GNS Launches First Vessel Management System
At SMM in Hamburg, Germany this week, Global Navigation Solutions (GNS), the maritime services group, is launching its Vessel Management Service (VMS), the first integrated management system for total navigation compliance, to give shore-based ship managers more control of navigation compliance, save them money on charts and save time on navigation related administration. This new service is offered free of charge to GNS customers.
VMS enables shore-based ship managers to better monitor and control navigation compliance across their fleet. It does this by highlighting whether the ships in the fleet have applied all relevant chart and publication corrections and where not it enables them to take any corrective action necessary to avoid navigation-related issues during port state inspections. VMS also flags charts and publications which are due to be withdrawn and where digital permits are about to expire, making it easier for ship managers to keep inventories up to date and compliant with SOLAS V regulations.
Whilst chart compliance aides crew safety, it also ensures vessels can confidently meet the increasingly robust approach to compliance which is being exerted not just by port authorities but also in wider areas. Evidence of this was recently reported in the maritime press, when a record fine was sought from a major shipping company for not carrying up to date charts while navigating an ecologically sensitive passage.
VMS also helps save money on the cost of charts and publications by enabling ship managers to reduce the number of unnecessary charts purchased. Users of VMS can view the paper and digital charts and publications requested by their ships on a map-based interface overlaid with the vessel’s route before authorizing the requisition.
VMS also saves time for shore-based ship managers by providing a simple web-based tool to access all the navigational information in use across the fleet, on a vessel by vessel basis, which gives instant access to their full purchasing history with GNS. Furthermore, as a web based service VMS is easily accessible on PC, tablet and smart phone providing shore-based managers with easy access to this valuable information anytime and anywhere.
Commenting on the launch of VMS, Mike Robinson, CEO of Global Navigation Solutions said, “Use of VMS takes e-navigation to a new level, by providing shore-based managers with levels of information which were previously only available on-board a vessel. We also believe that ship managers using VMS will quickly benefit from better control of purchasing costs and significant time savings.”
He added, “With port state authorities like Paris MoU reporting that deficiencies recorded under the ‘Safety of Navigation’ category have recently risen to nearly 14%, our new Vessel Management Service couldn’t come at a better time for our customers. We are delighted to be able to offer this new service to GNS customers free of charge.”
Global Navigation Solutions customers can adopt Voyage VMS with immediate benefit. This new development is a further benefit of the extensive capital investment which continues to be made by GNS, following its formation in November 2012.
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