IACS, the membership organisation for the leading classification societies, has published its ‘2025 Annual Review’, which showcases the central role played by IACS and its members in supporting safety standards and driving technical innovation in the maritime industry.
The report identifies many areas of progress, including IACS’s ongoing role in supporting industry decarbonisation objectives and the IMO’s efforts to balance its environmental ambitions with safety. Through its safe decarbonisation panel, IACS is supporting progress in respect of a number of alternative fuels, whilst remaining neutral on any preferred option. This includes the development of resolutions on the safe use of alternative fuels which underpin IMO regulations, or the classification rules of each IACS member.
IACS’s work on maritime digitalisation is also highlighted in the Annual Review. Through the safe digital transformation panel, IACS has identified and focused work on several priorities, including data quality, cybersecurity and predictive maintenance.
The report discusses IACS’s programme of engagement with wider industry – including intergovernmental bodies, industry associations, and international standards bodies, with flag states and port state authorities as well as with IMO, where IACS works closely with the secretariat and member states.
Robert Ashdown, IACS Secretary General, said: “Over the past year, the collective work of the IACS membership has again illustrated how class can contribute uniquely to maritime safety and environmental protection, while embracing the opportunities and challenges presented by emerging technologies and fuels. As classification societies move beyond being simply custodians of compliance to being strategic partners in maritime transformation, IACS is supporting this evolution in its members’ businesses to meet the expectations of regulators and the industry. This not only encompasses the traditional activities of design, construction and survey verification, but also assists their roles as active enablers of transformation in the face of digitalisation, decarbonisation and new technologies.”
The review explores other areas of technical and safety progress where IACS has made a significant contribution. These include the development of the goal-based IMO maritime autonomous surface ship (MASS) code, and the multi-year programme to modernise the IACS common structural rules (CSR).
The IACS 2025 Annual Review is available here for download.
Image: Robert Ashdown, IACS Secretary General (source: IACS)
