Viking first shipping line to gain DNV GL My Care verification of COVID-19 risk management measures

All Viking Lines vessels, including M/S Viking Grace and M/S Amorella, are MyCare verified

Finland’s Viking Line has become the first shipping company in the world to have its COVID-19 risk management measures verified under a new DNV GL methodology called My Care.

DNV GL says that My Care is an infection risk management approach that has been developed to assess, manage and mitigate infection risk in management systems, business processes and operations. My Care incorporates local regulations and guidelines – it can be applied to any vessel type, as well as terminals.

My Care’s suite of independent assessment services is designed to help businesses reassure stakeholders that they have put infection risk management at the core of their risk management strategy.

The My Care methodology is derived from the approach DNV GL applies to assess infection risk management in hospitals. It brings together aspects of DNV GL’s healthcare standards, best practices in risk management, HSE and quality management systems and maturity safety rating standards.

The My Care assessment framework is applicable to companies in any type of industry, including the maritime industry. It differs from DNV GL’s recently launched CIP-M which is a certification standard for infection prevention developed specifically for cruise and other vessel types. CIP-M includes sections on very specific areas such as medical staff, patient rights and medical records.

ALL VESSELS VERIFIED

Viking Line’s My Care verification is for all of its vessels—Viking Grace, Amorella, Rosella, Viking Cinderella, Gabriella, Mariella and Viking XPRS—as well as its terminals in Stockholm, Kapellskär, Mariehamn, Turku, Tallinn and Helsinki.

“The safety of our passengers and employees is always Viking Line’s top priority, and that is also the case during this pandemic,” says Jan Hanses, president and CEO of Viking Line. “Everyone must be able to travel safely with us. We have long carried out infection risk preventive work and have now chosen to be assessed by a third party to quality-assure our work in conjunction with COVID-19. Our employees’ considerable efforts are impressive. We have achieved this thanks to their skills and engagement.”

Viking Line says its ability to carry out service on the Baltic Sea is determined by decisions made by the authorities in Sweden, Finland and Estonia. A key component of the company’s safety work is health directives and infectious disease control manuals that are continuously used and updated in its operations. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this work has now been intensified and expanded. These measures begin in the terminals before boarding and end with passengers disembarking. Land-based employees and the vessels’ crews are kept informed on a continuous basis about guidelines in effect and what working methods and protective equipment are to be used for a given period.

“We would like to congratulate Viking Line on its My Care verification,” says Luca Crisciotti, CEO, DNV GL – Business Assurance. “The application of My Care creates trust since the focus is to prevent infectious diseases. It also demonstrates Viking Line’s strong engagement in further developing its HSE (Health, Security & Environment) processes. A third-party assessment provides assurance that the right measures have been taken to protect people, work transparently and increase the trust of passengers and other stakeholders.”