Lloyd's Register

Origin

The organisation was named after a seventeenth-century coffee house in London that was frequented by merchants, marine underwriters, and others associated with shipping. The coffee house owner, Edward Lloyd, helped them to exchange information by circulating a printed sheet of all the news he heard. In 1760, the Register Society was formed by the customers of the coffee house who assembled the Register of Shipping, the first known register of its type. Between 1800 and 1833, a dispute between shipowners and underwriters resulted in each group publishing a list—the "Red Book" and the "Green Book". Both parties came to the verge of bankruptcy. They reached agreement in 1834 to unite and form Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping, establishing a General Committee and charitable values. In 1914, with an increasingly international outlook, the organisation changed its name to Lloyd's Register of Shipping.

The Register

The Society printed the first Register of Ships in 1764 in order to give both underwriters and merchants an idea of the condition of the vessels they insured and chartered: ship hulls were graded by a lettered scale (A being the best), and ship's fittings (masts, rigging, and other equipment) were graded by number (1 being the best). Thus the best classification "A1", from which the expression A1 or A1 at Lloyd's is derived, first appeared in the 1775–76 edition of the Register.

The Register, with information on all seagoing, self-propelled merchant ships of 100 gross tons or greater, is published annually. A vessel remains registered with Lloyd's Register until it is sunk, wrecked, hulked, scrapped or withdrawn from the Register by the vessel's owner.

The Register was published formerly by the joint venture company of Lloyd's Register-Fairplay, which was formed in July 2001 by the merger of Lloyd's Register's Maritime Information Publishing Group and Prime Publications Limited. Lloyd's Register sold its share of the venture to IHS Markit in 2009.

American Lloyd's Register of American and Foreign Shipping

The American Lloyd's Registry of American and Foreign Shipping was established in 1857, and the American Lloyd's Register of American and Foreign Shipping issued from at least 1859 until at least 1883 by the "Board of American Lloyd's".

Modern era

In 2020, Lloyd's Register sold its energy business, which was rebranded Vysus Group and in 2021 sold its Business Assurance & Inspection Services division. In 2022, LR acquired OneOcean Group, a marine software and digital services company, to head up a new digital services division.

Nuclear ships project

In January 2024, Lloyd's Register signed a MOU with KEPCO, Zodiac Maritime and KSOE to assess rule requirements for the safe operation and regulatory compliance of nuclear powered bulk carriers and container ships to be designed and built by the consortium.

Classification rules

Lloyd's Register is known best for the classification and certification of ships and inspects and approves important components and accessories, including life-saving appliances, marine pollution prevention, fire protection, navigation, radio communication equipment, deck gear, cables, ropes, and anchors.

LR's Rules for Ships

LR's Rules for Ships are derived from principles of naval architecture and marine engineering, and govern safety and operational standards for numerous merchant, military, and privately owned vessels. LR's Rules govern a number of topics including: