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April 2011 www.sname.org/sname/mt In 2003 the NAVSEA and ABS signed a cooperative agreement on development, implementation, and maintenance of naval vessel rules. is agreement led to the pub- lication of the rst edition of ABS Rules for Building and Classing Naval Vessels (widely referred to as NVR) in 2004, beginning a relationship that would bring to bear the technical experience and service capa- bilities of ABS in the acquisition of new non-nuclear naval surface combatants. e NVR represents the culmination of many years of work between NAVSEA and ABS to apply the navys base of military knowledge via methods that provide the continuity of engineering and survey practice made available by an independent certication authority. As one of the leading class societies in the world, and the only class society based in the United States, ABS draws on nearly 150 years of service history to provide prac- tical and technical experience during all stages of a naval vessel project. In addition to its experience working with commercial clients, ABS has been the ocial agent of the U.S. government on all matters of clas- sication since the passing of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. Today ABS provides classication services to a number of fed- eral agencies, including the fleets of the Military Sealift Command and the Maritime Administration. Under the joint NAVSEA-ABS manage- ment of the NVR, the navy maintains its role as the ultimate technical authority. e objective of the NVR and the involvement of ABS are to certify the safe construction, installation, and maintenance of systems, equipment, and components while also meeting the performance requirements demanded of naval combatants. To assist NAVSEA in the endeavor, ABS maintains engineering offices that spe- cialize in naval vessel design review in Washington, D.C. and Houston, Texas. ABS also trains surveyors around the world on the requirements and processes contained in the NVR, maintaining a global network of qualied surveyors that can assist the navy in any theater whenever needed. The continued insertion of classifica- tion into navy shipbuilding and lifecycle maintenance is also demonstrated by the continuing institutionalization of ABS clas- sication into the navys asset maintenance process and the annual updates to the NVR. e navy has formalized the requirement for ABS class in the existing procedures for maintenance and repair of the littoral com- bat ship (LCS) class vessels. Incorporating R&D Realizing the evolving nature of the rela- tionship between NAVSEA and ABS, the two organizations signed an addendum to the 2003 agreement on April 28 th, 2010. Within the agreement, the commitment was rearmed to continue collaboration in the updating of the NVR and to now incorporate research and development opportunities into the existing process. New initiatives were also identied in the areas of lifecycle maintenance and service life maximization and joint training between NAVSEA and ABS. To ensure the NVR would remain a liv- ing document, NAVSEA and ABS worked Nearly 15 years ago, the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) began discussing how to incorporate ship classication processes and experience into the United States Navy shipbuilding process. e resulting relationship has revolutionized the government shipbuilding process. e aim has to been to bring commercial best practices and the latest technical guidance to the specialized needs of naval combatants by incorporating classication into the building practices, along with lifecycle maintenance of the navy eet. Opposite page: The USS Freedom is one of the ?rst vessels built using the ABS Rules for Building and Classing Naval Vessels . Both classes of LCS have been designed, built, and maintained to the NVR.