Metizoft Signs New Cruise Agreement

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines and Metizoft have signed a framework agreement on maintenance and quality assurance of the Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM).

Vessels with IHM documentation must, according to the requirements of IMO Guidelines – Ship Recycling; MEPC 269 (68), be maintained at all times and reflect the actual sailing ship. More and more shipping companies see the need to comply with the more stringent requirements, says Øyvind Sundgot, CMO Metizoft.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is committed to being recognised as a leading organisation for Health, Safety, Environment and Quality management within its operational areas, and the agreement with Metizoft will help towards its goal of ‘No harm to people, no environmental incidents, and no damage to property’.

“First and foremost, our priority is to ensure a safe workplace, and that our activities do not harm the environment. For us, this is not only words. We know that our success depends on top performance within Health, Safety, Environment and Quality,” says Rachael Jackson, Public Relations Manager Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines.

More and more countries have ratified – or are at least getting closer towards – ratifying the Hong Kong Convention, which addresses the requirements for IHM, and it is the ship owners’ responsibility to comply with these requirements.

"We are very pleased to be a partner in the environmental work for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. They want to focus on the environment across their fleet. The collaboration shows that they are strategic in their choices in terms of future requirements, which are now a reality,” says Sundgot.

Changes in the market have come earlier than expected.

"A lot has happened in a short time. The future requirement that will include all of the world's seagoing vessels above 500 tons deadweight is happening earlier than anticipated. The European Union formally adopted the requirement, with some adjustments, based on the IMO – Hong Kong Convention on 30th December 2013. The new EU Ship Recycling Regulation means that EU-flagged vessels of 500 GT and over will be required to carry and Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM). When calling at EU ports, vessels from non-EU countries will also be required to carry an IHM, identifying all the hazardous materials on board. This means that the maintenance and quality assurance of the documentation is strengthened and it will therefore be very important for owners to have control of this," says Sundgot.

EU-flagged newbuildings are required to have a verified IHM on board, with a Statement of Compliance, at the earliest by 31st December 2015 and at the latest by 31st December 2018. Non-EU-flagged vessels calling at EU ports are also required to have a verified IHM on board, says Sundgot.

A known difference is in the material declarations (MD) for the EU SRR, which will include two additional hazardous materials. PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) shall be prohibited and HBCDD (Brominated Flame Retardant) is to be listed in the IHM.

Metizoft has 10 years of industry experience in Ship Recycling and has provided project documentation for about 650 newbuildings internationally, collaborating with leading shipyards and ship owners around the globe.

"There are still a lot of shipping companies that do not know how to handle this, but there is no need to wonder anymore. We have proven on behalf of several major players in the industry that we can handle this. We want to meet the requirements on behalf of ship owners," says Sundgot.

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