Verifavia, the world’s leading emissions verification company for the transport sector (aviation and shipping) and provider of hazardous materials preparation and maintenance services, celebrates its 10-year anniversary this month. This milestone is marked by achieving partnerships with more than 400 clients across the world, taking responsibility for Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) services for over 600 vessels, and working with seven of the top ten ship managers listed in Lloyd’s List in 2019.

From its inception in France, Verifavia has achieved impressive growth from its humble origins as a one-man-start-up in the aviation industry. Within ten years, Verifavia now provides independent environmental verification, certification and auditing services for aviation (airlines, business jets and helicopters), airports, and maritime transport worldwide.

In support of the European Union (EU) Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) regulation, Verifavia launched its emissions verification services in July 2015. Leveraging its extensive background and success in the aviation industry, Verifavia brought its emissions verification expertise to the shipping sector – representing the first company to provide EU MRV services and the first independent verifier to provide International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Data Collection System (DCS) verification.

In 2019, to again support ship owners in complying with new legislation, Verifavia expanded its service offering to provide hazardous materials preparation and maintenance services. The EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU SRR) prohibits or restricts the installation and use of hazardous materials (like asbestos or ozone-depleting substances) on board ships, as well as making it mandatory for ships to carry on board a certified IHM specifying the location and approximate quantities of those materials. The EU SRR also requires the IHM to be updated throughout the ships’ operational life, whether equipment is installed, modernised or replaced.

Verifavia’s specialist hazmat team is one of the largest in-house teams in the industry and conducts investigations in line with the terms of the EU SRR and the Hong Kong (HK) International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. Within one year of providing IHM preparation services, the team has now over 600 vessels under IHM contract and has already surveyed more than half of these vessels.

Verifavia now works in all continents across the globe, with staff based in Europe, India, Singapore, Panama, Turkey, the US, Australia, Hong Kong and China. The shipping branch employs 56 staff members, including full time colleagues, and sub-contractors based in the largest ports around the world to ensure availability of services at short notice.

Poul Woodall, Director of Environment and Sustainability, DFDS commented: “Verifavia has made the EU MRV compliance process a smooth and straightforward process. The team’s professionalism, expertise, and knowledge of the regulation is impressive alongside providing a competitively-priced service.”

Daniel Thaeter, Director, TB Marine Shipmanagement, said: “Verifavia’s expertise and approach is second to none. We know the Verifavia team can reliably support us as we strive to meet regulatory requirements and deadlines in the most effective way. Utilising their global hazmat team ensures we can get a local expert to survey our vessels wherever they are in the world at short notice, providing us with the most efficient and professional service on the market.”

Verifavia is also dedicated to providing an independent service across all sectors. Independence enhances the credibility of verification and auditing and prevents potential conflicts of interest. One example is its use of independent laboratories throughout the IHM process to ensure impartial, reliable and accurate results. Apart from being accredited to the ISO 14064 standard, Verifavia also follows the requirements of ISO 17021 and ISO 9001 to ensure the highest quality of services.

Commenting on this ten year milestone, Verifavia Shipping CEO, Julien Dufour, said: “Verifavia has grown extensively over the past decade and we are proud our customers now have access to our experts globally. As the recognised leading independent verifier for airlines, we have been able to transfer our expertise to shipping over a period of enormous change for the industry. As environmental pressure and expectations increase from within the industry as well as from society as a whole, we are proud to support progress and compliance with new legislation. Working with seven of Lloyd’s List’s top ten ship managers for 2019 is just one illustration of the efficient, timely, and cost-efficient expertise we provide.”

Dufour concluded: “As we continue to grow, we remain committed to leveraging the technical expertise and industry knowledge of our team, combined with an innovative approach and streamlined procedures, to deliver a top-class, professional, and competitively-priced service for our clients. And we look forward to continuing to build even further on our strong foundations.”