1 Introduction - a few general comments(1) This article is a revision and translation of the article ”Private klassifikationsselskaber som udøvere af forvaltningsmyndighed i shippingindustrien”, in Clausen et al (eds.), Festskrift til Hans Viggo Godsk Pedersen, DJØF; Copenhagen 2017. It has been presented here in the English language in order to make it available for a larger audience.