Amendments have been made to Lloyd’s Register’s Rules (LR Rules) to include the requirements of three newly published Unified Requirements (UR) from the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). These cover welding procedure qualification tests of steels for hull construction and marine structures, and high heat welding and base material requirements. The amendments also introduce updated requirements for the acceptance of existing welding procedure qualifications carried out to recognised national or international standards, providing a clear basis for demonstrating compliance with LR Rules.

LR Rules have been updated to align with the following IACS Unified Requirements, which come into force on 1 January 2027:

  1. UR W11 Rev.10 – Normal and higher strength hull structural steels.
  2. UR W16 Rev.4. Corr.1 – High Strength Steels for Welded Structures.
  3. UR W28 Rev.3 – Welding procedure qualification tests of steels for hull construction and marine structures.

Lloyd’s Register will include these revised requirements in the 1 January 2027 version of the Rules for the Manufacture, Testing and Certification of Materials (referred below as the Rules for Materials), and the associated Materials and Qualification Procedures for Ships documents (referred below as MQPS Books).

The impact on LR’s documents is summarised as follows along with the stakeholder applicability:

 

LR document

 

Scope of change

 

Stakeholder

 

 

 

Rules for Materials Chapter 3 (sections 1 &10)

 

MQPS Books A & C

 

a. Updated requirements for the welding of test assemblies for high heat input welding for manufacturer approval for high strength structural steels, intended for use in marine and offshore structural applications.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Applicable to:

  • steel mills applying for approval for high heat input or;
  • applying for high heat input from 01 January 2027.

 

Rules for Materials Chapter 3 (sections 1, 2 & 3)

 

MQPS Books A & C

 

b. Updated requirements for the welding of test assemblies for high heat input welding for manufacturer approval for normal and higher strength steel intended for use in hull construction.

 

 

Rules for Materials Chapter 3 (section 1)

 

c. Optional high heat input grade notation and designation on the approval certificate for base materials.

 

Applicable to:

  • steel mills applying for approval for high heat input from 01 January 2027.

 

 

 

Rules for Materials Chapter 12 (Sections 1, 2 & 8)

 

 

 

 

d. Updated requirements for welding procedure qualification (WPQ) test for steels.

 

 

 

 

 

Applicable to:

  • shipyards or fabricators undertaking new WPQ from 01 January 2027

 

Welding procedure specification (WPS) and WPQ records made and accepted by LR in accordance with previous rule requirements remain valid subject to the applicable range and conditions.

 

Rules for Materials Chapter 12 (section 2)

 

e. Updated requirements for welding procedure range of approval for butt welds and fillet welds.

 

 

Rules for Materials Chapter 12 (section 2)

 

f. Updated requirements for welding qualifications using approved high heat input grade notation.

 

Rules for Materials Chapter 12 (section 8)

 

g. Updated requirements for the acceptance of welding procedure qualifications to national or international standards.

 

For further information

If you would like to know more or need support with these requirements, please contact technicalexperts@lr.org.