April 1983 - Maritime Reporter and Engineering News

ABS Publishes '83 Edition Of "Rules For Building And Classing Steel Vessels"

The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) recently published the 1983 edition of "Rules for Building and Classing Steel Vessels." The 912-page book is applicable to steel vessels of 200 feet (61 meters) and over in length.

The 1983 edition includes additional ABS requirements for steering gear which are consistent with internationally approved standards. Requirements for the thickness of inner bottom plating where cargo is handled by grabs have been changed. The new edition also covers nondestructive testing of tail shafts, to assure that the surface quality and internal soundness is satisfactory.

Thermomechanical - c o n t r o l l ed rolling processes, when approved, may be substituted for normalizing for structural steels. Conditions for the acceptance of plates produced from coils for hull, machinery, and pressure-vessel applications are specified.

Requirements have been changed so that an annual survey for classification may be carried out three months either way of the due date, as with the annual load line inspection and mandatory annual survey. The 1983 text also contains some tail shaft survey requirement changes to agree more closely with drydocking survey intervals. The drydocking survey examination intervals have been extended to 2Y> years.

The "Rules for Building and Classing Vessels" (English language edition) costs $34 in the U.S. For prices in other areas contact the ABS Book Order Section, 65 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10006, or local ABS offices.

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