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The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), a provider of classification services to the marine and offshore industry, has announced the release of the new Energy & Environmental Manager module within the management software suite NS5 Enterprise.

According to ABS, the new module complements the ABS portfolio of services that aim to help owners and operators meet the environmental and operational demands faced by the maritime industry.

Energy efficiency, emission controls and ballast water management regulations are impacting the amount of information an owner or operator is required to capture in its day-to-day operations. At the same time, rising fuel costs and anticipated environmental requirements are forcing owners and operators to find ways to improve efficiencies.

"One of the biggest challenges facing the marine and offshore industries is how to successfully meet changing environmental regulatory requirements," said ABS president and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki [pictured]. "ABS is systematically combining traditional class services with innovative products and services to support compliance efforts and improve vessel performance."

A key objective of the Energy & Environmental Manager is to help owners and operators realize more environmentally sound voyage management by tracking and recording key voyage-related events, including fuel and lube oil consumption, fuel oil switching, cargo information and ballast activities.

By simplifying and centralizing real-time environmental and energy data collection, the new module is said to make it easy to track, trend, and report the information required for various regulation requirements, including Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans, ballast water management and MARPOL VI (fuel switching). The Energy & Environmental Manager also trends performance data at a ship and fleet level, allowing users to maximize operational efficiencies.

In addition, the Trim Optimization tool adds trim and draft optimization for improved fuel savings. It performs multiple analyses to obtain the most optimized ballast configuration to achieve minimum hull resistance.

"Using these two tools, vessel operators can achieve better performance while reducing costs through streamlined data collection and analysis, more accurate reporting, demonstrable evidence of regulatory compliance and more efficient and environmentally sound operations," ABS said.

“Our objective at ABS is to provide a complete approach to shipowners and operators in meeting their operational and regulatory goals,” Wiernicki added.

Image: American Bureau of Shipping's (ABS) president and chief executive officer, Christopher J. Wiernicki.