Page 43: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2026)

CLASSIFICATION JOHN MCDONALD, CHAIRMAN & CEO, ABS|

Excellence to look ? rst at internal use cases: work? ow support, transition in maritime is on again, as owners navigate increas- better access to procedures, faster drafting and knowledge re- ing mandates from the International Maritime Organization trieval, and software development. From there it moved toward to slash emissions. “Decarbonization is still very here and applying AI more directly to the classi? cation process itself. now and active,” said McDonald. “The industry is not backed

One of the more compelling examples he offers is using dig- away from it.” Today the industry collectively, scouts for that itized ABS rules and AI tools to run those rule sets automati- ‘fuel of the future’ that can effectively, ef? ciently, economi- cally against drawings, operations manuals and engineering cally, and safely replace heavy fuel oil, the primary fuel that analyses. Again, the goal is not to remove human oversight has and continues to power commercial ships and boats for but to compress the time needed to complete tedious, rules- more than a century. The choices are broad, from the natu- based review. What might once have required an engineer to ral and ‘green’ varieties of everything from Biofuels, LNG, manually work line-by-line through a document can now, in Methanol, Hydrogen, Ammonia, as well as the very real pos- certain cases, be handled in seconds. That should improve sibility to leverage new nuclear technologies on commercial speed, consistency and capacity, especially as new designs ships. But the challenges are many and the path forward is not and new technologies expand the complexity of review work. the same for all, as cornerstones such as logistics, price and “What the future looks like for us is taking all that informa- availability remain, not to mention the technological consid- tion… and bringing that to bear on the work that we do in our erations and safety framework around any fuel transition to core classi? cation business,” said McDonald. “We are using ensure that fuels work as they should and keep vessel, seafarer technology to understand the vessels that ABS has under class and property safe. That is exactly where class comes in.

with much more depth and a bit more accuracy.” On fuels, McDonald’s tone is both excited and measured.

McDonald also sees ABS playing a role as a guide to clients Decarbonization has not gone away, though the pathway re- that are earlier on the digital maturity curve. While the indus- mains unsettled. He points to a pause of sorts after recent try’s biggest players with the largest ? eets and deepest pockets IMO developments, with many new vessel orders reverting to are progressing at speed to incorporate digital solutions, most conventional fuel choices even as LNG and methanol remain owners do not start from a sophisticated data architecture, with strong in liner segments. Ammonia continues to move forward.

many still trying to move from spreadsheets to structured sys- Nuclear is the fuel topic where McDonald sounds most tems. ABS has responded by building an AI consulting capabil- convinced that the industry may be underestimating the pace ity within its commercial business, focused not on generic digi- of change. He admits he once thought commercial nuclear tal strategy but on vessel operations, maintenance, reporting, propulsion would arrive only after his career was over, but bunkering optimization and predictive analytics. he no longer thinks that, and in turn ABS has hired nuclear

The maritime industry is full of capable operators who engineers, has continued to develop guidance and is working know exactly what problems they want to solve but do not with the U.S. Department of Energy on conceptual designs. necessarily want a consultant who lacks domain ? uency. ABS He sees likely early applications in power barges or station- can help bridge that gap because it knows both the vessels, the ary support systems before full propulsion, but he is clearly rulebooks and the digitalization solutions. preparing ABS for a world in which nuclear is not a thought

But as has been proven time and again through the history of experiment, rather a real solution for the industry. innovation, technology moves can be a double-edge sword. In this case, the more connected ships become, the more cyber risk Training Seafarers and threats move to the front burner. On this point, McDonald And then there is training, which is one of the more no- is clear: sensor-heavy vessels, real-time connectivity and shore- table additions to the ABS portfolio. Traditionally, ABS has side access create operational bene? ts, but they also expand the not had a formal commercial training business of the kind attack surface. ABS has been building cyber notations, internal now taking shape courtesy of a recently closed acquisition. capabilities and service offerings around that reality. He describes McDonald sees that as a gap worth ? lling, especially given cyber as a core growth area, with dedicated centers of excellence the mismatch between legacy curricula and the technologies and increasing engagement with clients on everything from gov- now entering ? eets and yards. In a deal to deliver immersive ernance and processes to testing and implementation. It is one training at scale to the maritime industry, ABS late last year more example of class adjacent work becoming class essential. signed an agreement and recently sealed the deal to purchase the MetaSHIP intellectual property and related vessel simula- tor software assets from Orka Informatics as part of the strate-

Fuel Transition

Arguably there is no greater challenge or opportunity in gic growth plan for ABS Training Solutions.

maritime than then one focused on decarbonization and fuel The acquisition aims to allow ABS to expand its digital transition. From sail to steam to diesel, the industry has had training program, which can be delivered on board, in port its fair share of fuel pivots throughout its history, and the fuel or at home, as well as in a global network of high-tech ABS www.marinelink.com 43

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