The History of the Ukrainian Register of Shipping

The Ukrainian Register of Shipping is a national classification society, that conducts a technical supervision in the field of marine and inland water transport and shipping, and performs:

  • classification of the sea ships, inland waterway vessels, small craft and jet skis;
  • technical supervision of sea-going ships, inland navigation vessels, small craft and jet skis, in accordance with the procedure established by law;
  • definition of areas and condition for the navigation of vessels;
  • keeping records of vessels under supervision, maintaining the register book of vessels;
  • technical supervision of berth structures, operational waters of berth facilities, and other hydraulic structures of inland waterways and seaports, as well as hydrographic survey operations on maritime and inland waterways, including within seaport waters;
  • certification of ships, shipping companies, ship repair, and a ship technical operability, in accordance with the procedure established by law;
  • approval of shipbuilding, ship repair, and vessel technical operation project documentation;
  • issuance of instructions and informational materials on the subject of ship technical operation, shore-based facilities, and inland water transport.

The tasks and functions of the Shipping register of Ukraine are defined by the Regulation on the Shipping Register of Ukraine, approved by resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 814 dated June 8, 1998.


The year of 1931 is considered the commencement of the authorized bodies for technical supervision and classification in Ukraine. These bodies have changed the organizational structure and the subordination repeatedly. In 1991 after the declaration of Ukraine`s Independence, classification activity was carried out by Derzhflotnahliad (State Fleet Inspectorate) of Ukraine.

The Act of Independence of Ukraine caused maritime experts to face a number of problems that had previously seemed to be resolved by themselves. The change in the planning system, agency services, technical operation of the fleet, working out modern regulatory documentation, ship registration under the Ukrainian flag, and technical supervision of their condition – this is just a small part of tasks that the leadership of the maritime industry of a young state was faced with and required an urgent resolution.

Mayboroda M.V.
Chief of the Dnipro Inspection of the Register
1959-1981 рр.

The essence of the idea was as follows: while entrusting the conventional and classificational surveys of vessels flying under the Ukrainian flag to leading classification societies, it was proposed to establish a classification society, based on the results of those surveys, would verify their reliability on behalf of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

Employees of the Dnipro Registry Inspection after a meeting of the inspection staff. February 1982.
Лютий, 1982 року

In 1998, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted Resolution No 814 08.06.1998, “On the Improvement of Technical, Classification, and Shipping Survey of Maritime and Inland Waterway Transport”. This Resolution established a unified national classification society of maritime and inland waterway transport – the State Enterprise “Classification society Ukrainian Register of Shipping” (Ukrainian Register of Shipping, UR) which laid a solid foundation for the formation, growth, and further development of the Register.

Platonov V.O.
General Director of the Ukrainian Shipping Register (1998-2001)
Dnipro Inspection of the Register (1981-1991) Head of the Derzhflotnahliad (State Fleet Inspectorate) of Ukraine (1991-1995)

У Положенні According to the Statute of the Shipping Register of Ukraine, among the te primary objectives assigned to the Register were the following tasks:

  1. classification of sea-going and inland waterway vessels;
  2. development and approval of the Rules and technical requirements in order to ensure the conformity with maritime safety conditions, protection of life and health of passengers and crew members, protection of transported cargo, and environmental safety of vessels.
  3. technical supervision of compliance with the Rules and technical requirements for enterprises, companies, and induviduals engaged in design, construction, conversion, modernization, repair, operation of ships, ship machinery, systems and equipment, as well as in manufacture of materials and products designated for ships, including the function of approval of design and technical documentation, as well as draft standarts, guideline documents, technical specifications, and other regulatory documents related to shipbuilding, ship repair, and technical operation of the fleet.

Okhrimenko O.S.
First Deputy Director General of the State Maritime Administration (1998-2005)
Head of the State Fleet Inspectorate of Ukraine (1995-1997

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