Lesson 2 · 14 min
Flag, class and recognised organisations: who does what
You will know which body is responsible for each survey, certificate and decision, and where to go when something needs fixing or approving.
Start here
The 2-minute primer
New to this? These 6 cards explain the lesson in plain words. Go through them first and the lesson will make sense.
Primer done.
-
1/6Picture this
Who really issues your passport
Think of a passport. Your country is responsible for it. But often a private office takes your photo and checks your papers on the government’s behalf. Abroad, border officers can still check that you match it.
A ship has the same set-up. Its country is responsible, an approved organisation does much of the checking for that country, and foreign ports can check too.
-
2/6The big idea
Four groups, four different jobs
The flag State is the country whose flag the ship flies, and it answers for the ship. A classification society surveys ships against its own technical rules. When the flag formally authorises it to survey and certify for the conventions, it acts as a recognised organisation. The port State checks foreign ships visiting its ports.
Underneath them all, the company and crew keep the ship safe every day between surveys.
-
3/6Words you'll meet
Six words, in plain English
- Flag State
- the country where the ship is registered, responsible for making sure it meets the international rules.
- Classification society (class)
- an organisation that writes technical rules for ships and surveys them against those rules.
- RO (recognised organisation)
- usually a class society that the flag has authorised to survey and certify ships for it.
- Port State control
- inspections of foreign ships by officers of the country whose port they are visiting.
- RO Code (Code for Recognized Organizations)
- the international rulebook for how recognised organisations must work and be supervised.
- IACS (International Association of Classification Societies)
- the group of 12 leading class societies that agree shared technical rules.
-
4/6Why it matters
Calling the wrong office costs time
When a certificate is about to run out or something breaks, people often phone the wrong body. The class surveyor says it is a flag matter, the flag says it gave the job to class, and the ship waits in port.
The same surveyor can wear two hats on one visit: one for the class society, one for the flag. Knowing which hat is on tells you who can decide.
-
5/6In this lesson
What you’ll be able to do
- Tell the flag State, class, recognised organisations and port State apart.
- Know when a class surveyor is acting for the flag.
- Know who to call first for an extension, damage or a detention.
- Read what the main rulebooks ask of each body.
-
6/6Quick check
A class surveyor signs a safety certificate. Who is she acting for?
Right: statutory certificates are issued on the flag’s authority, so when a class surveyor signs one, she is acting for the flag, not for her own society.
The basics
A liferaft is due for service, the extension letter has not arrived, and the port State control officer (PSCO) wants to know why. The chief officer calls the class surveyor, who says it is a flag matter. The flag says it authorised the class society to deal with it. The superintendent says the ship’s manager handles flag correspondence. Everybody is partly right, and the ship is losing time.
Most confusion on board comes from not knowing which hat each organisation is wearing. A classification society can be doing two completely different jobs on the same ship on the same day: a class survey under its own rules, and a statutory survey as a recognised organisation (RO) on behalf of the flag State. This lesson sorts out who does what, which IMO instruments tie them together, and where each one’s responsibility stops.
Sign in to read the rest of this lesson
Continue reading
Save your progress, open all 115 lessons and get a Course completed card when you finish.
or use your email
In the rest of this lesson
- Try it: Which body does this?
- In plain words
- In detail
- What the rules say
- Flag and class notes
- Key numbers
- What inspectors find
- 4 questions people ask
- Quiz: 6 questions
- Ask our engineers about this lesson
Familiarisation training from Al Safwan Academy. Finishing a course shows completion of online familiarisation training: it is not an STCW, flag-approved or manufacturer qualification, and these courses don't replace that training. The manufacturer's manual and your flag's rules always come first.