Verifavia, an emissions verification company for the transport sector (aviation and shipping), has announced major cooperation’s with two of the world’s largest ship managers, namely Wallem Ship Management in Hong Kong and Zeaborn Ship Management in Hamburg (a consolidation of E.R. Schiffahrt and Rickmers Shipmanagement), to conduct verification services for European Union (EU) Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) and the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Data Collection System (DCS), as well as certification of associated IT systems.
Through their agreement with Zeaborn Ship Management, Verifavia Shipping will provide EU MRV verification services as well as IMO DCS verification on most of their Liberia and Panama flagged vessels. It will also certify all of the IT systems used by Zeaborn Ship Management for these regulations. For Wallem, Verifavia will also provide verification services for EU MRV and IMO DCS across a number of its Liberia and Panama flagged vessels, as well as certifying independent IT system, Vertex SMMS.
As the world’s first independent verifier to provide both IMO DCS and EU MRV verification services, Verifavia leverages its existing in-depth knowledge, expertise, and understanding of these regulations to offer ship owners and operators a streamlined and cost-effective verification process. Many Recognized Organizations (ROs) have very strict requirements in terms of the way the data should be submitted to them, which goes beyond regulatory requirements and is placing an additional burden on ship owners and operators. In addition, many owners and operators using more than one RO are choosing to work with a single supplier of independent verification services for these regulations rather than risking a conflict of interest between class societies. It is also a way to diversify the suppliers and limit the extent of the monopoly of IACS members.
Julien Dufour, CEO, Verifavia Shipping, who believes there is a common and unhelpful misconception that data must be submitted to the verifier in a certain format, commented: “A key drive for both these organizations has been the ability to work with a verifier that offers maximum flexibility. If the content is complete and compliant with the requirements of the regulations, it can be submitted in any format, from simple spreadsheets, to advanced mark-up language format, or more complex formats used in IT systems for monitoring vessel performance. We then take the burden of transforming the data into a workable format for the verification.”
He added, “We are extremely proud to be working with both Wallem and Zeaborn Ship Management, and believe that this is testament not only to our expertise, but also our genuinely differentiated approach as an independent emissions verifier. Both companies will now benefit from obtaining a flexible, top-class verification service at a reasonable price from a single point of contact, streamlining the reporting and verification process.”
Verifavia Shipping remains committed to ensuring that shipowners and operators are able to achieve compliance with the IMO DCS and EU MRV regulations quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively. With accreditation from the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and France’s national accreditation body, Cofrac, Verifavia can assess or verify any ship in the world, regardless of country of ownership, flag State, or class. The company’s client roster currently includes circa 180 shipping companies spanning 1,700 ships, and 30 ICT providers.
