American Bureau of Shipping

[1] Its stated mission is to promote the security of life, property, and the natural environment, primarily through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of marine and offshore assets.

[2] ABS's core business is providing global classification services to the marine, offshore, and gas industries.

[16] As postwar recovery led to industrialization around the world, ABS entered a period of global expansion and soon opened offices in Western Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America.

[23] ABS surveyors and engineers work at major ports worldwide including Houston, Piraeus, Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Shanghai, Busan, Yokohama, Genoa, Gdańsk, Hamburg and other cities.

[24] Surveyors are employed in ports and shipyards worldwide to verify that marine asset are in suitable condition, meet class requirements and built according to drawings.

After design approval, ABS field surveyors attend to the vessel from keel laying to delivery at the shipyard.

During the construction of a vessel built to ABS class, surveyors witness the tests of materials for the hull and specific machinery items as required by the Rules.

[4] ABS also develops standards for the design, construction, and operational maintenance of offshore drilling and production units and gas carriers of all types.

The large oil spill was described as, “one of the worst environmental disasters in Europe” and caused great damage to the local wildlife and fishing industry.

[29] In May 2003, the Kingdom of Spain brought a civil suit in the Southern District of New York against the American Bureau of Shipping, asserting that ABS was “reckless” in certifying the ship seaworthy and capable of carrying fuel cargo and sought over $1 billion in compensatory damages.

[30] The Reino de Espana v. American Bureau of Shipping, Inc. court case was dismissed after the presiding judge ruled that ABS is a "person" as defined by the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (CLC) and, as such, is exempt from direct liability for pollution damage.

Furthermore, the judge ruled that, since the United States is not a signatory to the International CLC, the U.S. Courts lacked the necessary jurisdiction to adjudicate the case.