Page 31: of Maritime Logistics Professional Magazine (Mar/Apr 2018)

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Future Vision:

Quality, Modernization and Transparency

Outgoing IACS Chairman & DNV GL

Maritime CEO Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen shares his outlook on the future of Class.

By Joseph Keefe vey technologies – drones, for example – is one area that is The technology provides high defnition resolution so you are gathering momentum. And, that’s an area where DNV GL in really in a position where you can, from the footage of the particular has been a leader. drone, judge whether the corrosion is a problem, where there “We introduced that two years ago and have done that now are any structural damages.

for all different types of ships and also for offshore units. It’s That drone also doesn’t get tired. You just need to have a great way of bringing the item to the surveyor rather than battery capacity, adds Ørbeck-Nilssen. That means that the the surveyor having to go to elevated heights and inspect.” surveyor might not have to climb across six stringers in a

Just two years later, many owners like to have it because they hot sweaty tank; something that might take an hour to ac- can see that they save costs and time and it also promotes a complish. “Going forward – we’ve done this for two years level of safety during the survey itself. DNV GL has, in cer- now – I see that we know the geometry of the tank, so we tain places, even put into place a drone operator. The time and can easily predetermine the fight pattern for the drone. And money saved by not having to erect scaffolding inside a cargo having that predetermined, you don’t actually need to be in- or ballast tank, for example, lets the use of drones pay for side the tank. In certain circumstances, you don’t even need itself many times over. to gas-free the tank.”

It’s about removing the 3 D’s of survey work – dull, dirty This and other similarly innovative technologies must be giv- and dangerous – from the equation. Ørbeck-Nilssen explains, en the chance to succeed. And Ørbeck-Nilssen believes that the “Absolutely. That’s the whole idea. That’s sort of the principal IACS rules must refect what’s to come next, “… to allow for of bringing the survey item to the surveyor, rather than the such new technologies to be used, in the interest of safety and surveyor having to go and visit the more dangerous places. in the interest of the working environment for those people.” www.maritimelogisticsprofessional.com 31

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