International Standards Organization News

Streamlining the many administrative procedures necessary when ships enter or leave port is an important element of International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s work.And now, an important tool used by software developers to create systems for exchanging the relevant data electronically has been made available by the Organization online and free of charge.The IMO Compendium is a reference manual containing data sets and the structure and relationships between them, that will enable the IMO Member States to fulfill a mandatory obligation (in place since April 2019) for the reporting formalities for ships, cargo and people on board international…

Ammonia, the same pungent solution used in fertilizers and cleaning agents, may one day be the key to transporting renewable energy around the world. There are currently a number of government and corporate projects assessing the feasibility of converting excess renewable energy from sources like wind, solar, tidal and nuclear into ammonia and then back into usable energy.In its purist form, ammonia or NH3 is composed of one nitrogen and three hydrogen atoms making it an ideal candidate to chemically bind excess renewable energy. Like several other chemical compounds, ammonia can be transported by chemical tanker in liquid form to end-users. Based on its near ambient liquification point, it may be more appealing to transport ammonia over longer distances than hydrogen.

Three years ago coatings giant Jotun was buying up real estate for U.S. market access and location savings. The effort to get closer to its shipping and offshore customer base is still underway with research aimed at protecting client assets in frontier areas like the arctic. An R&D expansion at Flixborough in the U.K. and in the Arctic archipelago of Spitsbergen aims to make active the fire response of passive surface treatments. There’s a need to address fires in enclosed steel workplaces plus high-temperature hydrocarbon fires.

Management software: vendors, consultants, class strive to provide turnkey service. Unless you’ve been lost at sea for the last few years, you know about Subchapter M. You know the June publication of the U.S. Coast Guard’s regulations for ensuring minimum safety standards on tows and tugs, which will extend inspection requirements to the majority of these vessels for the first time, moved the long-awaited, and in some cases, dreaded program from the haze of eventually out into the cold light of day.

Compliance Maritime was founded by Captain Katharine Sweeney in 2010 and has since provided over 400 International Safety Management (ISM) audits and more than 300 vessel security audits. Compliance Maritime is a certified Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB). Clients consist of several key players in the industry, however each and every audit is confidential, and treated as such. Compliance Maritime auditors are certified, insured and current USCG licensed Master Mariners with 150 years of combined experience on a large variety of vessel types.

Workboat construction now demands that naval architects factor in the physical demands on passengers and crew. As wind farm requirements increase, so too will the need for greater protections. A major challenge for the builders of next generation RHIBs and high speed craft is delivering platforms that balance high performance with the physical demands on crew and passengers. With the arrival of ‘unbreakable boats’ plus a surplus of engine power, ‘man’ is often considered as the weakest link.

U.S. marine vessel operators have invested in their fleets, adopted new technologies and switched to cleaner burning engines and fuels to stay in business. In this edition, we take a look at how industry leading marine operators have flourished, sometimes in tough circumstances. At family-run McAllister and Chouest, sons and daughters learned operations from the ground up, while CEO Todd Hornbeck revamped the first version of a company started by his dad. All value their employees and say workplace safety is a priority. Each of these companies is quick to meet customer demands.

For decades, barge owners and operators had no reason to think twice about their rigging. There were only a few choices when it came to winches, and there were ratchets as well. Because of the simplicity of these machines, few people in the industry were compelled to think critically about how such a basic item might be improved. But winches and ratchets have their downsides: fouling and birdnesting can and do happen. Wire rope is heavy, and traditional rigging takes a lot of it. And old-fashioned winches require a good amount of time and effort to operate. But what else was there?

Port2Port Maritime has now been formally accepted as an Associate Member of BIMCO, following the company’s accreditation of ISO/PAS 28007, the first assessment of a maritime security company’s quality management system against an International Standards Organization framework (ISO). Andrew Varney, Managing Director, Port2Port Maritime said, “Membership to BIMCO gives a clear choice for Shipowners, Charterers and Operators alike that for the first time, having proven its competency and capability beyond doubt…

International shipping registries have continued to sharpen their aim taken at a longstanding maritime problem: What is the appropriate response to piracy? As attacks have shifted from Somalia to West Africa, the issue remains at top of mind. Armed guards have proven to be a successful deterrent against attacks. Ship finance and registry lawyer Brad Berman, a Partner at Holland & Knight (H&K), sums up a sea change in views over the past year in views about guns aboard ships, telling Maritime Reporter: “A few years ago most of the shipping industry was against having weapons aboard…

Jotun released a statement welcoming action taken by the International Standards Organization to mobilize an expert group to start work on a common industry standard for measurement of changes in hull and propeller performance. Jotun, in cooperation with the Bellona Foundation (Bellona) and Standard Norway, has been successful in mobilizing shipping industry stakeholders in an effort to reach general agreement on a method for measuring changes in hull and propeller performance, the company said. By improving hull and propeller performance, the world fleet can reduce fuel cost by as much as $30 billion per year and achieve an estimated 0.3% reduction in manmade GHG emissions.

The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) has recognized Mike Hoyle, one of GL Noble Denton's leading technical authorities for offshore oil and gas structures, for his contribution to new ISO Standards for the site-specific assessment of mobile offshore units. The IDAC Committee presented its Exemplary Service Award to Mr Hoyle in recognition of his role as leader of a dedicated International Standards Organization work group. The group developed the ISO 19905-1 and ISO 19905-2 standards for assessing the safe operation of mobile offshore units. Mr Hoyle led a large team of international mobile offshore structure specialists, representing rig-owners, class societies, oil companies, marine surveyors, consultants and regulators.

