Isle of Man Ship Registry, FuelTrust sign deal for green ship validation

Certification & Classification

March 30, 2022, by Ajsa Habibic

The Isle of Man Ship Registry (IOMSR) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Houston-based technology company FuelTrust to validate vessels for the flag’s Green Ship scheme.

Under the agreement, IOMSR will use FuelTrust’s fuels and emissions digital technology to validate green ships and the parties will collaborate on further projects to incentivize and enable emissions reductions.

Ship owners and operators registered with the IOMSR will be able to use FuelTrust’s Bunker Insights product to predict, measure and authenticate their fleets’ emissions reduction, the partners claim.

The collaboration will see IOMSR accept FuelTrust’s AI-based validation of a vessel’s performance regarding its emissions and fuel quality programs.

It will make vessels using Bunker Insights eligible for IOMSR’s green ship designation and benefit from discounts or offerings on their annual registration fee.

The green ship discount, which comes into effect on 1 April 2022, will give ship owners a 15% reduction on their annual registration fee. It is available to operators of cargo ships, commercial yachts or passenger ships that are investing in biofuel, alternative fuels, wind or shore-side energy technology.

Additionally, the partners intend to collaborate further to explore methodologies for tracking emissions reductions from zero-carbon fuels, among other projects, to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

“The agreement with Isle of Man Ship Registry creates significant opportunity for vessel owners”, said Darren Shelton, chief product officer of FuelTrust. “IOMSR recognizes how advanced technologies such as ours can help its members reduce their carbon emissions, track fuel usage and monitor performance.”

Cameron Mitchell, director of the Isle of Man Ship Registry, added: “As the world’s first flag state to reduce registration fees for ships deploying green technology, we want to support our members’ efforts by giving them access to the best technology for supporting fuel choice and to manage and monitor vessel emissions for regulatory compliance.

“Our collaboration with FuelTrust provides Isle of Man-registered ship operators and charterers the insights, expertise and transparency to assess the collective carbon output of their fleets and to manage compliance with emissions regulations.”