Classification societies and Directive 94/57/EC: time for rethinking the unlimited liability issue?

Dr Michael Tsimplis, Senior Lecturer in Law and Ocean Sciences

From their inception, classification societies have served the shipping market in many ways, the best known of which is certainly the certification of the condition of seagoing vessels, mainly for insurance purposes. Within its traditional character, classification of ships was made against class rules developed by the societies themselves and based upon routine, annual and special surveys. Notwithstanding the weight of these certificates in the insurance market, they have never been considered to be conclusive evidence of the vessel’s seaworthiness (The Toledo [1995] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 40) but rather as supporting evidence to the owner’s due diligence in providing a seaworthy ship under the Hague and Hague-Visby Rules.