ABS hosted its Annual Meeting in New York on April 29, 2014. ABS Chairman and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki said, "ABS had another strong performance year and achieved several milestones during 2013 as the global economy began to strengthen."
 

In 2013 the ABS-classed fleet expanded to 205.6 million gross tons (gt), a growth rate of more than 6 percent year-on-year. ABS became only the second classification society to surpass the 200 million gt mark. ABS also maintained a leading position in the global orderbook closing out the year with 38.8 million gt contracted to class with ABS, 22 percent of all vessels on order.
 

"Through sound technology investment, a focus on best-in-class service and a commitment to the mission of ABS, the organization was able to continue its growth across all market segments," said Wiernicki. "Key investments in our people and technical capabilities place ABS in a position to further cement our position as a global leader."
 
ABS saw continued success in key sectors of the marine industry. Market share for new construction of containerships continued to grow with 22 percent of ultra large containerships and 61 percent of panamax containerships on order set for ABS class. ABS continued its strong performance in the LNG carrier sector with 27 percent share of the orderbook. Oil tankers continue to comprise the largest tonnage within the ABS fleet, growing more than 5 percent year-on-year to 73.8 million gt, with orders for a further 139 vessels aggregating 6.2 million gt.

 
Indicating a sound foundation for the future, nearly 50 percent of all vessels in ABS class are five years of age or younger and nearly 70 percent of the vessels have ten years or less of operational activity.

 
ABS continued to lead in mobile offshore drilling units (MODU) and floating production installations. In the jackup market, ABS maintained its majority share with 109 out of 121 of new orders delivered to ABS class. There were 72 new orders for drillships, with 54 awarded to ABS class.

 
ABS continued its strong performance in in the floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel market sector, and closed out 2013 with 42 percent of the existing FPSOs and 39 percent of newbuilds.

 
In the area of Port State Control, ABS maintained its position as a top performer with the United States Coast Guard and Paris and Tokyo MOUs in their annual reports on class-related detentions. In July, the Paris MOU identified ABS as the best performing Recognized Organization for the rolling three-year period 2010-2012.