Environmental standards come with a mess of acronyms that can be difficult to comprehend. I’ll demystify four of those acronyms here. The first two; EEDI and SEEMP, were coined by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and are aimed at monitoring and reducing vessels’ fuel usage and thus green house gas creation. The third, ECA, was also created by the International Maritime Organization and includes a focus on particulate matter emissions. The final acronym, ISO 14001…

Holland America Line receives second Benkert Award for its marine environmental initiatives as U.S. At a recent ceremony, Holland America Line was presented a gold 2012 Rear Admiral William M. Benkert Environmental Protection Award from the U.S. Coast Guard in recognition of the line's environmental leadership and for successfully achieving several environmental objectives established by the company that exceed standard regulation. U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Robert Papp presented the award to Michael Inman, director, system management and program development, Safety and Environmental Management Systems for Holland America Line. The company first received the biennial award in 2010. The U.S.

Metal Action Machining Ltd. (the CNC Division of Analytic Systems) has announced that they have been certified to the International Standards Organization (Certificate number AS-1197), Aerospace AS9100 Quality Management System. On the heels of being certified to ISO9001-2008 one year ago, Metal Action decided to upgrade to the Aerospace Certification. This will allow Metal Action to obtain new aerospace contracts for the likes of AVCORP, ASCO, Boeing, Bombardier, etc, as well as to assist in the potential work for the (NSP) National Ship Procurement project with Seaspan Marine. AS9100 fully incorporates the entirety of the current version of ISO 9001 while adding additional requirements relating to quality and safety.

As a maritime compliance auditor in the field, I’m often called upon to explain the ISO’s (International Standards Organization) approach to continual improvement which says a company shall establish, implement and maintain documented objectives and targets at each relevant function and level within the organization. This is only a requirement of the ISO’s “E” or environmental standard. To get to the “E” or ISO 14001 certification you must first list all the aspects of your business and how each impacts the environment.

Harrington Hoists, Inc. announced that it has achieved the ISO 9001:2008 certification on August 8, 2011. The intention of seeking this certification is to improve business performance by implementing processes that will ensure the company meets or exceeds customer needs. “Harrington has always been customer focused and we strive to provide quality on every level” says Bret Lussow, Business Development Sales Manager. Certification was issued after a complete review and audit, by an accredited registrar…

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has received International Standards Organization (ISO) certification for the environmental management systems at the company’s Sperry Marine facilities in Europe. The Certificate of Conformance from ABS Quality Evaluations confirms that Sperry Marine’s environmental management system meets the requirements of the ISO 14001:2004 standard. The certification applies to the Sperry Marine offices in Antwerp, Belgium; Copenhagen, Denmark; Hamburg, Germany; Vlaardingen, Netherlands; Bergen, Norway; and New Malden, U.K. The ISO 14001:2004 standard is a management tool enabling an organization to identify and control the environmental impact of its activities…

Alaska Tanker Company, LLC (ATC) based in Beaverton (Portland), Oregon has achieved "Safety, Quality and Environmental (SQE) Certification" including Accredited International Standards Organization (ISO) 14001 Certification to the Environmental Management System Standard on November 21st, 2001. This accomplishment makes ATC the first U.S. flag seagoing Shipping Company to attain SQE and ISO 14001 Certification from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). This feat was achieved within 2 ½ years of ATC's inception. The attainment of Certification to the International Safety Management (ISM) Code as well as ISO 9001 (Quality Management System Standard) and ISO 14001 demonstrates the Company's commitment to be a World-Class tanker operator.

A new standard for the Quality, Content and Updating of databases for Electronic Chart Systems (ECS) is being proposed by the International Standards Organization (ISO). Mortimer Rogoff, president of the Navigational Electronic Charts System Association (NECSA), announced the new standard could be applied to chart databases produced by private companies to enhance safety. This will the first time electronic charts systems will be subjected to such testing allowing users to make purchases with the confidence that safety of their navigation will be enhanced. The new standard will be developed by professional and technical experts that represent Hydrographic Agencies…

The United States Coast Guard has recognized Celebrity Cruises for its superior environmental operations by awarding the cruise line its 2002 William M. Benkert Award For Environmental Excellence. environmental excellence. standards. The awardees are selected after a competitive evaluation process involving rigorous standards. "I could not be more proud of this accomplishment," said Jack Williams, president and chief operating officer of Celebrity Cruises. award so highly because it is presented by the Coast Guard, which oversees our activities on a daily basis. eight Benkert Awards presented this year. Of the eight award winners, only two companies ranked higher than Celebrity Cruises. Being the first cruise line in the world to use gas-turbine powered cruise ships.

The Integrated Shipbuilding Environment (ISE) project sponsored by the National Shipbuilding Research Program is a three-year effort to develop and deploy an industry-wide architecture for computer interoperability. ISE is targeting cost and cycle time reduction for both Navy and commercial customers by providing real-time digital connectivity between shipbuilders and their suppliers. ISE also targets the total ownership costs during the 40-year life of a ship in that it provides access to configuration data during the life of a ship or ship class - regardless of computer system upgrades. The expected benefits of this project are very high.

Thirty-two ports received 60 Communications awards, two ports won awards for information technology projects, and five ports were recognized for outstanding Environmental programs during the September 25 awards luncheon at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, during the American Association of Port Authorities’ (AAPA) 91st Annual Convention. In addition, five maritime professionals earned Professional Port Manager (PPM7) Certification from AAPA. AAPA’s Annual Communications Competition recognizes excellence in the products and services that ports produce to meet their public relations and marketing goals. The independent judges, communications professionals from the Washington, D.C. area, honored the best entries with 30 awards of excellence and 30 awards of merit.