An exclusive interview with the new Chairman of IACS
Alex Gregg-Smith is taking over as Chairman of IACS when the maritime industry is at a crucial stage in its technical, digital and environmental evolution. The advance of AI, emissions reduction and ever-increasing environmental legislation mean the role of IACS is fundamental to ensuring that these far-reaching changes are implemented at pace, uniformly and with safety at the core.
Alex Gregg-Smith brings more than 30 years of experience across classification, shipowner and shipyard leadership. He has spent over 20 years with Bureau Veritas across two periods, most recently serving as Senior Vice President, Marine & Offshore Asia Pacific, and Chief Executive for Marine & Offshore China. His earlier career at Bureau Veritas included senior technical and management roles across Europe, Africa and Asia. Beyond BV, he has held senior roles in the maritime industry including Manager of the London Maritime Service Centre at DNV, Vice President Technical at Siem Shipping managing the company’s owned fleet, and Chief Executive Officer for the owners of FSG shipyard in Germany. He holds an M.Eng in Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and a Master of Laws in Maritime Law, and is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (F.RINA).
Q. What made you want to become the IACS Chair?
A. Over 20 years with Bureau Veritas, plus time on both the ship owning and the shipyard side, have given me a valuable perspective on the importance of classification from a number of different angles, as well as the essential nature of IACS’s work, which is more vital today than ever. It was a great honour to be elected to the position of Chair of the IACS Council, at a time when geopolitical volatility, new fuels, fast-moving technology and the erosion of the international rules-based order are converging on shipping all at once.
I welcome the opportunity to help IACS speak with one clear, technical voice through this time of transition, and to play my part in reiterating the power of class, based on objective, independent and evidence-based support for regulators and industry that upholds IACS’s enduring goal of safer, cleaner shipping.
Q. What qualifies you for this role?
A. An attribute I bring to this role is having sat on more than one side of the class relationship: as a surveyor and manager within class but also running the technical side of a shipowner’s fleet and leading the parent company of a shipyard. That combination of class, owner and yard, alongside a background that spans naval architecture, engineering and maritime law, means I understand what the wider industry needs from IACS.
What’s more, the needs of our industry, and those of the organisations served by our 12 members, are evolving all the time. Technologically, digitally and environmentally, our industry is changing fast, and I fully understand the need for us to navigate this transition in a timely manner, uniformly and with safety at our core. I am proud to be charged with leading the IACS Council at this time and ensuring that we continue to deliver in line with our Strategic Plan.
IACS tenure
Q. What are the main things that you want to obtain during your tenure?
A. From the perspective of IACS’s work programme, my priorities are practical. At the recent 93rd meeting of the IACS Council, which took place in Busan, I had the opportunity to highlight the issues that I hope to focus on in the coming months. This included a number of elements in our programme, such as the ongoing evolution of our Common Structural Rules, underpinned at every stage by engagement with industry, and our quality assurance programme, which is a vital but under-appreciated element of all that we do. Our Quality Management Standard is a requirement of IACS membership and a key component of upholding trust in class and the vital role of marine classification.
Beyond our technical programme, I feel very strongly about the imperative for IACS to speak with a single, objective, non-commercial voice on so many of the defining issues facing shipping. We have a truly unique capability to engage with regulatory bodies, including IMO, and wider industry with unrivalled technical knowledge and expertise. To put this in numbers, in 2025 alone, IACS and our members authored 37 independent submissions to IMO, plus a further 20 co-sponsored papers.
We have a vital contribution to make to the many debates taking place, from disruptive technologies to new environmental challenges, and I am determined to reinforce IACS’s independent voice and the wider importance of classification as the cornerstone of maritime safety.
IACS relevance
Q. Do you think IACS is as relevant today as it was when founded in 1968?
A. More relevant, if anything. Classification’s core purpose of independent assurance of a ship’s condition has not changed since long before IACS itself was founded. What has changed is the scale and the pace. IACS members’ rules and standards now cover more than 90% of the world’s cargo-carrying tonnage, we publish several hundred technical outputs a year to keep that library current, and IACS remains the only maritime body with its own mandatory, externally audited Quality Management Standard for members.
We have also responded with agility to the emerging challenges and opportunities facing shipping. As is often said, digitalisation and decarbonisation are reshaping our industry, and IACS has moved quickly to meet the urgent need for corresponding technical support, most obviously through the work of our Safe Digital Transformation Panel and our Safe Decarbonisation Panel. The world is changing fast, and the demands placed on classification as an enabler of safe transformation are growing.
As an example of the speed with which we can move, earlier this year we published the results of a Concentrated Inspection Campaign on Emergency Power Supply Tests. This took place during 2025 and saw inspections conducted on over 36,000 ships. The results of this campaign led to a number of recommendations that will improve SOLAS compliance.
IACS assistance
Q. Shipping is probably under more pressure than it has ever been before. How can IACS help shipowners navigate the ever-changing regulations?
A. Owners are dealing with overlapping, and sometimes inconsistent, requirements from the IMO, the EU and individual flag states, on top of the practical challenge of building or retrofitting for fuels that are still commercially and technically immature. IACS’s job is to make sure new rules are informed by in-service experience rather than decided in the abstract and handed to class to interpret afterwards.
