Foreword: This Guide applies to classification of design@ construction and installation of risers for offshore and marine applications@ as well as the periodic surveys required for maintenance of classification. Serviceability of risers is also addressed@ but only to the extent that proper functioning of the pipe and its components affects safety. This Guide may also be used for certification or verification of design@ construction or installation of risers. ABS will certify or verify design@ construction and installation of offshore risers when requested by the Owner or mandated by government regulations to verify compliance with this Guide@ a set of specific requirements@ national standards or other applicable industry standards. If ABS certification or verification is in accordance with this Guide and covers design@ construction and installation@ then the riser is also eligible for ABS classification. This Guide has been written for worldwide application@ and as such@ the satisfaction of individual requirements may require comprehensive data@ analyses and plans to demonstrate adequacy. This especially applies for risers located in frontier areas@ such as those characterized by relatively great water depth or areas with little or no previous operating experience. Conversely@ many provisions of this Guide often can be satisfied merely on a comparative basis of local conditions or past successful practices. The Bureau acknowledges that a wide latitude exists as to the extent and type of documentation which is required for submission to satisfy this Guide. It is not the intention of this Guide to impose requirements or practices in addition to those that have previously proven satisfactory in similar situations. Where available@ design requirements in this Guide have been posed in terms of existing methodologies and their attendant safety factors@ load factors or permissible stresses that are deemed to provide an adequate level of safety. Primarily@ the Bureau's use of such methods and limits in this Guide reflects what is considered to be the current state of practice in offshore riser design. At the same time@ it is acknowledged that new materials and methods of design@ construction and installation are constantly evolving. The application of this Guide by the Bureau will not seek to inhibit the use of any technological approach that can be shown to produce an acceptable level of safety. This ABS Guide is effective 1 May 2006 and supersedes the edition published in May 2005. This edition adds an Appendix for the design@ testing and installation of composite risers.