»Cementing an ever closer relationship«

Classification association IACS, now in its 25th year, thinks to be very well positioned

said to have, appear clearly.
Sun Licheng, Chairman and President of China Classification Society (CCS) takes the helm of IACS from Christopher J. Wiernicki, President[ds_preview] and CEO of The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). The 58 years old Chinese manager holds a doctor’s degree and brings in vast experience in the maritime industry. »I am delighted to take on the IACS chairmanship and am fully committed to ensuring the association continues to make strong progress in these challenging times«, he said after his appointment during the last council session in Washington.

For his chairmanship he identified several key tasks: »Meeting our commitments to the IMO on Goal Based Standards (GBS), developing innovative survey techniques, developing concrete outcomes on cyber safety and cementing an ever closer-relationship with IMO. He plans to present further details on his strategic focus for the coming year at the beginning of September.

In his opinion, having the IACS members’ rules recognized as conform with GBS as well as the establishment of a Cyber Panel and the promoting of its Quality System Certification Scheme (QSCS) are the key achievements of the past twelve months.

»IACS greatly values its role as the IMO’s principal technical advisor and engages consistently and actively in that forum both during meetings and through the submission of IACS papers across almost the full range of the IMO’s agenda«, Sun Licheng said. »Aside from substantive issues at IMO, IACS also participates in the IMO’s efforts to ensure it remains focused on its core mission and to discharging its role as the principal maritime regulator in an as efficient and effective manner as possible«, he added. In that context, his association had made significant contributions to the ongoing initiatives on future trends, developments and challenges. On the question of contribution of its members, his diplomatic skills appear: »IACS works on a basis of equal participation and contribution and all members respond positively to that requirement.«

In this 25th anniversary year of the IACS Quality System Certification Scheme (QSCS), the IACS Council welcomed the fact that the global Port State Control performance of IACS members has steadily improved in a climate of increased ship inspections. Nine out of the twelve members were ranked »high« with DNV GL leading the ranking in the recently published performance table of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding. Only the Croatian, the Polish and the Indian Register were ranked »medium«. Overall the Paris MoU recorded a small shift in performance in 2015 compared with the previous year: »There have been fewer organisations placed in the »very low« (International Register of Shipping) and »low« (Universal Shipping Bureau) performing parts of the list.« Nevertheless, Sun Licheng is aware of the need for further efforts: »IACS Members are continuously looking for ways to better serve the maritime industry in a manner that is professional, efficient and responsive while maintaining full independence and total commitment to safer ships and cleaner seas. Leveraging new technological advances into the survey regime is one area where IACS will look to make significant progress over the next year.«

Commenting on his predecessor’s contribution, he stated: »Following Chris’ strong leadership, IACS is well positioned to continue working with regulators and the industry on the critical issues of today and tomorrow and I will be working hard to further strengthen these relationships.« The President and CEO of ABS emphasized that Sun Licheng would »enjoy the outstanding support of the IACS Permanent Secretariat who work tirelessly to deliver the IACS’ members’ objectives of delivering safer ships on cleaner oceans.« At the end of his chairmanship he thanked fellow members for their support during his time in office. »Working together, we have achieved a number of highly ambitious goals and made considerable progress for IACS to deliver significant technical advisory achievements including the establishment of the Cyber Systems Panel, the IMO recognition that IACS’ members’ rules comply with goal-based standards, and the groundwork development for enhanced collaboration between IACS and the IMO.«