Classification societies are the “helping hands”, that exist to ensure industry meets regulations and operates with the safety and quality that all stakeholders demand of it, said Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, DNV GL CEO Maritime, while mapping out how class can help maritime navigate the new digital reality. The remarks were made as DNV GL will host this year’s Nor-Shipping BBQ.
There are tectonic shifts within maritime on three fronts right now. We have the shifts in the market, which are increasingly unpredictable, shifts in regulations, headed by the upcoming 2020 sulphur cap, and shifts in technology, driven by the constantly evolving nature of digitalisation.
In a changing world that assistance is more important than ever, helping customers adapt, adopt new technology, and position themselves to seize opportunity and mitigate risk.
We’re not here to push one technology, product or solution, but rather to use our huge breadth and depth of competence, from operations and relationships spanning the globe, to help customers plot the best course forwards.”
“In the new digital reality data is our currency,” Mr. Ørbeck-Nilssen stressed, adding that a shipping company that collects data but stores it in silos is wasting opportunity.
It should be shared throughout organisations, and sometimes throughout the industry, so we can learn from it; enhancing emission performance, increasing efficiency, improving safety.
In this context, DNV GL created Veracity in 2017, an open but secure, digital industry platform, for sharing data, enabling collaboration and, as Ørbeck-Nilssen stresses, “extracting value”. Data can be shared in closed networks, or industry wide to help promote understanding, improve environmental standards or enhance safety. Shipowners can share data with manufacturers or suppliers to improve equipment performance, or with regulators to detail premium quality records, hence demonstrating lesser need for inspections. KPI results can be assessed, charterers can research ships, routes can be optimized across fleets.
However, with increasing reliance on digital systems and interconnectivity, especially with regard to automation and autonomy, there’s growing risk potential, particularly in terms of cyber security. Again, according to Ørbeck-Nilssen, this is where class can step in.
DNV GL released its first ‘Cyber Secure’ class notations in 2018 to combat threat and protect integrity. This ranges from classroom and e-learning modules for crew members, to penetration testing within organisations aimed at mapping awareness levels.
Interestingly, this tailoring extends to letting ‘certified ethical hackers’ loose on vessel systems to find potential loopholes, allowing owners (especially in the cruise segment apparently) to address them before someone else does.
