Press Release: German shipowner-manager, F. A. Vinnen & Co. has placed its entire fleet of nine vessels with Verifavia Shipping for Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) services. Verifavia Shipping will conduct IHM surveys in line with the terms of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU SRR) and the Hong Kong (HK) International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships and leading class society RINA will thereafter certify the work prepared by Verifavia Shipping.
The EU SRR applies to new EU-flagged ships and EU-flagged ships going for dismantling, and from 31 December 2020 will affect all existing EU-flagged ships as well as ships flying the flag of a third country and calling at an EU port or anchorage. The IHM regulation, impacting 35,000 vessels, requires vessels to carry a certified IHM onboard. The IHM provides detailed information on potential hazardous materials utilised in the construction of vessels, its equipment and systems. Therefore, all upgrades and equipment substition onboard during the ship’s life must be reflected in the IHM, providing owners with an up to date document when the ship is delivered to the recycling facility.
Bernd Hein, Managing Director, F. A. Vinnen & Co., commented: “We are passionate about keeping our fleet up to date with the most current regulation and respecting the environment, so adhering to this new regulation as quickly as possible is important to us and our values as a company. As a family-owned and family-run business, we value our relationships with our partners highly. Reputed as one of the most professional hazmat teams and after intensive meetings with their team, we chose to cooperate with Verifavia Shipping. We are happy that they’ve ensured that this complex process has been completed as thoroughly, yet as smoothly and time-efficiently, as possible.”
Ulf Teske, Marine Business Development Manager, RINA Germany GmbH, commented: “Having been involved in the development and update of both IMO and EU regulations, as well as developing an integrated service for IHM, we have significant expertise in, and understanding of, the IHM requirements. It is essential for ships being delivered to a recycling facility to have been surveyed and for the owner to have an up to date document which reflects the vessel’s systems, equipment and structure. Our partnership with Verifavia Shipping, amongst others, allows us to deliver an efficient, and professional service to clients, enabling them to reliably comply with this new regulation.”
Delivered by one of the largest in-house teams of hazmat experts in the industry, Verifavia’s IHM services involve a process of analysing the vessel documents, an onboard visual and sampling inspection, and laboratory analysis, which is then developed into a detailed report and shared with the respective class society for final cross-checking, verification, and certification. This process enables the identification of any hazardous materials, waste or stores present on board the vessel that need to be removed when preparing the ship for recycling. In addition to the IHM initial survey, Verifavia can work with ship owners, managers and class societies to develop and implement a robust IHM maintenance procedure to ensure the IHM certification is constantly up to date.
Julien Dufour, CEO, Verifavia Shipping, concluded: “Working with F. A. Vinnen & Co.’s entire fleet demonstrates the trust placed in Verifavia Shipping to provide a cooperative, efficient and thorough service to our clients. Having one of the largest in-house hazmat teams in the industry allows us to process vessels in the most time-efficient way, providing the highest service to our clients. Verifavia’s recently launched IHM services have been developed to complement the work done by class societies – ensuring that hazardous materials within the structure of a vessel are properly identified to prepare ships for safe and environmentally friendly recycling. I have no doubt that working with RINA, one of the leading class societies, will be a smooth and professional process.”
Approved by the Korean Register, American Bureau of Shipping, Indian Register of Shipping, Lloyd’s Register and RINA, Verifavia Shipping is in the process of being approved as a HazMat Expert Company by additional classification societies including DNV GL and Bureau Veritas. Zeaborn Ship Management was one of the first organisations to contract Verifavia to perform IHM preparation and certification for more than 100 vessels. Verifavia Shipping now employs 21 hazmat experts – most of them in-house experts – and has more than 300 vessels under IHM contract.
