Lloyd’s Register, one of the world’s top ship classification societies, says it is withdrawing services to Russia, becoming the latest to cut ties with the country amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Lloyd's Register has been closely monitoring the very concerning situation in Ukraine over the past weeks.

“Based on the latest legislative requirements taking effect in the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States, LR has confirmed that it will disengage from the provision of all services to Russian owned, controlled or managed assets or companies,” it said in a statement.

An LR spokesperson added that it was working to identify which vessels in the LR fleet “are impacted by these new sanctions”.

“LR will not be providing the relevant classification certificates and international convention certificates going forward to Russian clients and will be notifying the relevant flag administrations of the withdrawal of class as it takes effect,” the spokesperson said.

The American Bureau of Shipping(ABS) has joined the exodus of maritime companies leaving the Russian market, the class society said in a statement Monday.

"After careful consideration of the situation in Ukraine and the Black Sea as well as the applicable sanctions, ABS has taken the decision to withdraw all class services involving Russian vessels, assets and companies," ABS wrote. "The decision follows the tragic events developing in Ukraine and a thorough evaluation of the evolving regulatory and sanctions environment and its applicability to ABS operations. As a U.S. company, ABS strictly follows both the letter and the spirit of U.S. sanctions’ law."

ABS' decision follows similar statements from DNV and LR, which both announced the termination of services for Russian-related entities last week.

Norway’s DNV, one of the world’s top ship certifiers, is winding down its Russia business and reviewing all existing contracts becoming the latest company to cut such services as pressure grows on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine.

It is understood that the above-mentioned international classification societies provide classification services for some vessels of the major Russian shipping companies Sovcomflot and Far-Eastern Shipping Company (FESCO Transportation Group).

The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), which had 12 members previously including LR and DNV and forms the top tier of ship certifiers globally, said late on Friday it was withdrawing Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS)' membership with immediate effect, which it said was "no longer tenable", citing UK sanctions on Russia where IACS is domiciled.

The expulsion of RMRS from IACS will further limit Russian-controlled shipping from being able to maintain insurance cover and reduce their license to trade.

IACS consists of eleven member marine classification societies representing more than 90% of the world’s cargo carrying tonnage. The classification societies include the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Bureau Veritas (BV), Croatian Register of Shipping (CRS), China Classification Society (CCS), DNV, Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass), Lloyd’s Register (LR), Korean Register of Shipping (KR), ClassNK, Polish Register of Shipping (PRS), and Registro Italiano Navale (RINA).