Certification institute LRQA (formerly part of Lloyd’s Register) has approved Shipping Technology’s CO2 Emission Reporting Module that calculates the CO2 emissions of inland navigation vessels and coasters. It means the automatic emission reporting of the ‘Shipping Technology Brain’ meets ISO standards.
Both the process of collecting the ship’s data (engines, generators, fuel, bow thrusters, boilers etc.) and the way the software calculates CO2 emissions per tonne of cargo transported per kilometre have been validated.
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Automated way of calculating emissions
Industry standard ISO 14083 defines how to calculate CO2 emissions so that all companies in a production and transport chain use the same method. Only if all partners in a chain calculate in the same way, can anything meaningful be said about the emissions associated with delivering a product at the end of a chain.
Shipping Technology developed an automated way of calculating emissions from inland vessels and converting the data collected into a clear unit: the amount of grams of CO2 per tonne transported per kilometre. This method has now been validated. Shipowners and inland shipping companies can now provide verified emissions data to their customers and regulators at the push of a button – per voyage and/or per period.
Using data immediately
‘This is a big step for us,’ says Shipping Technology CTO Tom Boerema. ‘For our current customers, it now becomes even more interesting to use more functions of the ST Brain. The ST Brain is the hardware on which all our software modules run, such as autonomous lane assist, efficiency, incident reconstruction, safety and more. With this CO2 validation, you can clearly see the added value of the ST Brain, and LRQA‘s validation also brings clear added value.’
He continues to explain: ‘It works like this: we install the ST Brain, a comprehensive “black box” that collects data on the ship, engines, fuel, voyage, speed, arrival and departure times and more. That data is processed in such a way that it immediately provides useful data for a captain, shipowner, end-client or insurance company. To my knowledge, we are the only company in Europe that can immediately present a ship’s measured data in a usable, meaningful way and with a validated result.’
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Reducing administrative work
Shipping Technology’s Emission Reporting Module is an important tool for shipowners to comply with the European Union’s CSRD (corporate social responsibility directive) and ESG (environmental, social and governance) regulations. With this tool, inland navigation and coastal shipping entrepreneurs are ready for current and future regulations.
Using the module is very easy, because the software has already made all the necessary calculations. An additional advantage: the ST Brain data make efficient sailing and fuel saving not only feasible, but also insightful and simple – taking a lot of administrative work off entrepreneurs’ hands.
Picture: (From left to right) Janis Vilks, Software Engineer at Shipping Technology, Jurgen Van Dueren, Global Operation Manager at LRQA, Tom Boerema, CTO at Shipping Technology, and Lars Kemperman, Software Developer at Shipping Technology (photo Shipping Technology).
