II. Read and translate the following text:

In the shipping industry, classification societies are non-governmental organizations or groups of professionals, ship surveyors and representatives of offices that promote the safety and protection of the environment of ships and offshore structures.

Classification societies employ ship surveyors, material engineers, piping engineers, mechanical engineers, chemical engineers and electrical engineers, often located at ports and office buildings around the world.

Marine vessels and structures are classified according to the soundness of their structure and design for the purpose of the vessel. The classification rules are designed to ensure an acceptable degree of stability, safety, environmental impact, etc.

In the second half of the 18th century, merchants, marine underwriters, and others, all connected with shipping often gathered at Edward Lloyd's coffee house in London. In 1760, customers of that coffee house formed the Register Society, the first authentic classification society and which would subsequently become Lloyd's Register. Their purpose was to develop a system for the independent inspection of the hull and equipment of ships presented to them to be insured.

At that time, an attempt was made to 'classify' the condition of each ship on an annual basis. The condition of the hull was classified A, E, I, O or U, according to the excellence of its construction and its adjudged continuing soundness (or lack thereof). Equipment was G, M, or B: simply, good, middling or bad. In time, G, M and B were replaced by 1, 2 and 3, which is the origin of the well-known expression 'A1', meaning 'first or highest class'.

The first edition of the Register of Ships was published by Lloyd's Register in 1764 and was for use in the years 1764 to 1766.

Classification societies set technical rules, confirm that designs and calculations meet these rules, survey ships and structures during the process of construction and commissioning, and periodically survey vessels to ensure that they continue to meet the rules. Classification societies are also responsible for classing oil platforms, other offshore structures, and submarines. Included in the survey process is the survey and certification of diesel engines, large or critical pumps such as fire or main bilge pumps, and other machinery vital to the function of the ship. This is frequently done at the manufacturer's plant, which may be hundreds of miles from the shipyard or drydock.

As the classification profession evolved, the practice of assigning different classifications has been superseded, with some exceptions. Today a ship either meets the relevant class society’s rules or it does not. As a consequence it is either 'in' or 'out' of 'class'. Classification societies do not issue statements or certifications that a vessel is 'fit to sail' or 'unfit to sail', merely that the vessel is in compliance with the required codes. This is in part related to legal liability of the classification society.

However, each of the classification societies has developed a series of notations that may be granted to a vessel to indicate that it is in compliance with some additional criteria that may be either specific to that vessel type or that are in excess of the standard classification requirements.