I know that’s a lousy title for a posting, but these are important letters for OASIS.  All ships are inspected by independent inspectors who certify that the ships meet certain safety and other standards.  These inspectors were originally established to help insurance companies classify the insurability of different ships and are known as “Classification Societies”. 

For OASIS, the classification society is Det Norske Veritas (”DNV”) and we expect them to classify the ship upon completion with the above designation in the “class certificate”.  Each of the terms has a special meaning which I have set forth below along with my comments: 

• X DNV and other class societies start all their certificates with the Maltese Cross to signify whether or not they were the original class society when the ship was built. I couldn’t find a good explanation for why.
• 1A1, Passenger Ship, The first letters are a general quality rating for the ship but I have never seen a cruise ship that wasn’t 1A1.
• EC0, Instrumentation and automation installed to allow for centralized operated machinery. In other words, there is so much redundancy that you could operate the ship with no one in the engine room. Nice recognition of the equipment, but we would never leave the engine room empty.
• RPS, Class notation for Redundant Propulsion with physically separated propulsion lines and steering systems. This is a very nice safety feature.
• F-M, Additional fire protection in machinery spaces. Same.
• LCS-DC, Loading computer system for damage control, apply to integrated systems developed to assist the master as a decision aid under damage conditions. Same.
• BIS, Class notation for ships built for in-water survey of ship’s bottom and related items. This makes it easier to check the bottom of the ship even without having to take it out of the water. Facilitates frequent safety checks.
• TMON, Voluntary class notation for Tailshaft Monitoring. Simply reflects that the ship has enhanced systems to automatically verify tailshaft conditions.
• CLEAN, Class notation that reduces the environmental impact from ships due to air emissions and sea discharges. Reflects the extensive use of environmental enhancements.
• COMF(V)1, Comfort class notation addressing noise and vibration. This is an expensive item, but it shows that the ship has been constructed and tested to meet stringent comfort levels mainly relating to noise and vibration.
• FUEL, Class notation for treatment and conditioning of fuel. Not all fuels are created equal and this shows the ship has special equipment to handle deficient fuels.
• The letter of compliance shall be delivered for DP class notation AUTR. Relates to the dynamic positioning sytem (”DP”) onboard. The DP system allows for precision maneuvering of the ship and also can be used to remain in one position without using an anchor. Good to protect vulnerable coral and to help establish a lee for tendering.
• NAUT-AW meets extended standards for bridge design and instrumentation and, in addition, relating to the maneuvering characteristics of the ship and an operational safety manual for safe watch keeping and command of the ship.

Filed under: Chairman