International classification society RINA Group has been chosen as the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) partner to support the development of Tasneef, a new classification society for the United Arab Emirates. Emirates Classification – Tasneef has been established in Abu Dhabi and plans to expand with future world wide-offices. Working in partnership with RINA the goal is to develop Tasneef as an international classification society capable of meeting the technical and classification needs of the region’s maritime industry, the UAE flag and international commercial shipping.

Andrea di Bella, Area Manager Middle East, RINA Group, says, “We are very excited to have been chosen to assist the development of Tasneef after a tender process that included all the major classification societies. We will work closely with Tasneef on a number of newbuilding projects and ships in service to develop their procedures and technical competence. We expect this to be the beginning of a long partnership as the UAE further expands its maritime interests.”

Mr. Rashed Alhebsi, Head of the Establishment Committee of Tasneef, says, “We selected RINA to help us develop Tasneef because of its proven competence and the good collaboration we experienced with them during our UAE Naval shipbuilding (corvette class) programme. We at Tasneef have carefully and systematically reviewed potential partners and we took our time to decide. This new partnership is built on a successful relationship. The way Tasneef looks at RINA is as a long term strategic partner where both companies will fulfil the demand for classification services in potential sectors in this region known for fuelling the world with energy, oil and gas. Tasneef and RINA Group will also support this region which is becoming a world hub for the maritime industry where more than 60 per cent of the world’s shipping either operate or pass, especially after establishing Khalifa Port which increases the shipping capacity of this region. Tasneef and RINA are currently finalizing together a portfolio of up to 44 classification projects in 2013 varying from new construction and ships in service to supporting the UAE Flag administration with thousands of statutory certifications.”

RINA is a multi-national group which delivers verification, certification, conformity assessment, ship classification, environmental enhancement, product testing, site and vendor supervision, training and engineering consultancy across a wide range of industries and services. RINA Group operates through a network of companies covering Marine, Energy, Infrastructures & Real Estate, Transport & Logistics, Food & Agriculture, Environment & Sustainability, Finance & Public Institutions and Business Governance. With a turnover of around 300 million Euros in 2012, over 2,100 employees, and 140 offices in 49 countries worldwide, RINA is recognized as an authoritative member of key international organizations and an important contributor to the development of new legislative standards. www.rina.org