Op-Ed: The missing link for decarbonizing maritime shipping

Collaborative data sharing is recommended measures for achieving net-zero global maritime shipping GHG emissions by 2050.

by Dominic McKnight Hardy, managing director, MIS Marine

When IMO member States unanimously adopted an updated Green House Gas (GHG) emission reduction strategy last year, the organization had already established its flagship GreenVoyage2050 program to help with implementation. This program advocates collaborative data sharing throughout its list of recommended measures for achieving net-zero global maritime shipping GHG emissions by 2050.

The shipping and energy sectors have never been better equipped to support these recommendations. The indicators of industry readiness for such changes include a now apparent industry-wide shift towards a more data-driven “Marine Assurance 2.0” approach to overall risk management, and the establishment of standardized emissions reporting processes through collaborative ventures such as Energy LEAP.

The next step for the industry is to achieve a bridge between the efforts and the goal. This requires a process whereby data can be seamlessly and securely shared. Industry-focused repositories, such as the Marine Data Hub, now provide those capabilities, enabling easier implementation of IMO recommendations and making the GreenVoyage2050 goal a reality.

Pivotal Role of Data Sharing in IMO Recommendations

The IMO’s “Ship-Port Interface Guide” includes eight practical emission-reduction measures, many of which are best implemented through improved communication and data sharing.

One such measure aims to optimize time spent in port by facilitating simultaneous cargo, bunkering and other operations. The guide recommends clear information sharing between all relevant stakeholders to optimize planning.

Two other examples apply “Just in Time” scheduling principles to improving a port’s multi-berth ship call planning and optimizing speed between ports. For each measure, the guide recommends incentivizing and rewarding stakeholder collaboration while promoting electronic data exchange using international standards.

The industry’s Energy LEAP initiative helps solve this standardization challenge while also reinforcing today’s increasingly data-driven approach to how maritime shipping stakeholders address compliance, social responsibility, risk management and process optimization.

Standardized Emissions Reporting and Marine Assurance 2.0

Established in 2006, Energy LEAP’s data-sharing standards have converged with the industry’s Marine Assurance 2.0 approach to analyzing, auditing, examining and transferring information on marine assets. The Energy LEAP Vessel Emissions Reporting Standard (VERS) supports this approach by providing a universal method of capturing daily emissions data at key voyage waypoints.

When VERS data can also be accessed and managed through a mutual and impartial Marine Data Hub, it benefits each stakeholder while also connecting the entire shipping industry to facilitate open, efficient and secure communication and data sharing throughout the supply chain.

Marine Data Hub Innovations for Maritime Shipping

Marine data has traditionally been siloed within individual companies. But a Marine Data Hub with a robust governance framework provides a neutral and secure repository for port/terminal/vessel and other data. Maritime shipping stakeholders of all sizes and specializations can contribute to and benefit from it.

To facilitate data sharing, Marine Data Hub provides data capture templates, communication channels and vessel information cataloging functionality, and supports real-time data collection and one-click submission of Energy Leap VERS-compliant Voyage Log data to drive efficiency and simplicity of the process.

Additionally, with efficiency a key objective, the Marine Data Hub will support the industry’s switch to OCIMF’s SIRE 2.0 inspection regime through a sync app for pushing required vessel documents, certificates and photographs directly to the SIRE 2.0 system.

Realizing this vision requires strict controls for managing data access, usage, security, confidentiality and integrity, in order to promote data confidence amongst users. This can only be achieved through the ability for each data owner to define sharing permissions at account-level.

In closing, to achieve the goals of 2050, a Marine Data Hub is an indispensable tool in the industry’s collaborative decarbonization mission. Not only will it strengthen individual stakeholders’ own risk-management, decision-making and process efficiencies, but it will provide the ability to extend wider insights into vessel environmental performance and the future environmental impact of chartering decisions.