The Hindu Business Line : 6 global marine surveyors dropped from Govt work list

The Government decision to terminate the authority granted to six international marine survey organisations to undertake statutory survey of Indian ships has irked domestic shipping companies.

The Directorate General of Shipping has served a three-month notice terminating the permission granted to Lloyd Register, Bureau of American Shipping, Bureau Veritas, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, Det Norske Veritas and Germanischer Lloyd.

Indian shipping lines fear that the move will affect their operations as they will now have to depend solely on Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), which they feel, does not have the capacity and reach to handle all Indian ships.

The Indian National Shipowners Association, whose members own around 90 per cent of the nine million GRT Indian shipping tonnage, has appealed to the Government to reinstate all the six international organisations.

In shipping parlance, marine survey organisations are known as classification societies who undertake safety inspection of ships and provide seaworthiness certificates.

The six which are terminated are leading international classification societies and are members of a closed club —International Associations of Classifications Societies (IACS).

The termination notice issued on April 30, 2008, stated that “….the Government is satisfied that the Indian Register of Shipping is in a position to undertake the entire survey requirements of the Government of India.”

Following the shortage of surveyors with Mercantile Marine Department, the Government had given the authority to IRS and six international classifications societies to do statutory survey of Indian ships.

Shortage of surveyors

IRS, Indian shipping lines say, have offices only in six countries other than India, and this would limit its capability to handle all Indian ships, a large number of them are engaged in cross trading.

IRS, currently an associate member of International Association of Classification Societies, has been trying for a full membership. Despite industry level lobbying and government recommendations, IACS refused to admit IRS as a full member.

The decision to terminate the services of leading members of IACS is seen as a move to support and empower IRS, — which has been trying to expand its global reach — to gain full membership in IACS. However, IRS does not enjoy the full support of the Indian industry. In a letter sent to the Director-General of Shipping, Indian National Shipowners Association said: “ The present IRS-set up, while suitable to meet the current scope of work undertaken by them, may prove woefully inadequate both in terms of competence and capability to handle growing Indian tonnage, now engaged in worldwide trading.”

IRS dos not have offices in Europe, Australia, America or Africa which are frequented by Indian vessels,” the letter said.

However, s senior official of IRS said the Indian Registry of Shipping is currently handling about 80 per cent of the government’s statutory survey work and only 20 per cent is done by the foreign surveyors.