Emirates Classification Society (Tasneef) said it has issued inspection and quality certificates for two container ships owned by Abu Dhabi National Tanker Company (Adnatco), one of the country's largest tanker and ship-building companies.

As part of its strategy to provide a national and an Arab alternative for classification services and the issuance of inspection and technical examination certificates for ships and maritime facilities in the Arab region; Tasneef signed an agreement considered the first of its kind to issue classification and calibration certificates for two of Adnatco’s container ships (Al Bazm-II, Al Sadr-I), said a statement friom Tasneef.

A leader in classification of ships and offshore platforms, Tasneef said these two vessels are the first of their kind to be classified by the firm.

In addition to conducting classification and legal surveying under the national flag and accrediting the designs by its engineering department, Tasneef will also provide technical support and consulting service for the Abu Dhabi firm.

The agreement between Tasneef and Adnatco is a significant opportunity to build a continuous cooperation among all sectors concerned with maritime and classification services in the country, said the statement.

Tasneef CEO Rashed Al Hebsi said: "Our agreement with Adnatco is considered as significant step to improve our services and the classes of ships we classify, and it represents a push to establish ourselves in the classification industry nationally and regionally, just like when we used to depend on container ship rental services from other countries and today we are proud to have major fleets completely owned by national companies such as Adnatco."

Al Hebsi said Tasneef has succeeded in developing technical standards that raise safety standards and operational savings by up to 15 per cent.

Saif AlRashidi, the fleet support manager at Tasneef said: "We will provide many services for Adnatco’s ships such as legal surveying in accordance with international and local conventions, consulting services, and training services for company employees in addition to non-periodical surveys relating to damages and technical failures."

Adnatco CEO Dr Ali Obaid Al Yabhouni was upbeat on the future opportunities resulting from the deal.

"We signed this agreement to classify two of our container ships by Tasneef, with complete coverage of classification and legal requirements. This step represents the beginning of a long standing cooperative relationship between us, and we are currently working on expanding our co-operation in the future to include a wider range of offshore container ships," he stated.

Tasneef-Adnatco partnership comes after signing similar agreements with Esnaad, the National Drilling Company (NDC), Abu Dhabi Ports, and Dry Docks World in addition to many national and regional companies and authorities, said Al Hebsi.

Tasneef has been accredited by the Gulf countries to issue compliance and quality services in accordance with GCC specifications; in addition to being accredited by Jordan to classify ships and provide maritime consulting and training services.

It aims to take over 50 per cent of the classification services market in the Arab world currently taken up by foreign classification societies, he added.-TradeArabia News Service