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Classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) and NAPA, a software firm for ship design and operations, have announced a collaboration to provide a solution for the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP).

The SEEMP solution from ClassNK and NAPA will combine modules to optimise trim, route and speed optimisation and weather routing with an analytics service to offer operational efficiency and decision support.

The system will allow owners and operators to respond quickly and adapt operations in real-time in order to increase eco-efficiency and reduce fuel consumption.

In order to ensure that the collaborative SEEMP solution will be both effective and practical for use on actual vessels, ClassNK and NAPA are working closely with Japan’s largest shipbuilder, Imabari Shipbuilding Co. Ltd..

A trial version of the new solution is expected to be completed within the year, and, upon completion, it will undergo extensive real world testing on vessels owned and operated by an Imabari Group shipping company. Feedback from this verification testing will be used to further develop and refine the system prior to final release. Imabari Shipbuilding will also make use of the system and the results from its verification tests to further improve the performance of new vessels built at its shipyards.

Yasushi Nakamura, Executive Vice President, ClassNK, said: "As the world’s leading classification society, we are trusted by our clients to continuously add value to their operations. In the current economic and regulatory environment, pioneering new means of increasing eco-efficiency and reducing fuel consumption is right at the top of the agenda. ClassNK has a reputation for service excellence, which is why NAPA’s unrivalled hydrodynamics expertise and proven background in ship design makes them the natural choice for this collaboration with the cooperation of Imabari Shipbuildings Co., Ltd."

Juha Heikinheimo, President, NAPA Group commented: "We are delighted to continue our long-time, fruitful co-operation with ClassNK and to join our forces to provide world leading class society eco-efficiency solutions for maritime industry. Eco-efficiency lies right at the heart of NAPA’s business, we are committed to providing environmentally sound solutions from eco-efficient ship design to our operations support software. The partnership with ClassNK shows the potential of NAPA’s software in supporting significant financial and environmental savings. Indeed, when married with sound management practice, improvement of latent efficiencies, optimisation of trim, ballast and floating position, and implementation of voyage optimisation systems, an electronic approach to SEEMP can achieve as much as 15-20% in fuel economy, depending on the vessel type."