NSC Group has signed an agreement with Korean Register (KR) for the IACS (International Association of Classification Societies) classification society to provide IHM (Inventory of Hazardous Materials) services across the NSC Group's fleet of container vessels, bulk carriers, conbulkers, car carriers and tankers.

From 31 December 2020, all existing ships sailing under the EU-flag and ships flying the flag of a third country calling at an EU port or anchorage must have on board an inventory of hazardous materials (IHM) verified by the relevant authorities or a recognized organization like Korean Register.  The same rules came into effect for EU-flagged on 31 December 2018. The regulation will improve safety, protecting people and property onboard the ship and meeting any mooring requirements.

KR will be working with partners HMI GbR (QSU & exag) and NautilusLog GmbH to deliver the specialist IHM service. Many shipowners and operators have yet to decide on IHM service providers, but the KR partnership is well established with plans for future projects already underway and many new ideas to benefit customers in development.

From left to right: Otto Klemke (Nautilus GmbH), Frank Schneider (HMI GbR), Sebastian Völchner (NSC Group) and Michael Suhr (Korean Register).
From left to right: Otto Klemke (Nautilus GmbH), Frank Schneider (HMI GbR), Sebastian Völchner (NSC Group) and Michael Suhr (Korean Register).

Sebastian Völchner, Project Manager NSC said: "We are very satisfied that we have found the right partners following an intensive tendering process. We appreciate the value offered by KR, HMI GbR (QSU & exag) and NautilusLog GmbH as they work together as a consortium, to offer a complete comprehensive service package as one team."

Michael Suhr, Technical and Commercial Director of Korean Register North Europe added: "KR is pleased to offer its customers this technical solution which has been developed at the best competitive price for the market.  The experience and expertise of our partners in this field, combined with KR's established expert global network will allow us to offer excellent business synergies to our shipowner and ship manager customers."

Frank Schneider, Managing Director of HMI GbR (QSU & exag) added: "We are happy to be working with KR to provide this specialist service in direct response to increasing demand from industry as the entry into force date gets closer. We anticipate that demand will outstrip supply over the next year or so, creating a 'bottleneck' simply because there are a limited number of HAZMAT experts and specialist laboratories providing this service."

HMI GbR (QSU & exag) is an established service supplier approved by KR, with many experienced in-house Hazmat experts ready to inspect and serve the entire NSC Group fleet across the company's worldwide network. NautilusLog GmbH has recently won several awards including the Hamburg Innovation Award, Pitch Blue Award by VDR and Digital Logistic Award.

Otto Klemke, NautilusLog GmbH founder and managing Director added: "We are proud to support our Partners with the best digital tools allowing them to serve more ships in less time and effort."

An IHM report will be linked to the entire lifespan of the vessel, eventually covering the building stage, its operational stage and the recycling stage.