The Polish Minister of Infrastructure has just concluded an agreement with the classification society Polski Rejestr Statków (PRS), authorising it to perform technical surveys on ships flying the Polish flag on behalf of the Polish Maritime Administration. Under the agreement, PRS will verify and approve technical documentation and produce survey reports thus providing a baseline for issuing of ships’ documents. Prior to the agreement, the Polish Maritime Administration performed a detailed audit of PRS performance and its compliance with relevant EU Directives and Polish regulations.

This is the first agreement concluded by the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure with a classification society moving towards compliance with European Union regulations. In previous years, PRS activities on behalf of the Polish Maritime Administration were performed under the provisions of a number of state regulations. As a recognised classification society, PRS is authorised to carry out inspections in accordance with the provisions of the Polish Maritime Code regulations related to safety at sea and the prevention of marine pollution from ships. The Polish authorities have also applied to the European Commission for PRS recognition under EU Directive 94/57/EC, as amended by the Directive 2001/105/EC.