V.Group and Witt O’Brien’s, a leading US-based compliance partner, completed first of its kind environmental compliance course in an effort to mitigate risks associated with non-compliance and improve efficiency.
Through the initiative, both sides goal to enhance the existing shipboard environmental audits and allow delegates to understand the perspective of a Port State Control (PSC) inspector.
Following the 1100 port calls made in the USA last year by the V.Group fleet, the course paid attention to the US environmental compliance.
While the USA has the most aggressive enforcement of environmental policies, the course reinforced V.Group’s key message that non-compliance shall not be tolerated anywhere in the world.
In response to the challenges of getting inspectors onboard vessels due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and with the environmental compliance, particularly within the patchwork of US federal, state and local requirements, remain a significant ongoing challenge within the shipping industry, the course focused on reviewing case studies of recent MARPOL violations as well as identifying potential weak signals.
Our objective was to enhance V.Group’s environmental auditing program by utilizing the Witt O’Brien’s team’s expertise as former USCG-PSC inspectors, independent shipboard auditors, and environmental regulators supporting over 8,000 commercial vessels for day-to-day US compliance.
…as Mike Gallagher, Senior Managing Director, Witt O’Brien’s, concluded.
