Bureau Veritas optimistic as classed fleet tops 9,000 ships

Leading international classification society Bureau Veritas says its classed fleet has surpassed 9,000 vessels, totaling over 70m gt. Launching the 2009-2010 Marine Business Review, Bernard Anne, managing director of the Bureau Veritas Marine Division said, “We ended 2009 with a fleet of 8,934 ships and since then have continued our strong growth, now passing 9,000 vessels and over 70m gt. That very large number of vessels emphasizes our wide-ranging strengths, and our diversity of expertise. That helps us and the owners who use our class in these challenging times to be pragmatically optimistic.

“Challenging times are the best times for pragmatic optimists. We are pragmatic because we have been leaders in shipping for a very long time, and we know how cyclical markets work, and we were ready for this. We are pragmatic because we have a very diversified fleet and expertise base, and because we are present in every sector of shipping and offshore energy and every part of the world, ready to harvest and sustain new ideas, while supporting the best of the old. And we are optimistic because when the market is shaken up it opens the way for new ideas, new technology, new ways of doing old things. If you can build on deep and diverse experience like ours then you can help others to innovate and adapt their strategies quickly to whatever challenges and opportunities the market turmoil throws up. Yes, we are all in for a tough time, but there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic for the future.”

Anne says BV’s Marine Business Review highlights the work of BV’s marine division across the whole range of shipping and offshore industries which BV serves. “We ended the year with a strong order book of over 31m gt of new buildings,” he says. “And BV has continued to grow strongly as a group, doubling in size in each of the last five-year periods. We are on track to double in size again in the next five years. That steady growth has been built on stretching for opportunities, but making sure we are standing on a safe platform as we reach out. And it has been built on helping strong and like-minded partners to grow. 2010 may throw up some tough markets, but we will be there to share our optimism based on strength and diversity.”