Page 63: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2019)

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CLASSIFICATION to provide a framework of cooperation and understanding to further facilitate collabora- tion towards ensuring the considered develop- ment, adoption and uniform implementation of IMO treaties, guidelines, codes and regu- lations. Expanding class society’s veri? cation ? elds into the new and emerging areas of data quality assurance and sensor equipped sys- tems is also an important aspect. Class needs to be involved in the validation of new emerg- ing technologies and the certi? cation of new age vessels.

The human element is important and IACS needs to help the industry upskill and reskill its workforce to prepare it for the ever more sophisticated technological advancements in onboard equipment.

After all, a ship is only as safe as the sail- ors onboard. As the majority of shipping ac- cidents can be attributed to human error, it is imperative that our crew are trained on the technology that they will be using onboard, otherwise they will ? nd it increasingly dif? - cult to keep up.

Crew welfare is a major issue in the indus- try. IACS can reinforce the fact that to main- tain good mental health, crew need to have proper rest periods, eat healthy, take plenty of exercise and ideally have easy internet access to stay connected.

IACS also supports the IMO’s work on the regulation of emerging technologies such as digitalisation and automation while helping to adapt or remove impediments that hinder technical advances.

We are committed to review IACS member- ship criteria, quality systems and performance measurement with the goal of maintaining

IACS as a badge of quality which will con- tinue to be respected throughout the maritime industry.

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