Hamburg S'd and the classification society Germanischer Lloyd are jointly developing an innovative data management system for systematically capturing all environmentally relevant ship operation information. The future 'GL Emission Manager' will permit detailed evaluation and analysis of all relevant data of the entire fleet. Hamburg S'd has set itself the goal of creating a valid basis for further reducing the emission of contaminants by its deployed fleet.

'There is as yet no comparable way of systematically collecting and analysing all environmentally relevant information from vessels in service,' says Arnt Vespermann, Member of the Executive Board of Hamburg S'd, about the new GL Emission Manager. 'It gives us the capability to satisfy the most diverse reporting requirements quickly and easily.'

The system is to be used throughout Hamburg S'd's entire fleet from the start of 2012 and, in addition to environmentally relevant details, will make other operational information, such as current vessel position, cargo mix, or weather conditions, available on demand.

On the data-capture side, the GL Emission Manager will consist of two separate but directly linked parts: the data recorder will be installed on board the vessels to collect all relevant information on the spot. The central 'Green Server' will be located at Germanischer Lloyd and fed with data from the respective data recorders fully automatically. The server makes it possible to prepare a wide variety of queries and reports required at any time. Automatic plausibility checks of the information held in the system will additionally guarantee high data quality.