In the face of growing environmental international and regional regulations, shipowners, operators and charterers must balance compliance with other key operational and commercial priorities
They need to ensure steps taken to decarbonise work alongside their commercial goals rather than against them, said Veson Nautical chief product officer Eric Christofferson, who has highlighted a three-stage approach to compliance using digital solutions to make informed and intelligent investment decisions.
“They also need to contend with the constantly changing variables within the shipping market, such as contractual obligations, market fluctuations, vessel availability and fit, and visibility into cargo opportunities,” he told Riviera Maritime Media. “With so much complexity, it is critical for organisations to focus on smarter decision-making.”
Decisions should be made with heighted visibility and insight into market conditions that come from digital solutions that integrate regulatory requirements into existing workflows.
“This saves time on tactical data gathering and provides a single source of truth to help stakeholders arrive at optimal, well-informed decisions for their businesses,” said Mr Christofferson.
“Enhanced decision making not only allows organisations to meet regulatory requirements, but can also help unlock major new opportunities, drive operational efficiencies, address carbon exposure and navigate the complexities of the shipping industry.”
Three key elements can help lay the foundation for smarter freight decision making amid regulatory complexity, these being decision support, standardisation and market intelligence.
“Digital solutions that consolidate these key elements and data points into a single, accessible platform provide the visibility and context maritime organisations need to elevate their operations and make full use of their unique expertise,” Mr Christofferson added.
“It is important to first understand the impact any potential decision could have on different parts of the business.”
For example, fixtures made by charterers can have significant implications for operators that manage the voyage, or the daily calls made by operators can make or break a vessel’s availability for its next voyage and have regulatory compliance consequences.
"To maximise data for decision making, a normalised language must be collaboratively developed"
Data accuracy is important to ensure digital solutions make predictions and find patterns that are accurate and valuable to the business.
“Maritime organisations require decision support that includes emissions-related criteria, risk management that includes carbon exposure, integrated reporting and adaptive technology that can evolve alongside regulations,” said Mr Christofferson.
Standardised data is equally as important as accurate data. Progress has been made in establishing consistent, industrywide data standards.
“However, there is still work to be done in shaping a comprehensive ecosystem that upholds existing standards while collectively defining new ones when necessary,” he continued.
“To maximise data for decision making, a normalised language must be collaboratively developed.”
Digital platforms should enable organisations to speak the same language and enable companies to selectively share important information with charterers, brokers, agents and other trusted counterparties, such as voyage updates, real-time data on shipments or contract details.
“This helps to create more transparency and openness and ensures everyone has access to the same data during negotiations with counterparties,” said Mr Christofferson.
“Market intelligence plays a crucial role by enabling decisionmakers to react and adapt to variables like fluctuations in commodity supply and demand, changes in fuel prices, weather patterns and new regulations.”
Weather, in particular, can dramatically impact fuel consumption, and therefore emissions, which can impact environmental regulation compliance. “So real-time data here is essential.”
Riviera Maritime Media’s Maritime Decarbonisation Conference, Europe will be held 26-27 September 2023 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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