IHM compliance only three months away – how to meet the deadline by going digital

From 31 December 2020, ships above 500 GT flying the flag of an EU/EEA member state, or third-party flagged vessels calling at European ports, must carry an IHM certification on board. To make the process as efficient as possible, IHM services are provided through digital platforms. Read more about “digital IHM” in this statutory news.

Relevant for ship owners and managers as well as yards, HazMat expert companies and suppliers.

To support its customers on IHM (Inventory Hazardous Materials), DNV GL has made available a software named IGS (IHM Green Server) in My Services on Veracity. This software is used for the initial IHM Part I preparation, for the approval and certification of the IHM Part I, and for further maintenance activities.

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The IGS software can be used by any stakeholder, such as, shipyard, ship owner/manager or hazmat expert. When the relevant data is entered, the software generates the IHM Part I in a digital format, as illustrated in the picture below:

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Fleet Status in My Services and “Request IHM approval”

To create a more efficient and transparent IHM approval and certification process, DNV GL introduced in June 2020 a feature to “Request IHM approval” in My Services:

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To ensure timely certification, the process is triggered with a retroactive requirement (RR) issued for all DNV GL-classed vessels, which is set with an earlier due date for IHM report submissions.

The IHM generated by IGS can be uploaded in the Fleet Status for review and approval. Users can track the status of their orders directly from Fleet Status under the Orders tab and see whether their reports are approved or not. Once the IHM report is approved, the system creates an automatic notification email; thus, the customer can proceed to the next step, which is “Request survey”.

To simplify the work, DNV GL has prepared an RR 1051 b/c, which is linked to the new compliance document(s), and has added a time window synchronized with the ship’s annual survey (latest 31/12/2020 to meet the deadline of the EU SRR). Users should include this RR in their survey scope to trigger the IHM initial survey. The link to the approved documentation is then automatically included in the request.

After the successful completion of the survey, IHM compliance documents are issued by the surveyors. The ship owner’s responsibility then starts, to maintain the IHM throughout the operational life of the vessel.

IHM Part I maintenance

Part I of the IHM shall be properly maintained and updated throughout the operational life of the ship, reflecting new installations containing any hazardous materials referred to in Annex II of the EU SRR and relevant changes in the structure and equipment of the ship. In case there is no procedure implemented on board the ship for IHM Part I maintenance, a detailed inspection may be carried out by the relevant authority involved in port state control activities.

It is crucial to establish and implement an IHM maintenance procedure, and to identify products that fall into the scope of IHM Part I. For such items, ship owners need to collect information in the form of Material Declarations (MDs) and Supplier Declaration of Conformity (SDoC).

IHM Part I maintenance with IGS

The EU SRR states that “an IHM certificate shall cease to be valid, if the condition of the ship does not correspond – with the particulars of that IHM certificate, including where IHM Part I has not been properly maintained and updated”. Not having a valid IHM certificate is the only reason to detain a ship; therefore, IHM maintenance is very important for the ship owners/managers.

IGS users can maintain the IHM Part I in IGS. Even if the original IHM Part I is not prepared in IGS, the existing data can be converted into digital data which can be read by the IGS. During this digital data transfer, the ship is entered in the IGS database together with its main and sub locations, as well as existing hazardous materials.

A real-time IHM is kept in the IGS software and can be generated at any time with one click. All the changes are recorded in the Audit Trail of the vessel, which acts as an IHM Maintenance Log Book.

With more than 120 accounts and 1,500 vessels, IGS is preferred by our customers as a tool for IHM maintenance. IGS also supports IHM surveys performed remotely, where the data is continuously updated and displayed in a real-time view.

Recommendations

  1. Go digital for IHM management.
  2. Go for a trial project with IGS.
  3. Sign up your fleet for a 5-year IHM certificate period.

References

Contact

  • For customers: DATE – Direct Access to Technical Experts via My Services on Veracity 
  • Otherwise (including approved radio service suppliers): Use our office locator to find the nearest DNV GL office.