Boating New Zealand – April 2018

WW1 AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION

During the Great War, thanks to its staf ’s professionalism and

expertise, Lloyd’s Register was asked to inspect the steel used

for non-marine purposes. And in the 1920s and 1930s it was

requested to certify both the construction of airplanes and oil

storage tanks – this marked the beginning of the organisation’s

broader involvement in other industrial sectors.

But the economic crisis that followed the 1929 collapse

of the New York Stock Exchange dealt Lloyd’s Register a

heavy blow. It had to adapt to a recession that afected both

sea trade and shipbuilding. A decade later, the outbreak of

WWII saw the headquarters shift to Wokingham and the

replacement of almost all male staf with women. Men were

enlisted or called to collaborate with the armed forces as

consultants involved in the amphibious operations and the

removal of wrecks from the ports.

Personnel operating in German-occupied countries

experienced even harder times. Some were repatriated, others

tried to carry on their business as best as they could, appealing

to the independence of the Lloyd’s Register from His Majesty’s

government.

REBIRTH

Tings were much more favourable after 1945 thanks to

the shipbuilding revival, which accelerated the demand for

appraisals and consultancies – services already in the company’s

DNA. It also became increasingly involved with appraisals in

felds such as structural engineering, metallurgy, the energy

sector, ofshore operations and refrigeration.

Lloyd’s Register changed its name and legal status in

2012. It’s now called Lloyd’s Register Group Limited and is a
      public limited company with shares owned by Lloyd’s Register
      Foundation. Today the Group has 7,000 employees worldwide
      with ofces in 78 countries. Te historic venue in Fenchurch
      Street was restored in 1972 and expanded in 2000, when an
      adjacent glass, steel and concrete complex was inaugurated.

88 Boating New Zealand

It comprises two or sometimes three volumes. The

larger volume contains particulars of every existing

sea and Great Lakes ship of 100 tons or more. River

vessels are often included.

The duties of the Committee of the Register

include the survey and classification of ships, the

annual production of the Register Book (in July), the

testing of chains and anchors, the testing of steel

used in ship construction, specifying where the

load-lines of a ship are to be marked, and the survey

of refrigerating machinery.

Originally ships were classified as A, E, I, 0 or U,

with reference to the degree of excellence of the

hulls. Later the figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 were applied to

the equipment – hence the expression A1. A ship

that was below par was said to be “of her letter.”

The well-known expression “A1 at Lloyd’s” is an

indication that everything is of first-class character.

THE REGISTER TODAY

ABOVE Lloyd’s Register’s HQ in London’s Fenchurch Street.

RIGHT The upper walls of the building’s committee room

carry these words from Psalm 107: “They that go down to the

sea in ships, that do business in great waters

These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.”