This smells to me like one big con job by those audit companies out to make a quick buck.
I'm old enough to remember con's of the past.
First there was the Quality Assured con. Remember the 4 ticks on every van, advert, and document. Every company worth it's salt had to have this audit and rating or otherwise no goverment contracts etc for you.
Companies spent tens of thousands of dollars to get the privelige to have the ticks only to find as always the lowest quote usually wins the contract,ticks or no ticks.
Then there was the millenium bug con.
Millions of wasted dollars spend because everything that had computers involved was going to crash on the 1st January 2000 and thousands of companies had dozens of consultants going over the equiptment to make sure it didn't. No garantee however if it did and in fact turned into a fizzer.
Now this little beauty.
Bet charter companies are told there will be no contracts without it.
Just as before it will all come down to contract price and delivery capability.