To support improved industry management of risk and safety ahead of the implementation of the 2020 Sulphur Cap, RightShip is asking the operators of vessels over 8,000 DWT to confirm their compliant fuel choices and ship implementation plans in a new compliance assessment, the company has announced today.

Information gathered will be displayed on a per-vessel basis in RightShip’s vetting platform Qi, improving the accessibility of compliance pathway data for owners and charterers and helping the industry to manage new safety risks arising from the Sulphur Cap.

After 1^st January 2020, any serious incidents, detentions or non-compliance related to the regulation will also be highlighted on the platform. This follows the current RightShip practice whereby the vessel’s Risk Rating will be downgraded until the root cause analysis is completed or the manager can prove compliance. Repeat incidents or non-compliance will be flagged during the vetting process.

RightShip users will be able to see the vessel’s method for IMO 2020 compliance as declared by the ISM operator. Vetting customers will have the option to screen this data as part of their vetting criteria.  The vessel’s Risk Rating or GHG Rating will not be influenced by the vessel’s IMO 2020 compliance method.

During the vetting process, if the manager has indicated that a vessel does not have a valid method of compliance, the vet requestor is informed accordingly of the risk of non-compliance or incidents.

Regardless of the compliance option chosen by the vessel owner, the decision to accept the ship or not ultimately remains with the vetting customer.

Martin Crawford-Brunt, CEO, RightShip, said: “Complying with IMO 2020 brings a host of technical and operational risks that all of the industry needs to be aware of. It is therefore vital that all parties – ranging from ship owners, managers and charterers – have a full understanding of how compliance is being managed across a fleet. This temperature check will provide a means for vessel owners and managers to communicate their transition plan and their chosen compliance pathway. RightShip remains impartial to the compliance option selected and we will continue to support industry safety standards.

“This is an excellent opportunity for us to engage with vessel operators and allow them to directly input their own data, which in turn will support a smoother vetting process. This is an important element in our mission to work across the industry, and will allow us to share the collective lessons we are learning on the implementation.”