DNV GL to support 2020 fuel preparations

DNV GL is offering a free web-based Ship Implementation Plan (SIP) application to help owners and managers prepare for the IMO’s new fuel regime, effective from January 2020. SIPs are not mandatory but are recommended as a way of preparing and implementing new fuel-related management systems. They are also designed to ensure that adequate preparations are made and procedures in place to satisfy the compliance requirements of port state control authorities.

Christos Chryssakis, Business Development manager, said: “As we approach 2020, good preparation will be essential to ensure a smooth transition into using compliant low-sulphur fuels. This includes technical actions such as hardware upgrades, tank cleaning and a fuel changeover plan, but also commercial preparation like updating charterparty clauses and agreements between owners and charterers on how best to prepare each vessel to minimise operational disruption. It is important to build flexibility into the plans, to make sure ships are prepared for using different types of compliant fuels, depending on their availability.”

The SIP app, which is available on the classification society’s digital platform, Veracity, is designed so that several users can work on a vessel plan simultaneously, enabling collaboration between ship and shore. The society offers further support through risk assessment workshops, SIP reviews and the remote verification of tank cleaning.

More than 300 shipping companies are already using the app, with 1,700 vessels registered and preparing their SIPs.