American Bureau Of Shipping's Probe Into The Sustainable Development Strategy In China

American Bureau of Shipping Ship Classification Society (ABS), established in 1862, is one of the leading Ship Classification Societies . in the world; also, it is one of the founding members of International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). ABS is a not-for-profit corporation that has no capital stock and pays no dividends. The mission of ABS is to serve the public interest as well as the needs of our clients by promoting the security of life, property and the natural environment primarily through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities.Since the start of the reform and opening-up era, ABS worked closely with China Classification Society (CCS) and participated actively in domestic shipbuilding and shipping interest. The Shanghai office of ABS was opened in 1992 and was situated as the headquarter of China in 2001 in order to replan the organizational structure of Asia Pacific Area. ABS has made a rapid progress in China in the last few decades. Recently, the global Financial Tsunami greatly affected the shipbuilding industry. As a famous ship classification society with a history of more than 100 years, to keep its sustainable development in China, it should formulate its proper strategies which in conformity with the Chinese conditions. Therefore, this paper analyzed the critical success factors of the whole ship classification societies and the position of ABS in this industry, so that it can try to determine the next strategic directions. Firstly, this paper described the developing process of the industry of ship classification societies and International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), then introducing several major ship classification societies in China. Secondly, it analyzed the critical success factors of the whole ship classification societies and the position of ABS in this industry by two questionnaire surveys. Finally, it tried to make the next strategic direction of ABS. As there are few papers dealing with this subject, this paper can play an important role in the future development of ABS in China and other relevant industry as well.