IRClass Wins ERS Contract for 33 SCI Ships

Ship classification society Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) has secured a five-year contract from India’s largest shipping company, The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), to undertake emergency response service (ERS) for 33 vessels.

The contract, effective from the end of February 2019, will cover oil tankers, bulk carriers and containerships.

According to IRClass, the ERS is aimed at providing technical support by way of an assessment of the damage stability as well as longitudinal strength of any vessel involved in a major incident such as grounding, collision or fire.

Issues potentially arising from such incidents include excessive trim/heel, loss of stability, progressive flooding, structural impairment, etc.

On alerting the relevant communication channel, IRClass team starts to recreate the status of the vessel, by using a pre-developed 3D hull model and applying the data received from the vessel.

As explained by the classification society, the reliability of the service is established by way of mock drills conducted periodically.

SCI currently has a fleet of 63 vessels comprising tankers, bulkers, boxships and offshore supply vessels, according to the company’s website. The fleet has a total market value of more than USD 1 billion, VesselsValue’s data shows.