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CLASSIFICATION SOCIETIES Criteria for the recognition of classification societies Classification societies seeking recognition pursuant to Article 21 of this Directive shall meet all the following criteria:

(1) the classification society shall be able to document extensive experience in assessing the design and construction of inland waterway vessels. The classification society shall have comprehensive rules and regulations for the design, construction and periodic inspection of inland waterway vessels, in particular for calculating stability in accordance with Part 9 of the Regulations annexed to the ADN as referred to in Annex II. Those rules and regulations are to be published in, at least, Dutch, English, French or German, and shall be continuously updated and improved through research and development programmes. The rules and regulations must not conflict with the provisions of Union law or with international agreements in force;

(2) the classification society shall publish its register of vessels annually;

(3) the classification society shall not be controlled by shipowners or shipbuilders or by others engaged commercially in the design, manufacture, fitting-out, repair, operation or insurance of ships. The classification society shall not be dependent on a single commercial enterprise for its revenue;

(4) the headquarters of the classification society or a subsidiary authorised to give a ruling and to act in all areas incumbent on it under the regulations governing inland waterway transport, shall be located in one of the Member States;

(5) the classification society and its experts shall have a good reputation in inland waterway transport; the experts shall be able to provide proof of their professional abilities. They shall act on the responsibility of the classification society;

(6) the classification society shall have a significant technical, managerial, support, inspection and research staff, in proportion to the tasks and the vessels classified and catering also for developing capability and updating the regulations. It shall have inspectors in at least one Member State;

(7) the classification society shall be governed by a code of ethics;

(8) the classification society shall be managed and administered in such a way as to ensure the confidentiality of information required by a Member State;

(9) the classification society shall be prepared to provide relevant information to a Member State;

(10) the classification society's management shall define and document its policy and objectives for, and commitment to, quality and ensured that this policy is understood, implemented and maintained at all levels in the classification society;

(11) the classification society shall prepare and implement and shall maintain an effective internal quality system based on the relevant parts of internationally recognised quality standards and complying with the EN ISO/IEC 17020:2004, as interpreted by the IACS quality system certification scheme requirements. The quality system must be certified by an independent body of auditors recognised by the administration of the State in which the classification society has its headquarters or branch, as provided for in point (4), and which, inter alia, ensures that:

(a) the classification society's rules and regulations are established and maintained in a systematic manner;

(b) the classification society's rules and regulations are complied with;

(c) the requirements of the statutory work for which the classification society is authorised are satisfied;

(d) the responsibilities, powers and interrelation of personnel whose work affects the quality of the classification society's services are defined and documented;

(e) all work is carried out under controlled conditions;

(f) a supervisory system is in place which monitors the actions and work carried out by surveyors and technical and administrative staff employed directly by the classification society;

(g) the requirements of major statutory work for which the classification society is authorised are only carried out or directly supervised by its exclusive surveyors or by exclusive surveyors of other recognised classification societies;

(h) a system for qualification of surveyors and continuous updating of their knowledge is implemented;

(i) records are maintained, demonstrating achievement of the required standards in the items covered by the services performed, as well as the effective operation of the quality system; and (j) a comprehensive system of planned and documented internal audits of quality-related activities exists in all locations;

(12) the quality system must be certified by an independent body of auditors recognised by the administration of the Member State in which the classification society has its headquarters or branch, as provided for in point 4;

(13) the classification society shall undertake to bring its requirements into line with the appropriate Union directives and to provide the Commission with all relevant information in good time;

(14) the classification society shall undertake periodically to consult with the classification societies already recognised in order to guarantee the equivalence of their technical standards and of implementation thereof, and to allow participation in the development of its rules and regulations by representatives of a Member State and other parties concerned.