In March last year, the Russian Maritime Register was expelled from the body of elite class societies following Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.
While there is no sign the Russian class society will be welcomed back into the IACS fold anytime soon, Istanbul-headquartered Türk Loydu has been added to the membership today, albeit with some caveats.
The application process showed that some of the Türk Loydu classed fleet are not in full compliance with all IACS resolutions. In accordance with IACS’ membership criteria, these ships will also either become fully compliant within three years or will need to be 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.
Robert Ashdown, IACS secretary-general, stated: “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”
