Schiffstechnik | Ship
Schiffstechnik | Ship Technology » »We also encourage industry and regulators to keep the overall safety of ships at the forefront of our minds.« Nick Brown , Marine Director, Lloyd’s Register © Lloyd’s Register As an industry we need to become more balanced about the way we regulate the hardware, the design of the equipment onboard ships and the human element. There is a growing feeling that STCW training standards have not necessarily had the necessary review in recent years given the increase in digitization and connectivity of ships and systems onboard ships. We expect continued focus on regulations to enhance the environmental credentials of the industry. The priority will be following-up on the ambition in the Initial IMO Strategy for the Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships. This will entail new requirements to enhance the technical and operational efficiency of ships to achieve the carbon intensity ambition for 2030, and more radical requirements to deliver on the absolute emissions reduction ambition for 2050. Other environmental issues on which regulation is anticipated include underwater noise, bio-fouling and grey water. There is no doubt that once the IMO’s regulatory scoping exercise is completed in 2020, work on requirements to address the safety of automatic and autonomous systems used on board ships will commence. We anticipate those requirements to be goal-based. We also encourage industry and regulators to keep the overall safety of ships at the forefront of our minds. The challenges of improving shipping’s environmental performance are necessary and they are significant – in the case of GHG emission reductions, we need step changes not evolution. This necessary work should not obscure the need to continue evaluating and improving the safety of ships for the benefit of those who work on board. Digitalisation carries risk – as the ship itself becomes more connected to the shore, various stakeholders whether they be equipment makers, or service providers who can carry out remote diagnostics or undertake software upgrades on assets without physically going onboard. And those engineers that do go onboard are armed with laptops, cables and other kit used inspect systems. As a result there is the opportunity for the reliability and performance of a system to be degraded, whether it’s been through a malicious act, such as a targeted attack, or more likely, in my opinion, through the unintended consequences of someone either inserting a USB cable or a memory stick, or perhaps one piece of operating technology having it software upgraded, and the manufacturer of that piece of technology, not understanding how the technology fits within a « wider system on board the ship. To help our clients address cyber threats, we last year acquired Nettitude which has significant cyber security domain expertise. » We are improving our operational model by delocalizing expertise and competencies, and creating technical and commercial structures close to clients, with dedicated, single points of contact. We also have big investments planned in Northern Europe, China and for passenger ships in the USA. 52 HANSA International Maritime Journal 08 | 2019 © RINA »We are not excluding the possibility of us performing focused M&A activities going forward.« Paolo Moretti, EVP Marine Strategic Development, RINA Over the next few years we see good opportunities, especially in cruise and ferry passenger ships relating to the global 2020 Sulphur cap and convention for sound ship recycling. Also smart ship solutions are a very promising area. To grow in the value-added advisory services market for designers, shipyards and shipowners, we further intend to define agreements with specialized companies in such niche segments. With this in mind, we are not excluding the possibility of us performing focused M&A activities going forward. We see environmental regulations that cover the entire life cycle of the ship being a strong area of influence in the shipping industry in coming years. Smart shipping and the »digital ship« are also becoming reality and need new regulations. The first testing of remotely controlled ships have recently taken place, but the final objective is to have completely unmanned ships. This development will need a whole new set of internationally approved regulations. In the short term, we do not see the role of class societies « changing. In the slightly longer term, we see the need to develop new tools for the safe use and consequent certification of steps required to reduce pollution in the maritime world in line with the ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan for 2030 and 2050.
Schiffstechnik | Ship Technology Holistic inter-committee work on the subject of maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS) and the lack of clarity about the correct application of the existing IMO instruments is now on-going and expected to continue for several more years. The IMO could ensure that stakeholders across the maritime sector have access to a clear and consistent regulatory framework and could respond proactively to the growth in the use of MASS in a timely manner. In addition to MASS, the IMO is currently reviewing the reduction of GHG emissions from ships, and a proposal for energy efficiency regulations for existing ships was presented at MEPC 74. The proposal for energy efficiency regulation for existing ships also includes an amendment to the MARPOL convention and the mandatory application to all ships. Although the IMO has not yet made any decisions, if the regulations are decided, it is expected that the impact on ships engaged in international voyages will be greater than any previous regulations. No one doubts that the biggest concern for shipping companies at the moment is the sulphur cap 2020 and companies are doing their best to prepare for it. An SIP (Ship Implementation Plan) would help the industry plan, but it is very difficult to develop one because the market is so unprepared. For example; No.4 in the SIP is »Procurement of compliant fuel oil« but we don’t know where such fuel will be available. Even planning for preparation is almost impossible at »A SIP (Ship Implementation Plan) would help the industry plan, but it is very difficult to develop one because the market is so unprepared.« Jeong-kie Lee, President & CEO, Korean Register the moment because none of the related industries are ready. New fuel will be available from the fourth quarter of this year, and then ship owners and operators will only have a couple of months for their »real« preparation. Moreover, the instructions for unusual cases have not been established. Although MEPC74 approved many guidelines and « guidance for »contingency measures« and »recommended actions for EGCS failure«, the instructions overall are still unclear and have many possible ways of implementation. It will cause a lot of conflict and confusion. © Korean Register Although we had no substantial merger expansion plans in recent years, there has been expansion in inspection types and scopes. In order to fulfill the social responsibility and accelerate the development of domestic shipping, CCS has formally accepted to perform statutory inspection duties for ocean-going fishery vessels and marine products of fishery vessels since last year. In addition, we have undertaken inspection work of domestic ships, marine products and water-based facilities in domestic parts. Technological progress has always been the booster of the development for the shipping industry. It is a responsibility that classification societies must all bear. Therefore, we have set up the Science & Technology Innovation and Test Center to strengthen the research and development. Fields such as greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction, further improvement of the energy efficiency and marine plastic litter from ships are expected to be regulated in the near future. IMO will adopt relevant reduction measures/regulation after impact assessment in the near future to meet 2030 targets set out in the IMO Initial Strategy. As we know, the IMO already established the mandatory requirements of the energy efficiency, the design efficiency of new ships, i.e. EEDI, and has introduced it into MARPOL Annex VI. With the aim to encourage the usage of the innovations and new technologies, early implementation of phase 3 (until 2015) and EEDI phase 4 requirements may be introduced, and for the existing ships, mandatory requirements for improvement or even retrofit with energy efficiency technologies may also be introduced. Talking about marine plastic litter from ships, since « dumping of plastics into the sea is still a problem and recognition of the urgency to address marine plastic litter from ships, the IMO initiated the works last year and it is expected that measures of reducing marine plastic litter from ships will be developed after the completion of the relevant study, analysis and assessment. »Mandatory requirements for improvement or even retrofit with energy efficiency technologies may also be introduced.« © CCS Jianhui Mo, President, China Classification Society HANSA International Maritime Journal 08 | 2019 53
