Press Release

25 December 2023

Tokyo – ClassNK has released amendments to its Rules and Guidance for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships dated 22 December 2023.

ClassNK is constantly revising its Rules and Guidance in order to reflect the latest results from relevant research and development projects, feedback from damage investigations, requests from industry as well as changes made to relevant international conventions, IACS Unified Requirements (UR), etc.

More specifically, some of the amendments made this time are as follows:

- Responding to requests from relevant industries, the expansion of usability range of piping manufactured in accordance with other standards such as Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS), and the addition of another design option applicable to pressure relief devices for refrigerant compressors.

- Responding to changes in international conventions, the revision of requirements related to GMDSS-related equipment, the incorporation of IACS Unified Interpretation (UI) for Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention including clarification of evaluation of operational CII, and the specification of the requirements for the installation of water level detectors and alarm systems on multiple-hold cargo ships.

- Responding to changes in international conventions and IACS UR, strengthening the requirements for internal inspections of ballast tanks, etc. on bulk carriers in line with the revised ESP Code (International Code for the Enhanced Inspection of Bulk Carriers and Oil Tankers) and revising the requirements for the design, selection, inspection, and maintenance of mooring equipment.

- The incorporation of the latest IACS UR into the existing requirements for each phase (i.e. design, construction, testing and maintenance) of the development and use of computer-based systems, and the establishment of a new part of the ClassNK Rules and Guidance as “Part X Computer-Based Systems”.

Detailed PDF files for the above-mentioned amendments are available to download via “Rule Amendments for Technical Rules” of My Page on ClassNK’s website after registration.
https://www.classnk.or.jp/account/en/Rules_Guidance/ssl/amendments.aspx