A twelve-month collaborative project involving the classification society members of the Smart Maritime Council – namely Lloyd’s Register, ABS, Bureau Veritas, ClassNK, and DNV – working with BIMCO, the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) and Energy LEAP has introduced new standards for emissions data reporting.
As explained, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has confirmed the expansion of the data reference model within the IMO Compendium on Facilitation and Electronic Business (IMO Compendium) following the conclusion of the 49th meeting of its Facilitation Committee (FAL 49), adding a range of standardised emissions reporting data fields for the first time.
The new ‘Fuel oil consumption and CII reporting dataset’ within the IMO Compendium includes more than 140 data fields for environmental reporting requirements, the majority of which have been newly added by IMO’s Expert Group on Data Harmonisation (EGDH) as part of the FAL 49 update. These new data fields aim to streamline emissions reporting and assist vessel operators in managing alignment with regulatory frameworks.
With classification societies acting as Accredited Verifiers for emissions reporting purposes, the creation of a single comprehensive standardised list of data points that satisfies the data requirements of all of the class participants would allow for widespread application in almost any relevant maritime emissions reporting process.
Jeppe Skovbakke Juhl, Chief Naval Architect at BIMCO, explained that by achieving this harmonisation, more effective information exchange will be facilitated and the IMO Compendium can utilised as a tool to promote cooperation and trust in the data reported.
As such, the partners worked together on the creation of an aggregated list of data fields that satisfies the mandatory reporting requirements of current and future emissions regulations, including:
- IMO Data Collection System (DCS)
- EU Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV)
- Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII)
- FuelEU Maritime
BIMCO and IACS subsequently submitted the classification societies’ combined standardised dataset to IMO to be considered for inclusion within the IMO Compendium, a process that has now been completed following FAL 49.
The introduction of these emissions data standards by IMO creates huge opportunity for the industry to streamline the collection and exchange of vessel operational data required for mandatory reporting, and to significantly improve the quality of the information collected,
… said Rob O’Dwyer, Chairman of the Smart Maritime Council. Meanwhile, Matthieu de Tugny, President of Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore, added that this collaboration with industry leaders highlights their commitment to advancing maritime digitalisation and supporting more sustainable operations through harmonised, accurate data.
Duncan Duffy, the Global Head of Technology for Lloyd’s Register, stated that the results from their Digital Maturity Index with key clients had highlighted data standardisation as a core challenge for shipowners, operators, and charterers. He also expressed their delight as members of the Smart Maritime Council, Energy LEAP, and the IACS Safe Digital Transformation Panel, noting that collaboration was leading to progress, such as the adoption of the Fuel Oil Consumption and CII reporting dataset into the IMO Compendium.
