RINA Launches System to Mitigate Infection Spread

Ship classification and certification body RINA has played an important role in supporting the economic development of the industry. Now, in the face of one of the toughest challenges faced, RINA has taken steps to help restart economic activity through the Biosafety Trust Certification.

The Certification is the first management system certification aimed at the prevention and mitigation of the spread of infections in public places, building towards greater health safety. Through a set of best practices, the new management system will minimize the risks of spreading epidemics in crowded places. These practices apply to everything from public transport, entertainment and sporting venues to accommodation facilities including hotels.

The Biosafety Trust Certification is based on the ISO’s systematic approach to management systems combined with scientific best practices against the spread of infections together with the principles of organizational behaviour management to effectively control and prevent contagion in a work context.

The superyacht industry has had to move quickly to adapt procedures in order to safeguard personnel and business interests, with many firms from brokerages to shipyards rolling out work from home schemes. Many shipyards remain open and functional during the crisis with new measures in place to ensure safety. The new RINA Certification will be proactive in ensuring that individuals are provided with the necessary training to follow recommended preventative measures. The certification also serves to instil confidence in stakeholders during this state of emergency.

CEO of RINA Services, Nello Sulfaro, stated: “We firmly believe that now is the time to start thinking about how to deal with the second phase of this health emergency. By bringing together a number of our core competencies, RINA has been able to offer a new pre-emptive scheme that can help tourism and entertainment companies to improve the health and safety of its workers and customers and to minimize the risks posed by the spread of infections.”

The superyacht industry supports companies from a wide variety of sectors, and the damage to superyacht travel has been felt by many. The hope is now that with more preventative measures in place, the industry will be better prepared for any future events of a similar nature.

RINA's superyacht certifications help to regulate the high quality necessary for superyachts, and include the Comfort Class notation, awarded to yachts with low levels of noise and vibrations, as well as the Charter Class. The Wider 150 superyacht was awarded a perfect score in the RINA Comfort Class back in 2016 for the noise efficiency of its innnovative engineering platform. The RINA award is also awarded annually at the Monaco Yacht Show, with 64m Sanlorenzo superyacht Attila winning last year.