Meeting of the Presidium of RS Scientific and Technical Council held in mid-December
Meeting of the Presidium of Scientific and Technical Council (STC) of Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) was held on December, 15, RS says in a press release.
The Scientific and Technical Council (STC) coordinates the RS research aimed at generation and implementation of high standards of safe navigation. The Council unites the RS specialists, leading scientists, representatives of scientific and design organizations, maritime educational institutions, shipping companies, shipyards, industrial enterprises, maritime administrations, ministries and departments. 14 specialised STC sections are constantly operated. Traditionally, in December the competent experts in marine industry take part in the meeting of the STC Presidium and sum up the results of the last year.
With the active participation of the Scientific and Technical Council the following practical results of the Register activity were obtained in 2016:
RS Rules were recognized to be in compliance with the Goal-Based Standards (GBS) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). An unanimous decision on the above matter was delivered by 96th session of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee. The Goal-Based Standards include a set of functional requirements for the ships throughout their service life - from designing to recycling. One of GBS key stages is conformity verification of the classification society rules against GBS functional requirements. An independent audit confirmed the RS ability to class modern oil tankers and bulk carriers, the contract for construction of which was concluded on 1 July, 2016 or after this date in full compliance with the provisions of the IMO Goal-Based Standards. Implementation of the Common Structural Rules for Tankers and Bulk Carriers, as well as development of applicable software were carried out in close cooperation with the STC members.
A package of measures related to the provisions of the IMO Polar Code, entering into force in January, 2017, is realized in the domestic practice. As early as the stage of the document development, the attention of the STC was focused at the technical aspects of applying the Code requirements to the RS-classed ships. To provide the customers with the recommendations on preparing the Instructions on Polar Water Operation, as specified in the Polar Code, the relevant scientific study has been carried out on the RS request, and the results thereof were discussed at the meetings of the STC specialised sections.
New distinguishing marks and descriptive notations were introduced in the RS class notation. New distinguishing marks allow to consider the operational peculiarities of a number of ships, the most popular at the market, specify the availability of specific arrangements and equipment on board the ships and, in total, raise the information value of the RS class notation for shipowners, shippers and insurance companies. Flexible changes in the RS normative base complying with the modern market of the classification services become possible due to cooperation with the customers, as well as within the frames of the Scientific and Technical Council activity: STC Presidium and sections consist not only of the leading scientists in the field of shipbuilding, but also the representatives of shipyards, design bureaus, shipping companies, i.e. the ultimate consumers of the RS services.
Participation in improvement of the international normative base. The most critical amendment in the normative base of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) are submitted for discussions in the STC sections. Thus, the above create the possibility to consider the interests of domestic shipbuilders and domestic scientific school while developing the international requirements. Other international organizations performing development and implementation of normative documents for the maritime industry are engaged in the similar cooperation. IMO, International Shipping Chamber, International Organization for Standardization, INTERCARGO, INTERTANKO, etc.
