Unified rules are, almost, here for tanker and bulk carrier newbuildings but competition among the classification societies for the lucrative containcrship market continues as fiercely as ever. This rivalry is particularly keen when it comes to the very large post-Panamax vessels, German class society Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has long had a strong position in this market and at a recent briefing GL executive board member Hermann Klein highlighted the large market share held by the Hamburg-based organisation. As of September last year there were 106 containerships of over 7,500 TEU under construction in South Korean shipyards. Of these 70 per cent are GL classed while Lloyd's Register (LR) and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) each account for 11 per cent while France's Bureau Veritas (BV) classes the remaining 8 per cent - including, at 9,20()TEU, the largest containership now under construction.
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