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24 Maritime Professional 4Q 2011Indian Register of ShippingOn other fronts, IRS has focused on getting authorizationfrom foreign flags to carry out statutory surveys on their behalf. In this way, IRS recently received approval from the UAE and Liberian authorities to do so after being duly audit- ed by their organization. ?We are also waiting to hear from the authorities of Marshall Islands,? adds Anand. ?Simultaneously, we have also approached other maritime countries in order to expand our services to flags of other administrations.? IRS: NOT JUST CLASSIFICATION; REAL EXPERTISEIRS also has two other divisions; specifically a Management System certification group and one whichinvolves Industrial services. The latter specializes in provid- ing third party inspection and project management services insectors including oil and gas, infrastructure, power, Petro- chemicals and general engineering. Nevertheless, fully 65 percent of the IRS revenue stream comes from the marine side. The company has served the Indian maritime industry in several ways seeking to provide self-reliance in matters of ship classification and developed rules for different types of ships. It has also developed rules jointly with the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. On the port side, IRS has framed rules formaterial handling, ISPS compliance for both the major andnon-major ports and has made Indian ports achieve self reliance in this regard. Anand steps aside at a special time for the Indian maritimesector. Having been instrumental in moving the country to self-reliance in the realm of ship classification and other mar- itime affairs, Anand on 1 September passed the baton to Arun Sharma, a Chief Engineer with extensive experience not only at sea on a variety of platforms, but also as someone who is firmly committed to the missions of IRS. Sharma inherits an organization that has been through much, overcome many hurdles and now, has established itself as a legitimate player in the world?s group of elite classification societies. That?s IRS in a nutshell: a fully recognized IACS classification soci- ety on a trajectory destined for still higher orbit.The AuthorJoseph Fonseca is a maritime and logistics journalist who also con- tributes to Maritimeprofessional.com. His knowledge in the areas ofFreight Forwarding and Shipping & Supply Chain Management allow him to write for many international and national periodicals. He is based in India.SCI Mumbai, an India Register of Shipping classified vessel.MP #4 (18-33):MP Layouts 11/8/2011 1:47 PM Page 24