Navigation data and software company OneOcean Group has released a web-based software tool “Enviromanager+” which tanker operators can use to set specific company policies and instructions for their vessels.
The idea of the “+” is that a company may wish to set higher standards or include their own company policies that go above the minimum regulatory requirements. Regulatory requirements can be managed through the existing OneOcean software module, “EnviroManager which is included with “EnviroManager+”
To illustrate how the software might be used, Capt. Malcolm Soares, VP maritime strategy at OneOcean, gives an example of a vessel which was anchored outside a country’s territorial waters. The vessel ended up in territorial waters as it swung in the tide when the wind picked up causing her to drag anchor and take her into the territorial waters.
The local Coastguard apprehended the vessel against local notification and guidelines leading to the vessel being detained for 30 days due to non-compliance of local rules. This resulted in a lot of unwanted trouble for the company.
So a company may wish to specify that vessels add an extra mile of margin, decreeing that vessels may not anchor within a mile from a country’s territorial border, for example.
A company may also make specific company rules for certain vessel types, sister vessels or vessels with similar equipment fit in its fleet.
The onboard installed software module can then warn the crew that they would break company rules (if not national regulations) if they anchor in their current position or any other bespoke company rule set by the office management.
EnviroManager+ can instruct vessels to carry out a number of checks and procedures which the company requires, before entering local or environmentally controlled zones such as US Waters.
The system can also support the company in setting specific company rules for waste discharge overboard, which are more stringent than the Statute regulations say. Or they could set company rules about the fuel change over process (beyond what is required by the emission control regulations), or about keeping away from known whale habitats.
On the software, crew members can see the company’s messages, customised for their type of ship and the current location, alongside rules about applicable regulations all ships must follow, generated by the “EnviroManager” software.
Shipping companies can make updates to their requirements using the browser-based tool software. The onboard software’s database is then automatically updated.
EnviroManager
The regulatory driven EnviroManager software helps seafarers comply with the increasingly complex rules about what they can do in different places.
There are geo-related rules about waste disposal, covering different categories of waste (plastic, food waste for example) and different zones.
The territorial water boundaries can get complex, since your current “territory” is not always the closest country to where you are, Captain Soares says.
If you are in the middle of the ocean but close to an island it can count as “close to land”.
The Territorial boundaries demarcation claimed by countries and regulated distances thereof can be misleading and quite complex with geography, claims around various Island and Archipelagic states, Says Capt. Soares.
There are additional regulations imposed by some countries about what you can do in and around their territorial waters, including by the European Union, Chinese Government, Korean government and the US.
Shipping companies may not be aware of this, particularly if it is a part of the world they do not usually visit.
You also need to use different fuels in different regions, as you move into Emission Control Areas (ECAs) and Special Emission Control Areas (SECAs).
“It becomes a complex maze of puzzle,” he says.
EnviroManager can use the GPS position of the vessel to give you information about what rules currently apply based on your position.
You can plan the voyage with knowledge of what regulations you will be affected by at all stages of your voyage from berth to berth.
And if there are variations to the plan, such as to avoid weather or due to a breakdown, you can see how this changes the regulations which apply hence assisting the vessels to plan and remain compliant throughout the entire voyage.
The software can also tell you how much time you have before you enter an emission control area or next area of compliance, so you can make sure you have enough time to change over the fuelling system or ensure compliance with whichever region the vessel enters.
Connectivity
The software needs a live position feed from the shipboard AIS system or other position methods from satellite communication terminals.
If the vessel has a server and computer network, the software can be installed on the network, so everyone with access can use it. In the engine control room, cargo control room, ships office and the captain’s office. OneOcean recommends the Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Go for better situational awareness. or via tablet handheld PCs using shipboard Wi-Fi, as an example.
OneOcean has already developed two-way component of data transfer that complete passage plans and not just way point sheets which can be shared with the office, enabling ship and office to discuss a passage plan before being approved by the Master.
About OneOcean
The software module is provided as part of the company’s “OneOcean platform”.
OneOcean makes software for all aspects of voyage optimisation, including passage planning, compliance, safety and environmental products.
It provides services to around 20,000 vessels, and was formed from the Nov 2019 merger between ChartCo of the UK and Marine Press of Montreal.