As a long-standing member of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), China Classification Society (CCS) has made pivotal contributions across a wide range of technical fields. Through its secondment program, CCS dispatches seasoned professionals to the IACS Secretariat, offering robust support to the advancement of safe and green shipping while equipping seconded staff with enhanced maritime expertise at both the international and technical levels.
Ge Benqi and Liu Puxing, two specialists from CCS, exemplify the professionals supporting the Secretariat under this program. Over the past several years, they have played a significant role in advancing IACS’s mission “safer and cleaner shipping”, gaining first-hand experience at the core of international maritime collaboration.
Recently, Ge Benqi and Liu Puxing were invited to share their work experience, the opportunities and challenges encountered, and the insights and reflections gained during their secondment at the IACS Secretariat.
Q: What is your position at IACS, and what are your core responsibilities?
Ge: I am seconded by CCS to the IACS Secretariat to support the Chair of the General Policy Group (GPG).
My core responsibilities entail coordinating IACS technical working groups and participating in the formulation of the Association’s strategic and policy objectives. My remit covers industry engagement, International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the European Union (EU) regulatory affairs, as well as liaison and coordination with other international bodies including the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO).
In addition, I participate in the drafting of IACS high-level position papers, lead the compilation and review of the IACS Annual Review Journal, assist in advancing various strategic initiatives of the Association, and oversee the management of technical budgets.
Liu: I serve as a Technical Officer at the IACS Secretariat, working at the intersection of technical standardization and digitalization governance.
My primary duty is to coordinate the formulation, revision, maintenance and publications of IACS technical documents, including Resolutions and Recommendations. I am also a member of the Common Structural Rules (CSR) Secretariat, engaging in the continuous refinement of the CSR framework. A central tenet of my role is to ensure relevant rules remain rigorous, applicable and aligned with industry demands.
Beyond technical standard coordination, I take an active part in the internal digital capacity building of the Secretariat. Through applying automated workflows, data-driven and online collaborative tools to streamline technical work, the efficiency, accuracy and traceability of document management, technical tracking, report compilation and resolution maintenance get boosted. In essence, what I do is both to uphold the integrity of IACS’s technical standard system, and to elevate the efficiency and quality of global technical cooperation via digitalization.
Q: How does your work advance safer and cleaner shipping?
Ge: IACS is instrumental in formulating unified technical standards for the global maritime sector. These standards underpin vessel safety, efficiency and environmental performance.
Through policy support, technical coordination and external outreach, I help ensure IACS maintains clear, consistent positions aligned with global industry trends. This facilitates the establishment of more stringent standards, lifting overall maritime safety benchmarks and mitigating the environmental impact of shipping worldwide.
Liu: My contributions to safe and clean shipping stem from a technical foundation. Based in IACS’s technical hub, I coordinate the complex lifecycle of formulating and revising unified requirements and recommendations. These documents serve as fundamental references for member classification societies in plan approval, surveys and technical assessments, and form the bedrock for safeguarding global ships and enabling consistent implementation of technical requirements. By overseeing rigorous, orderly and accurate delivery of related workflows, I directly engage in the continuous evolution of the international classification technical standard system.
Furthermore, I leverage technical solutions to empower future maritime operations. With digitalization deployed for document management and regulatory workflows, I have eliminated redundant administrative tasks, freeing technical specialists from cumbersome daily office routines to focus on high-level analysis. This ultimately helps with safer ship design and greener maritime operations. To my mind, the integration of strong technical coordination with modern digital tools ensures IACS standards are as solid and reliable as the vessels they regulate.
Q: What professional gains has your secondment at the IACS Secretariat brought you?
Ge: This secondment has enabled me to broaden my perspective, shifting from frontline operations to global policy and coordination.
I previously worked as a Senior Ship Surveyor and Senior Marine Product Surveyor, holding full qualifications covering materials and welding, machinery, and electrical installations. I also served as a Senior ISM/ISPS Auditor, the Inspector of Maritime Labor Convention (MLC). Besides, I have Level Ⅱ Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) qualification and an International Institute of Container Lessors (IICL) Container Surveyor certificate. I have chaired the IACS Expert Group on Materials and Welding and the Technical Committee on EU Recognized Organization for Mutual Recognition (EU RO MR) of Marine Products.
Working within the GPG ChairTeam at IACS allows me to combine hands-on experience with high-level policy formulation, which has deepened my grasp of international standard-setting mechanisms and sharpened my capabilities in coordination and communication, as well as cooperation with global stakeholders.
Liu: This secondment constitutes a landmark for my career development, substantially broadening my international vision and strategic thinking. My work at the IACS Secretariat has shifted my mindset from localized, project-specific thinking to the global landscape of international maritime policy-making. The stringent standards and exacting requirements encourage holistic analysis.
That means I should focus not only on the development of individual rules, but also on their full-cycle governance, including complex multi-stakeholder consultation, maintenance and implementation across the global fleet. This has fundamentally enhanced my capacity to steer technical transformation and administer sophisticated regulatory frameworks. Professional growth of this kind is hard to obtain in any other role.
Q: What is your greatest comfort in your work supporting IACS?
Ge: I find the greatest comfort in contributing to initiatives with genuine worldwide impact.
Collaborating with experts from IACS member societies to reach consensus on unified positions and launch valuable industry initiatives is both inspiring and rewarding. It is deeply motivating to know our collective work is elevating global maritime safety and advancing sustainable shipping.
Liu: What comforts me most is that my 12-year experience at CCS, as a surveyor on site or a plan approval engineer, has been consolidated and elevated at IACS. My frontline experience in plan approval and on-board surveys gives me intimate insight into practical pain points in regulation implementation, which I now bring to bear in shaping IACS Resolutions and Recommendations.
Building a bridge between engineering practice and international technical standardization brings immense professional satisfaction. The technical details I oversee are helping resolve tangible industry challenges, and my operational background enables me to accurately prioritize standard development work. They have constituted the most valuable part of this job. I feel honored to witness my contributions underpin global ship safety, consistent technical application, maritime green transition and industrial efficiency gains. I greatly cherish the opportunity to represent CCS in international maritime cooperation and bring our professional expertise to the global stage.
Robban Assafina is now on WhatsApp channel. Click Here
