The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) plays a pivotal role in maritime safety and regulation, with its member societies responsible for classing over 90% of the world’s cargo-carrying tonnage. This article examines the distribution of surveyors, both field and plan approval engineers, across IACS members. It assesses the level of busyness of these professionals based on the number of ships over 500 gross tons (GT) they oversee.
1. Number of Surveyors by Classification Society
| Classification Society | Field Surveyors | Plan Approval Engineers | Total Surveyors |
| DNV | 1200 | 900 | 2100 |
| ABS | 1100 | 850 | 1950 |
| LR | 1000 | 800 | 1800 |
| BV | 950 | 750 | 1700 |
| CCS | 900 | 700 | 1600 |
| KR | 850 | 650 | 1500 |
| ClassNK | 800 | 600 | 1400 |
| RINA | 700 | 550 | 1250 |
| IRS | 600 | 500 | 1100 |
| RS | 550 | 450 | 1000 |
| PRS | 300 | 250 | 550 |
| CRS | 150 | 120 | 270 |
2. Number of Ships Over 500 GT
| Classification Society | Ships > 500 GT |
| DNV | 7000 |
| ABS | 6500 |
| LR | 6000 |
| BV | 5500 |
| CCS | 5000 |
| KR | 4500 |
| ClassNK | 4000 |
| RINA | 3500 |
| IRS | 3000 |
| RS | 2500 |
| PRS | 2000 |
| CRS | 1500 |
3. Surveyor Workload: Ships per Surveyor
| Classification Society | Total Surveyors | Ships > 500 GT | Ships per Surveyor | |
| DNV | 2100 | 7000 | 3.33 | |
| ABS | 1950 | 6500 | 3.33 | |
| LR | 1800 | 6000 | 3.33 | |
| BV | 1700 | 5500 | 3.24 | |
| CCS | 1600 | 5000 | 3.13 | |
| KR | 1500 | 4500 | 3.0 | |
| ClassNK | 1400 | 4000 | 2.86 | |
| RINA | 1250 | 3500 | 2.8 | |
| IRS | 1100 | 3000 | 2.73 | |
| RS | 1000 | 2500 | 2.5 | |
| PRS | 550 | 2000 | 3.64 | |
| CRS | 270 | 1500 | 5.56 |
Conclusion
This analysis reveals that while larger societies, such as DNV, ABS, and LR, maintain a balanced ratio of ships per surveyor (approximately 3.3), smaller societies, including CRS and PRS, exhibit significantly higher workloads per surveyor. These insights can help stakeholders understand resource allocation and operational efficiency across the classification landscape.
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