For example, when a fuel such as ammonia is being integrated into ship systems, agreeing uniform minimum technical standards at an early stage is an important enabler for faster, safer and more predictable technological progress. This is why recent steps such as the revision of our Unified Requirement (UR M78) which introduced new safety requirements for ammonia-fuelled marine engines, or the publication of a new Unified Requirement establishing a safety framework for ammonia release mitigation systems on ammonia-fuelled ships (UR H2), are so vital.
We also face a challenge of a more political nature: tonnage operating outside the rules-based order, the so-called shadow fleet. Bringing that tonnage back within a single, recognised regulatory regime is also a priority, because it affects the credibility and effectiveness of the whole global system. IACS has a valuable role in this debate, representing our 12 members and 90% of global tonnage with one voice.
Q. New technologies, such as drones, are changing the way surveys are taking place. How do you see technologies like this evolving even more?
A. Remote and autonomous inspection tools, drones included, are already changing which parts of a survey need a surveyor to be physically present and which can be done from a screen, using data captured remotely. This can deliver significant benefits, ranging from the quality of the data and speed with which it is collected to enhancing the safety of seafarers and surveyors, particularly when it involves enclosed spaces.
Interestingly, whilst drone and UAV technology is coming to the fore today, IACS was ahead of the curve when it comes to supporting their deployment. Recommendation 42 on ‘Guidelines for Use of Remote Inspection Techniques for Surveys’ was published 10 years ago in 2016. It’s fair to say that the use of innovative survey techniques and technologies has accelerated more recently and is becoming increasingly widespread, and this is an area where IACS’s Safe Digital Transformation Panel has an important role to play in providing the technical and safety assurance to support this journey.
An important question remains where we find the right balance between remote and in-person, and automated or human, when it comes to surveys. My own expectation is a hybrid solution: routine, hard-to-access or hazardous inspection points handled remotely, with surveyors concentrating on judgement calls, anomalies and other areas where physical presence and human insight matter most. This technology will empower the expertise, experience and judgement of our surveyors.
Q. How do you see the digital twin being used to enhance maintenance and conversion works in the future?
A. A key element of the work of our Safe Digital Transformation Panel relates to mitigating the risks associated with digital technologies, in order to better support their utilisation.
A good example is the use of 3D modelling. We need to close the gap between shipyards and designers that have made strong progress towards the use of 3D working environments, and class society approval processes that still use 2D drawings and static documents in many cases, notwithstanding the innovative work of our members when it comes to 3D classification services. This gap can seriously undermine the potential of 3D modelling, which is why IACS is developing a Recommendation on the protocol for format definition and exchange of 3D models.
When it comes to conversion, maintenance or repair work, there is immense value in testing how a structural change will behave before steel is cut, rather than during the work itself. The digital twin is a virtual testbed in which different options and configurations can be evaluated ahead of any physical work, lowering risk, reducing errors and cutting downtime. Digital twins can also support predictive maintenance by flagging issues in the digital model before they escalate into major failures in the asset.
Of course, digital twins are only as useful as they are accurate to the vessel itself. The progress being made from static models to those actively updated with data sourced direct from the vessel will greatly support this process.
From IACS’s perspective, we want to ensure that the assurance framework keeps pace with maintenance, repair and conversion needs, including digital tools that interact more directly with the classification process, so that a digital twin used to support a conversion or repair project carries the same confidence as a physical survey.
Q. The biggest advantage of AI is its ability to handle large amounts of data quickly. How do you see AI impacting the ship repair and conversion sector going forward?
A. The machine learning, data analytics and predictive capabilities of Al are already having a transformative impact across every facet of the shipping industry, and the ship repair and conversion sector is no exception.
From a predictive maintenance perspective, the benefits are obvious. The use of drone and UAV technology to collect vast quantities of inspection data in hours rather than days, then AI tools to identify areas of potential weakness or risk, are a genuine step-change in capability. When it comes to planning for routine maintenance needs, such as coatings or corrosion repairs, the data can then be processed and analysed, before being presented to a qualified surveyor for review and validation.
One of the most exciting aspects of such capabilities is the ripple effect of the benefits that are felt beyond the task itself. It enables earlier, more effective interventions, shorter and more efficient dry dock visits, reduced downtime and more predictable OPEX. And most importantly, reduced risk of failure and safer vessels.
Of course, at the same time as harnessing the power of AI, we also need to identify and mitigate the risks. IACS has a strong record already in respect of addressing the cybersecurity considerations associated with growing digitalisation, such as through our Unified Requirements UR E26 and UR E27, which support the cyber resilience of ships and onboard systems and equipment. This also remains an important focus of our Safe Digitalisation Panel.
Outside of IACS
Q. What about Alex Gregg-Smith outside IACS? What do you do to relax and what are your main interests/hobbies?
A. Being in the maritime industry from my early days implies a love of travel, and this is very true. I have had the good fortune in my career to visit, live in and work in many locations starting at the age of 17 in Newcastle (I am a Newcastle United supporter), through France, Africa, Europe and Asia. I try to learn and experience new things to keep my brain active, and love to immerse myself in the cultures (including the people, their food and drink) and languages that this travel brings, including French and Mandarin. I try to play golf when time permits, but I find now with a young addition to my family, the best way for me to relax and appreciate life is to spend time together with them, whether at home or travelling. My next challenge I wish to set myself is to start learning Italian and experience more of the richness of the Italian culture.
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