NL 276/22 | Establishment of Marine Environmental Sustainability (MES) Department

Jun 24, 2022

Refers to: Owners/Managers/Operators, PhRS Surveyors/ Representatives

Action Date: Immediate

 

Over the last years, a great number of environmental and climate performance assessment standards have emerged for ships under the global environmental crisis. Sustainable and ecological development has become an inevitable trend in the shipping and shipbuilding industries, involving classification societies.

PhRS, focusing on clean and sustainable classification, safety, environmental protection, and increased social responsibility, has proceeded to eco-friendly adaptations, including paper-free daily operations, digital certificates, and online applications.

The highlight of this is the establishment of the Marine Environmental Sustainability (MES) Department, aiming at bringing the ships in compliance with:

 

MARPOL Convention regulations, preventing and minimizing, both accidental and operational, pollution from ships.

 

The focus of attention constitutes the decarbonization of shipping as it is one of the most critical challenges for the maritime industry. The amendments to MARPOL Annex VI propose short-term measures to reduce carbon intensity into two categories: operational and technical.

The new measures will require all ships to calculate their Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and establish their annual operational carbon intensity indicator (CII). Ships will be required to address both areas starting in 2023 to help meet IMO’s minimum 2030 carbon intensity goal.

MES department is authorized to verify that your vessels comply with MARPOL. Our involvement ranges from plan approval to on-board surveys to maintain compliance.

 

Data Collection System (DCS) on the reporting of fuel oil consumption of ships, and the EU MRV regulation (EU) 2015/757 on the monitoring, reporting, and verifying carbon dioxide emissions.

 

Scope of below services intend to:

  • Reduce emissions from shipping, designed to gather data on CO2 emissions based on ships’ fuel consumption regarding MRV regulation.
  • Collect consumption data for each type of fuel oil used and additional, specified data, including proxies for transport work, as regards DCS regulation.

Upon data submission to PhRS, the MES department carries out the necessary checks and verification procedures and issues the respective certificates to keep on-board.

 

BWM Convention, regulating ballast water discharge and reducing the risk of transferring invasive aquatic species into the sea.

 

All ships subject to BWM Convention must implement the D-2 regulation by installing Ballast Water Treatment Systems (BWTS).

Verifying the BWM Convention's implementation and approving the relevant plans constitute another primary responsibility of the MES department.

 

Hong Kong Convention (HKC) and EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU SRR) regarding the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships, reducing accidents, injuries, and other adverse effects on human health and the environment caused by ship recycling.

 

The EU Ship Recycling Regulation requires vessels to hold a valid and certified Inventory Hazardous Materials (IHM) on board.

MES department performs the necessary checks and verification procedures on the Hazardous Materials Inventory reports, and finally, a PhRS surveyor undertakes on-board verification and certification of the commitment to safe and environmentally sound practices for the vessel’s life.

 

For information/inquiries, feel free to reach us at mes@phrs.gr / technical@phrs.gr.

 

June 24th, 2022 - PHRS Head Office