DNV’s history in the US

DNV is the world’s leading classification society and a recognized advisor for the maritime industry. We enhance safety, quality, energy efficiency and environmental performance of the global shipping industry – across all vessel types and offshore structures. We invest heavily in research and development to find solutions, together with the industry, that address strategic, operational or regulatory challenges.

DNV established its first presence in the United States in 1898, when maritime surveyor Hans Johansen transferred to New York to provide surveys to the growing “iron and steam” DNV-classed fleet that called at North American ports from the St. Lawrence River to the Gulf of Mexico.

More than 125 years later, DNV has more than 224 employees providing assurance and risk management services to a wide range of sectors including maritime, energy, and healthcare with the purpose of safeguarding life, property, and the environment.

Some key milestones from DNV’s history in the US

• Towards the end of the 1960s, a new shipping phenomenon burst onto the scene with the arrival of the Florida based cruise industry. DNV had a large share of these vessels in class, which demanded specialized surveyors and the establishment of a new dedicated office in Miami. Today, Miami remains the epicenter for DNV’s cruise activities.
• In the 1980s, the petrochemical industry grew in importance in the US, and DNV’s services adapted to these changing needs. Houston became a world energy capital and an important base for DNV. The acquisition of ILCI (International Loss Control Institute) in Atlanta in the 1990s, then took DNV’s safety management advisory services to a new level.
• In 2003, DNV became the 1st non-US origin classification society to sign the US Coast Guard Alternative Compliance Program (ACP). This gave DNV autonomy to issue a wide variety of Statutory Certificates to US flagged ships on behalf of the US Coast Guard in all the main merchant categories.