Marine Services

Approval of Service Suppliers

Only Class ARS and Recognized Service Providers by IACS member may provide the following inspection services;

  •  thickness measurement,
  •  fire systems tests and surveys,
  •  underwater surveys,
  •  tests and surveys on the communication equipment

The companies that want to be approved by Class ARS as Service Provider Company operating in the following fields:

  •  Thickness measurements on ships,
  •  Fire systems test and survey,
  •  Underwater survey,
  •  Ship radio and communication equipment test and survey must apply to Class ARS completing the suitable application form in line with their operating conditions.

Service Provider Company or its holding organization, should be legally recognizable including its subsidiaries, dealers etc. Furthermore, the Service Provider Company is responsible for meeting Class ARS rules and requirements, as well as for satisfaction of the customer or recognition bodies or offices and application of Class ARS rules for the jobs related to Class ARS.

A Company that applies for a certification as Service Provider Company should be free from any commercial, financial or other pressures which would impair its objectivity or influence its or its personnel's decisions. The Service Provider Company is obliged to honor all business inquiries made to it fairly, not to reject any inquiries without stating a fair reason, carry out them without any unnecessary burdens (either financial or physical etc.), without any distinction.

The Service Provider Company must form, apply and sustain a quality system in accordance with the scope of its activities. In addition to that, for the purpose of securing the quality of service results, all policies, systems, programs, procedures and instructions must be documented. The documentation employed in the quality system must be transmitted to related personnel, and they must be understood, accessible and applicable by such personnel.

  • The Service Provider Company (including one person entities) must own a documentation system including,
  • The rules and standards etc. employed in the relevant operations,
  • Maintenance and calibration of the equipment,
  • Training program for operator / technical personnel / inspector,
  • Records stating that the system is operated in accordance with procedures,
  • Recording and reporting of the information,
  • Quality management of the dealers, branches etc., if any,
  • Preparation for operations (operational procedure, instructions, forms etc.)
  • Operation procedures, complaints, corrective actions, issuing of documentation, control and periodical review

For one person entities, management review meeting and internal audit records are not requested.

Procedures must be formed and sustained for checking, for example, the technical drawings, software, specifications, instructions or manuals as well as arrangements, standards, documents serving as standard, experiment and/or calibration methods of the Service Provider Company, produced within the company or procured by foreign resources.
A Quality Management System compliant with the ISO 9000 standards, containing the above given requirements, will be acceptable.

Service Provider Company is obliged to train and qualify its personnel according to acceptable national, international or industrial standards, where applicable. In case there is no such standard, the Service Provider Company must define training and qualification of its personnel for each operation to be approved. At the same time, personnel must know the equipment to be used, and will have sufficient experience. Operator / technician / inspector must have records stating that he/she has a minimum 1 year experience for his / her position (training, business tools, bon service etc.). Where internal training cannot be provided, an outside training could be acceptable.

The Service Provider Company must offer supervision for all its services. Specialized personnel must have a minimum 1 year experience in the service subject to approval, as operator / technical / inspector. If Service Provider Company is a one person entity, such person should satisfy the qualifications of a personnel.

The Service Provider Company must keep records of its personnel (operator / technical / inspector). Records must include information on age, national and/or international training certificate, experience related to the service subject to approval, training or similar information.

The Service Provider Company must own necessary facilities and equipment for the service it is going to provide. Their calibration, maintenance, and rental contract records, if rented, should be kept.

If the Service Provider Company outsources some of its services to a subcontractor, it must also provide related contract information. The subcontractors must also satisfy the requirements of Class ARS rules and procedures.

For all services to be provided by the Service Provider Company, there must be documented operation procedures. The Service Provider Company must verify that the services are carried out in line with the approved procedures. Service Provider Company will issue its report in a form acceptable to Class ARS, and will include all information and documentation. A copy of the approval certificate will be added to the report.

Approved Service Provider Company must immediately inform Class ARS in case of any change in its operating system or personnel. In such a case, Class ARS may conduct an additional inspection, if it considers necessary.

The Certificate of the Approved Service Provider Company may be cancelled if;

  • the service or reporting is found to be non-compliant,
  • an incompatibility has been found in the system of the Service Provider Company, and the Service Provider Company fails to remedy it,
  • the Service Provider Company fails to inform Class ARS about any change in its operating system or personnel,
  • the Service Provider Company uses it authority badly, as to its quotations and prices (not quoting, giving excessive quotations etc.)
  • interim inspection cannot take place due to a reason caused by the Service Provider Company,
  • Intentional or negligent acts are observed
  • the Service Provider Company's failure to comply with its undertaking has been found out, then, it will be warned by Class ARS or served a written notice or the approval is directly cancelled and the Service Provider Company is removed from the list.

The Service Provider Company whose approval has been cancelled may apply to Class ARS for approval, stating that it has remedied the incompatibility that caused the cancellation.

  • For a more detailed information, please apply to the document The Requirements from the Service Provider Companies to be approved by Class ARS, and Principles of Application.