The Council of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) has unanimously adopted the common structural rules.

Terje Staalstrøm, head of DNV’s class policy, firmly believes the common rules represent a significant advance in standards.

"The agreement reached by the IACS Council is the culmination of a process which started almost five years ago," says Terje Staalstrøm, DNV's representative on the IACS Council.

"We’ve reached the goal we set - to raise the safety standard for all tankers and bulk carriers irrespective of the IACS member that is responsible for the classification,” says Staalstrøm.

The new rules, he says, represent the state of the art in structural reliability philosophy and applies the most modern methods and techniques developed by the industry.

“In the future, competition among classification societies will not be on safety,” remarks Staalstrøm, “but on how we assist customers to meet the new standards and add value to their business."