The Thome Group is delighted to announce that the Diving Support Vessel, Southern Star, has achieved a world first Infectious Disease Mitigation-Arrangement (IDM-A) notation by leading classification society, ABS.

As managers of the vessel for Tasik Toba Subsea AS, Thome reviewed two new guidance documents issued by ABS at the end of last year. One gave specific guidance on response measures to COVID-19 and the other covered general mitigations regarding the transmission of infectious diseases.

Although Thome, like other ship owners and operators, already had protocols and procedures in place to reduce the chances of transmission on its vessels, the Southern Star’s Vessel Manager liaised closely with the Owner’s Superintendent to make improvements to further enhance its systems in accordance with the ABS guidelines.

One such example was the modifications made to the cabins in the accommodation  should a crew member become infected. This involved making sure a group of cabins are isolated by A60 sub-division and are self-sufficient in terms of having their own AC,  air supply and exhaust. Improvements were also made to the onboard outbreak management plan.

“Becoming the first vessel in the world to achieve this infectious disease mitigation notation from ABS is tremendous news,” said Claes Eek Thorstensen, Executive Vice Chairman of the Thome Group.

“Safeguarding our crew’s and client’s health has always been a key factor in our decision-making and I would like to congratulate our Vessel Manger Yongtao Sun and his team for their diligence in ensuring that the ABS inspectors were satisfied with all the measures in place to mitigate the spread of any infectious diseases onboard, particularly in light of the current pandemic which we are all living through,”he continued.

Captain Mike Meade, a Director of Tasik Toba Subsea AS further commented “when we decided with Thome Offshore to proceed with this new Class notation I must admit we (at Tasik) never realised how much work was involved in conversion, procedures, plans and documentation.  It is a testament to the hard work of Thome and to Yongtao and his team that they achieved this in quick time and with aplomb.  We are now able to offer a safer service to our client’s which is a massive benefit.