Page 16: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 2017)

Ocean Guardian

A New Tool to Simplify Environmental Compliance

Environmental compliance challenges time environmental regulations has been gram that is helping to shape the future are nothing new to the cruise industry. challenging. Regulations vary dramati- of environmental operations and compli-

Alexandra Anagnostis-Irons is founder

Initiatives to enhance environmental cally between maritime borders and fre- ance. and president of Total Marine Solutions, compliance, from clean technologies quently are subject to change. Many ship To address today’s complex regula- an environmental products and servic- to improved processes and procedures, operators rely on paper copies of regu- tory environment, Ocean Guardian pro- es company. She started her shipping have signi? cantly reduced the impact lations, e-mail communication, robust vides shipboard operators with the lat- career in the cruise sector and spent 16 years in various executive roles.

cruise vessels have on the environment electronic workbooks and feedback from est regulatory information in a digital and improved the quality of discharge. ship agents to stay current. These are vi- format, making compliance signi? cantly

These onboard initiatives address what able solutions, but they have two distinct easier. The electronic application shows is in the vessel’s control, but cannot sim- challenges: First, uniform updates are operators precisely what they must do time it takes for operators to understand plify the increasingly complex regula- dif? cult to make. Second, ? eet manage- to remain compliant, based not only on the regulatory environment for their cur-

ENVIRONMENTAL: TECHNOLOGY tory environment in which cruise lines ment and ship owners have no way to where they are, but also on where they rent location and increases the ef? ciency operate. ensure an operator is using the most up- are going. For ? eet operations staff on of work? ow. If installed onboard and shore side, authorized personnel across

Enforcement of environmental regu- to-date manual. shore, Ocean Guardian removes the risk lations is on the rise as international, With the ever-increasing vessel size of an operator missing an update or not the ? eet can see exactly what is permis- sible at a vessel’s location, enhancing national and regional regulatory bodies and availability of amenities for pas- having the latest policy directive. communication, accountability and in- have taken a stronger line with compli- sengers, the cruise industry is one of Integrated with a ship’s Global Posi- ance. Case in point: Last year, the U.S. the most dynamic and innovative in the tioning System (GPS), Ocean Guardian creasing the visibility of compliance- related actions.

Department of Justice Environment and world. Always looking to improve ef? - is location speci? c up to .25nm, remov-

To address the complexities of the reg-

Natural Resources Division continued ciencies and innovate to improve work- ing the need to review numerous manu- its vigorous prosecution of shipping ? ow and reduce challenges, many felt als, guides and environmental matrices ulatory environment, Ocean Guardian’s developers created a comprehensive companies and crew for the intentional that the industry needed a solution which to determine which regulations apply. discharges of pollutants from ocean-go- not only would address today’s complex Ocean Guardian is an application that database that includes international, na- tional, regional and client speci? c poli- ing vessels in U.S. waters. regulatory environment, but also pave can be installed anywhere on a vessel to cies and regulations. Future versions will

At the end of ? scal year 2016, criminal the way for a new era of industry col- provide real-time environmental regula- include port limitations and reception fa- penalties imposed in these cases totaled laboration. tory information for locations around the cilities. Updates can be downloaded im- more than $363 million in ? nes and more Ocean Guardian is that solution. Cre- world. The straightforward user interface than 32 years of con? nement, according ated by Total Marine Solutions, a Fort takes the guesswork out of compliance mediately for vessels with internet con- to the agency’s 115-page report issued Lauderdale-based environmental so- by making environmental regulations nectivity or via a portable device sent to ships without internet access. on Jan. 13, 2017. lutions and services company, Ocean and related documentation instantly ac-

Understanding that the compliance en-

Staying current with the wave of mari- Guardian is a simple and easy to use pro- cessible. This signi? cantly reduces the vironment at sea is ever-changing and that accuracy is critical when it comes to compliance, Ocean Guardian’s global regulatory database provides clients with unparalleled assurance regarding regula- tory data. The database not only is up- dated by experienced marine compliance professionals, but also veri? ed and vet- ted by a third-party, independent mari- time law ? rm.

In addition to its ? exibility and ease of use, Ocean Guardian can assist owners and operators with preventing non-com- pliant discharge and improve ef? ciency of environment operations. The system does this in two ways. First, it can be programmed to manage the start and stop function of various equipment on board.

Second, immediate access to regulatory data can simplify voyage planning, es- pecially in cases of unplanned stops due to weather or medical emergencies on board.

16 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • SEPTEMBER 2017

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