Athens: The DNV Triple-E environmental rating scheme has received a warm welcome in the shipping industry. This is the feedback after one year of pilot projects with a selection of ship-owners.
The need for sustainable shipping and criteria to select the best performers within shipping has resulted in a new concept; the DNV Triple-E (Environmental and Energy Efficiency). DNV introduced this rating scheme to the press at NorShipping in Oslo in June 2009.
The DNV Triple-E is used to set targets, monitor improvements and document success across a range of performance benchmarks. If used over time, it will obtain measurable improvements for individual ships, shipowners and ship operators.
The tool was originally introduced to shipowners and Seaspan Ship Management, one of the worlds leading containership owners, has been among the pilot users. Being involved in this project proves to our charterers, investors and the public that we are being proactive about protecting the environment and managing fuel consumption, says Peter Curtis, Vice President and responsible for the overall operations and commercial management of the vessels at Seaspan.
Seaspan sees the DNV Triple-E as a good way to support our efforts in reducing our impact on the environment and at the same time preparing ourselves for the uncertainty of upcoming regulations. The DNV Triple-E will enable Seaspan to determine the energy efficiency and environmental status of our ships. We will measure our energy consumption and take steps to manage and reduce it, thereby improving the overall efficiency of our entire fleet, Curtis says.
However, cargo owners also see the future demand for carbon footprint and sustainability documentation. Saving costs by cooperating with ship owners to reduce fuel consumption and thereby emissions is high on their agenda too.
Experience over the past year has highlighted the advantages of the DNV Triple-E scheme. It is based upon sound environmental management practices, fuel efficient operations, energy efficient ship design and verifiable monitoring systems and the documentation meets these needs too, says Per Holmvang, DNVs Environmental Programme Director who is in charge of developing this tool.
When I introduced the tool a year ago, I was convinced that there was a need for it. Documentation of fact is what is needed to measure the improvements we are searching for. In a world, and particularly a shipping world, where the carbon footprint is becoming more and more important to the end user, tools like Triple-E brings these facts to the table, says Tor Svensen, the president of DNV.
The rating scheme is supported by a sub-set of acceptance criteria, which have been specified to a detailed level based on sound environmental practices and IMO guidelines.
Source:dnv
