Reassessing risk and safety as a top priority in decarbonization: DNV

The Middle East is one of DNV’s top-performing regions worldwide, as it has classified more than 500 vessels for Middle Eastern owners, representing over 12.6 million gt, one of its top regional officials said.

In the fifth in a series of interviews ahead of Seatrade Maritime Logistics Middle East, Ian Edwards, Area Manager Middle East and Africa, DNV Maritime, spoke to Seatrade Maritime News about developments in the industry.

“With the constantly growing trade in the region, the importance of the maritime economy is also growing. As well as being important trading hubs, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are also fast becoming the preferred destinations for maritime activities in the wider Middle East, Indian subcontinent and Africa,” he said.

“Middle East countries’ visions of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 (UAE) and 2060 (Saudi Arabia) represent a significant shift in their approach to energy and sustainability. The shipping and offshore industries as well other sectors need to play an active role in achieving these goals, but there are also significant opportunities for investment and growth in this area.”

For a long time, DNV’s focus has been on rolling out electronic certificates across the fleet to streamline interactions with regulators and classes. However, much effort has also been put into raising awareness that cybersecurity should be an integral part of day-to-day operations both on board and ashore. To achieve this, it provides class notations to check the cyber resilience of ships and systems.

A key issue for ship owners and operators in the Middle East is the issue of decarbonization, which Edwards says has presented the maritime industry with the greatest challenge ever. With the emergence of many new fuel options, the already complex future fuel and technology picture for the industry has become even more complex.

“As the shipping industry moves towards decarbonization, it is critical to re-evaluate risk management to ensure safety remains a top priority as new fuel systems and digitalized ways of work are developed. DNV emphasizes the need for renewed risk controls, a new regulatory approach based on individual fuel assessments and greater industry knowledge and experience of potential safety risks. The class plays a crucial role in this regard and DNV has taken the lead in joint industry projects to develop safety guidelines for the use of hydrogen and batteries,” he said.

“DNV as a classification society can play a very special role as our historical role and the depth and breadth of experience within the group allows us to propose innovative solutions to address the decarbonisation challenge. We strongly believe that Class has an important role to play in this regard, acting as an enabler for regulators, gathering expertise, collaborating with industry and developing guidelines.”

As part of its commitment to renewable energy in the region, DNV recently signed a MoU with Petrojet, an Egyptian engineering and construction company, to leverage Petrojet’s local knowledge and expertise to support the successful implementation of green hydrogen projects in Egypt .

“DNV’s involvement in this project is significant as we have extensive expertise in renewable energy, power grids and hydrogen technologies. This joint effort aims to accelerate Egypt’s transition to a sustainable energy system, with a focus on harnessing the country’s abundant renewable energy resources to produce green hydrogen,” he said.

“The initiative is consistent with Egypt’s long-term sustainable development strategy and the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement. It represents a positive step in promoting the adoption of green hydrogen in the Middle East region, which has enormous potential for renewable energy development.”

He believes that the complexity and the many different actors who all have to work together to enable the energy transition in shipping are immense.

“So much more needs to come together to make this possible – digital, new fuels, regulations to ensure safety, land-based fuel production, transport and bunkering – a massive adoption of zero-carbon energy. All these different industries and stakeholders need to come together and work together – so we really believe in the idea that collaboration is the fuel of the future,” he said.

“DNV’s expertise is available to our customers to help them navigate transformation and seize opportunities as they arise. Together we can play a leading role in the transition to a more sustainable world.”

Ian Edwards, Area Manager Middle East and Africa, DNV Maritime, speaking at Seatrade Maritime Logistics Middle East, 16-18 May 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Source: News Network