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Rules and Guides
ABS Rules & Guides establish classification requirements for the safety related structure, machinery, systems and equipment of vessels and offshore installations.
Our continuous program of research leverages new technologies to enhance existing standards and develop new requirements. New requirements are initially published as guides and, as they mature, are formally adopted as rules. In addition to formal requirements, relevant industry best practices are published in guidance notes. As appropriate, advisories are made available on topics of concern to industry with intent to clarify facts and provide advice.
ABS maintains over 200 rule sets, guides, guidance notes and advisories which are available either free via electronic download or selected printed copies can be purchased from the ABS online catalog . You can also search our archives for previous versions. ABS clients can access all rules, guides and guidance notes via the Rule Manager application available from the ABS My Eagle client portal.
In January 2018, two new rule sets were published that greatly simplify clients access to ABS requirements:
- The new Rules for Building and Classing Marine Vessels consolidating the Rules for Building and Classing Steel Vessels, Rules for for Building and Classing Offshore Support Vessels and Rules for Building and Classing Vessels under 90 Meters (295 Feet) in Length.
- The new Rules for Building and Classing Mobile Offshore Units consolidating the Rules for Building and Classing Mobile Offshore Drilling Units and the Guide for Mobile Offshore Units.
To verify that a ship or offshore asset continues to meet classification requirements, you can look up the Notations for the asset under the public ABS Record database.
Have more questions about how classification works? Reading the Conditions of Classification (part 1 for each Rule set) will help.
ABS Top 40: The Most Popular Downloaded ABS Rule sets, Guides, Guidance Notes and Advisories
Top 10 ABS Rules
Steel Vessels
Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs)
Classing Steel Barges
Steel Vessels Under 90 Meters (295 ft) in Length
Offshore Support Vessels (OSVs)
Floating Production Installations (FPSOs)
High-Speed Naval Craft
Facilities on Offshore Installations
Steel Vessels for Service on Rivers and Intracoastal Waterways
High-Speed Craft
Top 10 ABS Guidance Notes
Fire-fighting Systems
Ice Class
Investigation of Marine Incidents
Propulsion Shafting Alignment
Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Ship Vibration
Application and Inspection of Marine Coating Systems
SafeHull Finite Element Analysis for Hull Structures
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) for Classification
Application of Cybersecurity Principles to Marine and Offshore Operations - ABS CyberSafety Vol 1
Top 10 ABS Guides
Certification of Lifting Appliances
Building and Classing Yachts
Classification of Drilling Systems
Nondestructive Inspection of Hull Welds
Ballast Water Treatment
Dynamic Positioning Systems
Building and Classing Mobile Offshore Units
Exhaust Emission Abatement
Building and Classing Liftboats
Buckling and Ultimate Strength Assessment of Offshore Structures