Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass), an international ship classification society, launches a new service to provide certification of marine containers in accordance with IMO International Convention for Safe Containers (CSC).

It has released Guidelines on Certification of Containers. The guidelines were developed by the Rule Development & Associated Research team headed by Mr. N Girish. 

IRClass has received authorisation from the Government of India (Directorate General of Shipping) and other leading Flag Administrations towards the certification of containers. The process includes review and approval of container design, assessment of production facility, prototype testing, inspection and testing during production and certification. Maintenance of certification is subject to periodic examination.

Mr. T K Sahu, Divisional Head – Ships and Technical Services of IRClass said: “We have a comprehensive scheme for the certification of marine containers in accordance with IMO CSC Convention and can guide local manufacturers to produce containers in compliance with the international requirements. IRClass aims to support container manufacturers in the production of world class containers, which meet global quality standards equivalent to those produced by leading manufacturers.”

The service aligns with Maritime India Vision 2030, India’s plan to transform the maritime sector over the next 10 years. This will support the domestic production of containers and help ensure a consistent supply of containers while reducing the cost of trade.

“With a global shortage of containers, we see an opportunity here in the market and aim to provide customers with an alternative to fulfil their container requirements. We are confident that IRClass certification will assist in overcoming the container shortage crisis soon and give customers the assurance that containers will meet the rigorous technical standard that the IMO CSC Convention requires” added Mr. Sahu.