period.
During this time, Türk Loydu ’s status will be that of a non-voting member of IACS but meeting the same minimum quality standards and with equal rights of participation in all IACS working groups.
“Türk Loydu ’s achievement in meeting the performance levels required of IACS members marks a further improvement in maritime safety by bringing their classed ships under the oversight of IACS’ rigorous QSCS regime,” IACS said in its release.
In order to gain membership at IACS, a range of qualitative criteria should be met, including compliance with the industry’s gold-standard, quality system certification scheme (QSCS).
Meeting this standard requires independent, external accreditation, vertical contract audits of a number of ships both in service and under construction, as well as head office and survey location audits.
Applicants also need to demonstrate conformity with the functional requirements of the IMO’s Goal-based “Ship Construction Standards for Bulk Carriers and Oil Tankers,” as well as a range of other criteria related to their ability to provide classification and statutory services and to support the full range of IACS’ activities.
Nick Brown, IACS chair, welcomed Türk Loydu saying: “I am pleased to see that Türk Loydu’s long-standing commitment to reaching the standards required of IACS Members has enabled them to join the Association. I look forward to working with our new member as we address, collectively, the many challenges that face a maritime industry transitioning to new fuels, technologies and digital applications.”
Robert Ashdown, IACS secretary general, noted: “I congratulate Türk Loydu on their achievement in becoming an IACS Member and thank their management and staff for the excellent cooperation displayed during the intensive application process. Türk Loydu’s success demonstrates that IACS’ challenging but achievable Membership Criteria provide a catalyst for improving the quality of class societies and the consequent enhancement of maritime safety.”
