IACS has published a new Recommendation on gas dispersion analysis, Rec.202, a move described by reports on 13 November 2026 as a further step in supporting the safe decarbonisation of the maritime sector.
The International Association of Classification Societies is the membership organisation for the world’s leading classification societies, and its technical guidance is closely watched across the industry. The association’s publications are intended to inform practice and to set out expectations for technical assessments.
Rec.202 provides information on best practices and on requirements for carrying out gas dispersion analysis for ships, according to The report. The Recommendation is presented as practical guidance addressing how such analysis should be approached and documented.
The IACS announcement was framed by the source as part of a continuing effort to support safer adoption of lower‑carbon options across shipping. reports characterised the new Recommendation as a significant contribution to that wider programme of work.
Content and purpose
The Recommendation is described in the report as guidance on both practices and requirements for gas dispersion analysis. That description indicates the document combines advisory material with defined expectations, aimed at those preparing and reviewing technical assessments.
Sources noted the Recommendation’s role in clarifying approaches to gas dispersion analysis, emphasising its practical orientation. The report underlined that Rec.202 is intended to address how analyses are carried out, reflecting the technical focus of the publication.
Relevance to decarbonisation and safety
The report places Rec.202 within the context of safe decarbonisation, stating that the Recommendation marks a further contribution by IACS to that objective. The publication therefore links the new guidance explicitly with broader industry change and with efforts to manage related safety questions.
reports presented the Recommendation as a document that supports decisions and assessments connected with transition measures. The report’s account positions the guidance as part of a continuing body of technical work intended to underpin safe practice.
The release of Rec.202 follows a period in which classification societies and international bodies have issued technical material intended to inform risk assessments and vessel design work. reports’s report indicates this Recommendation sits alongside that ongoing stream of technical publications from IACS and its members.
The reports item dated 13 November 2026 is the source of the details in this report. It summarised the publication of the Recommendation, the nature of its content and its stated relationship to the safe decarbonisation agenda.
Owners, designers and those involved in safety assessment will be able to consult Rec.202 to understand IACS’s stated practices and requirements, as set out by the association and summarised in The report. The Recommendation may therefore inform how gas dispersion analyses are prepared and reviewed in support of safety cases and technical submissions.
Publication of technical recommendations by IACS is a recurrent feature of the classification community’s contribution to maritime safety and regulatory discussion. reports’s account of Rec.202 confirms that the association has issued further guidance intended to assist the industry as it manages technical and safety consequences linked to decarbonisation.
Stakeholders seeking the full text and precise technical detail will need to consult the Recommendation itself; the reports piece provides a report summarising its publication and framing it within IACS’s ongoing work on safety and decarbonisation.
In summary, sources indicated on 13 November 2026 that IACS has published Rec.202, described as a new Recommendation providing best practice guidance and requirements for gas dispersion analysis and presented by the source as a further contribution to safe decarbonisation in shipping.