IACS classification societies compared
IACS has 12 member classification societies. As of 30 September 2026 their Vessels in Class dataset lists 60,223 ships: 50,826 in class, 575 suspended and 4,848 withdrawn. ClassNK lists the most ships (10,117). The table below gives each society's IACS code, fleet size and status breakdown.
IACS classification societies compared
| Society | Code | Ships | In class | Suspended | Withdrawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ClassNK | NKK | 10,117 | 9,009 | 74 | 967 |
| Bureau Veritas | BV | 9,958 | 8,270 | 59 | 861 |
| ABS | ABS | 8,787 | 8,239 | 41 | 502 |
| DNV | NV | 7,753 | 5,846 | 62 | 177 |
| Lloyd's Register | LRS | 7,606 | 7,182 | 95 | 318 |
| RINA | RINA | 5,842 | 4,307 | 61 | 783 |
| China Classification Society | CCS | 4,376 | 4,100 | 10 | 265 |
| Korean Register | KR | 2,559 | 1,589 | 68 | 283 |
| Indian Register of Shipping | IRS | 1,639 | 1,154 | 55 | 429 |
| Polish Register of Shipping | PRS | 608 | 439 | 31 | 138 |
| Croatian Register of Shipping | CRS | 494 | 292 | 9 | 52 |
| Türk Loydu | TLV | 484 | 399 | 10 | 73 |
| All IACS members | 60,223 | 50,826 | 575 | 4,848 |
"In class" counts the Delivered, Reinstated and Reassigned statuses. 3,974 ships have no status recorded. See what each IACS status means.
What is IACS?
The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) is the umbrella body of the major classification societies. Its members set and apply technical rules for ship design, construction and survey, and together they class most of the world's cargo-carrying tonnage. IACS publishes the class status of every ship its members class in the Vessels in Class dataset, as a downloadable file rather than an API.
Vessel Class Finder loads that file every week and serves it as a JSON API, so you can check a ship's society, status and survey dates by IMO number instead of downloading and parsing the file yourself.
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Get a free API keyFrequently asked questions
How many classification societies are members of IACS?
Twelve: ABS, Bureau Veritas, China Classification Society, Croatian Register of Shipping, DNV, Indian Register of Shipping, Korean Register, Lloyd's Register, ClassNK, Polish Register of Shipping, RINA and Türk Loydu.
Which classification society classes the most ships?
In the IACS Vessels in Class dataset (as of 30 September 2026), ClassNK lists the most ships at 10,117, followed by Bureau Veritas (9,958) and ABS (8,787). Counts include ships whose class has since been suspended or withdrawn.
How do I find out which classification society a ship is classed with?
Look up the ship's IMO number. The result's class field gives the society code (for example NV for DNV, NKK for ClassNK, LRS for Lloyd's Register). Ships that don't appear are not classed by an IACS member.
Why is DNV shown as NV and ClassNK as NKK?
Those are the codes IACS uses in its Vessels in Class dataset. The full list is NKK (ClassNK), BV, ABS, NV (DNV), LRS (Lloyd's Register), RINA, CCS, KR, IRS, PRS, CRS and TLV (Türk Loydu).