A recent study by our Association detailed the activities of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS), as a structure controlled by the aggressor.
The study demonstrated that RMRS is a joint Russian-Chinese instrument aimed primarily at maritime security issues.
Particular attention should be paid to the hidden network of RMRS inspectors and branches in European countries, as well as RMRS’s connections with such structures as the Simferopol-based “NIKIMP” and the Sevastopol-based “granddaughter” of RMRS, namely “Russian Register – Southwest”, which massively “certifies” strategic economic and social structures in Belarus.
The study emphasized that RMRS’s activities in servicing the Russian military-industrial complex, from shipbuilding and ship repair yards to training centers, are a direct way for the register to contribute to the further militarization of the aggressor.
Sanctions against RMRS have been imposed by the EU and Ukraine, but have not yet been synchronized by the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. The activities of its subsidiaries, “NIKIMP”, and the network of the “Association Russian Register”, are currently ignored by the international community.
A similar approach should be applied to the “Russian Classification Society”, as an organization engaged in practices similar to RMRS. Furthermore, RMRS’s activities in international organizations, particularly the IMO and the UN Economic Commissions, should be terminated, and relevant recommendations for recognition of RMRS should be withdrawn.
Cooperation agreements with RMRS concluded with other classification societies, maritime administrations, and memoranda of understanding regarding port control should also be terminated.
We have sent relevant notifications regarding this matter to all authorized international bodies, including the IMO, maritime administrations, port control memoranda, classification and insurance bodies, as well as to the EU and democratic countries’ departments responsible for sanctions policy.
In response, we received confirmation from a number of EU bodies responsible for maritime policy, as well as from the authorities of Estonia and New Zealand, regarding the importance of investigating the aggressor’s alleged machinations against maritime security.
In particular, this concerns the exclusion of RMRS from national lists of recognized classification societies, additional monitoring of Russian tanker documentation, and the non-recognition of any “maritime certificates” issued in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
We also note that after several IMO bodies and maritime administrations received our materials on our investigations, including the exposure of RMRS’s activities, Russia was not re-elected to the IMO Council in Category “A” on November 28, as it significantly lacked the necessary votes.
This is the culmination of long-term, systematic work, including the work of delegations from Ukraine and several other democratic countries, as well as the expert community, at the International Maritime Organization.
Corresponding communications on these issues, particularly in the context of exposing violations of existing sanctions and the imposition of new ones, and investigating relevant instances of corruption and Russian influence in civilized jurisdictions, will be continued.
