American Bureau of Shipping

ABS was first chartered in the state of New York in 1862 as the American Shipmasters’ Association (ASA) to certify qualified ship captains, or shipmasters, for safe ship operations during the Civil War. While ASA's certificates were not an official requirement for shipmasters, the certificate served as a recommendation for shipowners. Vessels that sailed with a certified ASA shipmaster were more likely to find favorable insurance coverage.

The ASA published its first technical standards, Rules for Survey and Classing Wooden Vessels, in 1870. In the late 19th century, wooden ships became obsolete and gave way to iron as a shipbuilding material. In response, ASA published its first Rules for Survey and Classing of Iron Vessels in 1877. Similarly, when iron gave way to steel, ABS Rules for Building and Classing Steel Vessels were established and published in 1890. These Steel Vessel Rules continue to be revised and published annually.

The ASA continued its program of certifying shipmasters until May 1900. By this time, federal law required that the United States government license most sea officers. As its business shifted from the certification of shipmasters to the classification of ships, the American Shipmasters’ Association renamed itself the American Bureau of Shipping in 1898. ABS would achieve modest growth over the next few years, classing 21% of all U.S.-flag fleet by 1916. During World War I, the U.S.-flag fleet swelled with newly acquired ships as well as newly constructed or refurbished vessels. ABS received a large amount of this class work, and the total tonnage classed by ABS increased from approximately 230,000 tons in 1916 to 3,301,000 tons in 1919. A similar effect occurred during the Second World War as ABS tonnage in the class jumped from 1.53 million gross tons in 1940 to 5.49 million gross tons in 1941.

As postwar recovery led to industrialization around the world, ABS entered a period of global expansion and soon opened offices in Western Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. By 1962, ABS class tonnage has increased to 46,533,852 tons worldwide. ABS’ aggregate tonnage hit a record of 193.5 million gross tons in 2012. ABS also strengthened its ties with the U.S. government by providing services to numerous government organizations such as the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, the U.S. Maritime Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

World Trade Center

ABS operated a New York office at the 91st floor of the One World Trade Center until September 11, 2001. While all employees of the company in the 91st floor office escaped the building collapse, none of the employees present at 92nd floor or higher survived.

Classification

The primary responsibility of ABS as a classification society is to verify that ABS-classed ships and marine structures comply with the established ABS Rules for design, construction, and periodic survey. If a vessel is found not to comply with the Rules, and the recommendations of ABS are not followed, then the society will suspend or cancel classification. ABS Rules are derived from principles of naval architecture, marine engineering, and associated disciplines.

For vessels built to ABS class, ABS engineers must approve the vessel design during engineering review. After design approval, ABS field surveyors attend to the vessel from keel laying to delivery at the shipyard. During the construction of a vessel built to ABS class, surveyors witness the tests of materials for the hull and specific machinery items as required by the Rules. They also survey the building, installation, and testing of the structural and principal mechanical and electrical systems.

Rules and guides

ABS provides a database of its rules and guides to the public.

Offshore and energy services

ABS also develops standards for the design, construction, and operational maintenance of offshore drilling and production units and gas carriers of all types. These standards cover mobile offshore drilling units (such as jackup rigs, semisubmersible rigs, and drill ships), floating offshore production installations (spars, tension leg platforms, semisubmersibles, and FPSOs/FSOs), fixed offshore installations, pipelines, risers, and single point moorings. ABS was responsible for classing the first mobile offshore drilling unit, the first production spar, the first semisubmersible offshore wind turbine and the first offshore support vessel in the Gulf of Mexico to use hybrid power.