The role and liability of classification societies

Nakon kratkog pregleda tradicionalne i proširene uloge klasifikacijskih društava u sigurnosti pomorske plovidbe, autorica navodi razloge koji su doveli do toga da relativno velik broj brodova ne odgovara međunarodnim standardima, premda su kontrole brodova sve češće i sveobuhvatnije. Odgovornost za takvo stanje snose vlasnici brodova, države čiju zastavu brodovi viju, ali i klasifikacijska društva. Ona su, svjesna te svoje uloge i odgovornosti, u nekoliko zadnjih godina poduzela značajne mjere na poboljšanju kvalitete vlastitih usluga, pa time i kontrole brodova. Pitanje odgovornosti klasifikacijskih društava raspravlja se u zainteresiranim pomorskim krugovima u okviru Međunarodnog pomorskog odbora (CMI). Nekoliko novijih sudskih presuda oslobodilo je klasifikacijska društva odgovornosti za posljedice nemarnosti pri pregledu brodova. Takav je stav sudova naišao i na kritike, što potvrđuje potrebu reguliranja odgovornosti klasifikacijskih društava.After a short overview of the traditional and enlarged role of classification societies in respect to navigation safety, the author comments on the reasons why a considerable number of ships does not comply with international standards, despite the fact that ships are becoming ever more thouroughly and frequently inspected. Not only shipowners and flag States, but also classification societies themselves are responsible for this situation. In the last few years classification societies have undertaken significant measures to enhance the quality of their services thus raising the quality of ship inspections as well. The question of the societies\u27 liability is being discussed within the Comite Maritime International (CMI). In some recent court decisions classification societies have not been held liable for the consequences of negligent ship controls. These decisions, however, have been criticized, which confirms the need of regulating the liability of classification societies