News Asian classification societies

Press Release

The ACS (Association of Asian Classification Societies) held its 33rd Annual Executive Committee meeting (EC33) in Langkawi, Malaysia on 19. November 2025.  Chaired by Mr. Abdul Jamil Murshid, Managing Director of Ships Classification Malaysia (SCM), the meeting brought together all eight (8) ACS member societies.

In his opening remarks, the ACS Chairman, Mr. Abdul Jamil Murshid, expressed his gratitude for members’ cooperation, support and contribution throughout the year. He reaffirmed the purpose of ACS and emphasized that ACS reinforces regional capacity, nurtures Asian expertise, and supports local maritime industries while upholding the international technical benchmarks shared across the global classification community. ACS adds strength through regional cooperation.

As part of the technical contribution in the Asian region, Chairman of Technical Management Group (TMG) of ACS reported to EC33 that ACS is actively reviewing and updating existing Guidelines to reflect latest regulatory developments. Additionally, development of the new guideline “Battery powered ships engaged in domestic voyage,” addressing common concerns in the area of safety and environmental protection for battery powered vessels, has been completed, and posted on the ACS website. He also reported that ACS Annual Report on PSC Inspections, featuring the PSC detention data for 2023~2024, had been compiled and made available on the ACS Website. The data focusing on ACS Member Societies’ classed vessels, along with analysis, provides useful guidance to ship operators and crew on board the ships.

In addition to the EC33rd meeting, a face-to-face Executives meeting with A-3(ASA, ASEF, ACS) organizations took place to strengthen technical cooperation among A-3 members. The meeting shared concerns about the green fuel technology and a proposed joint study among A-3 organizations, the topic was proposed by ASA. It was also decided that A-3 members should prepare and respond appropriately to face-to-face meetings, open forum, and technical seminars in the coming year.

Under the agenda of ‘any other business’, TASNEEF volunteered to host the 2026 ACS Seminar in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in September 2026. EC Chairman welcomed their proposal and also expressed his appreciation to TASNEEF.

This year, ACS organized the international seminar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 20 August 2025. The successful seminar was attended by 120 participants, including various stakeholders from the marine industry and speakers representing ASA and ASEF.

ACS was formally founded in February 2010 with 6 founding members that are Biro Klasifikasi Indonesia (BKI), China Classification Society (CCS), Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), Korean Register (KR), Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NK) and Vietnam Register (VR). And then, Ships Classification Malaysia (SCM) became the 7^th member of ACS in January 2018 and Emirates Classification Society (TASNEEF) became the 8^th member of ACS in January 2022. The purpose and aims of ACS are to promote ship safety at sea and protection of the marine environment and, in cooperation with other partners in the maritime community, and to purse improvement of ACS members’ performance and their technical contributions to the maritime community based on their accumulated technical knowledge and expertise.

Contact: Jeong-chong JEON, ACS Secretary (Seoul +82-70-4916-8140, E-mail:Secretary@asiancs.org)