ABS, MARIC Sign Strategic Cooperation Agreement

ABS, a leading provider of classification services to the global marine and offshore industry, has signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Marine Design & Research Institute of China (MARIC) to expand collaboration, focusing on operational efficiency and environmental performance in both the offshore and marine sectors. ABS Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Howard Fireman and MARIC President Wenhua Xing signed the agreement at the MARIC premises in Shanghai, China.

"This Agreement aligns the core competencies of ABS and MARIC and allows us to work together on designs that meet environmental regulations and technology trends," Fireman says. "Leveraging technologies such as CFD, techno economic evaluation, and performance data analysis, we will be able to help industry effect improvements in energy efficiency and environmental compliance."

Through this agreement, ABS and MARIC will collaborate on technical support, classification, certification, training and statutory guidance for merchant vessels and offshore units. ABS also will assess compliance with ABS Rules, Guides and statutory regulations. The agreement creates opportunities to form joint development projects in areas such as energy efficiency, environmental performance, techno economic evaluation, design considerations for harsh environment operations, novel design concepts and technology performance assessment.

"For the past 65 years, MARIC has been a technology pioneer in design development of merchant vessels and offshore units in China. We value this cooperation agreement with ABS as a great opportunity to pursue state-of-the-art, energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and intellectual technologies together to our mutual benefit," Xing says.