Rickmers Shipmanagement gets energy certification
Germany's Rickmers Shipmanagement says it has become one of just a few shipping companies worldwide to receive the ISO 50001 Energy Management System standard certification, demonstrating its commitment to reducing energy consumption and emissions, Ship & Bunker reports.
GL Systems Certification (GL) granted the certification for the company's offices in Hamburg and Singapore and for 10 of its ships, and the company plans to add nine more ships early this year.
"In shipping today, making more efficient use of energy is not only a key factor in a company's strategy to reduce its impact upon the environment, but an essential part of remaining competitive and reducing bunker costs substantially," said Björn Sprotte, Rickmers' global head of maritime services.
The ISO 50001 certification has been used mainly for industries like manufacturing with high energy consumption.
"There is a growing awareness in shipping, however, that managing onboard energy consumption is at the heart of their profitability," said Philipp Schwarmann, GL's product manager for energy management.
The voluntary standard is designed to help companies develop targets and implement policies improving efficiency and services and reducing emissions.
Rickmers' Energy Management System uses a Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) to determine ship-specific baselines and monitor the effects of technical modifications and operational changes.
"Ensuring efficient communication between the ship, office fleet team and top management has become one of the main focus points for our energy efficiency program," said Sebastian Sala of Rickmers.
"Overall awareness of energy efficiency and transparency of the developed system are crucial."
In June, ASEA Brown Boveri (ABB) announced that Rickmers was installing ABB energy management systems from on five vessels.
