MSC will become the first shipowner to implement DNV anti-roll technology for its ships.
At the SMM trade fair in Hamburg on September 7, the classification society DNV and the global container shipping line MSC signed a contract to implement the new DNV Anti-Roll Assist system and the ARCS class notation (Anti-Roll for Containerships) in about 100 vessels.
With the new contract, MSC is the first company to install the application and the first in the world to implement a ship-specific tool to prevent container losses due to parametric or synchronous rolling.
The contract covers dozens of newbuildings, ships in operation and ships to be built, ranging in size from 1,800 to MSC’s largest ships at around 24,000 TEUs.
DNV’s new Anti-Roll Assist helps boat captains recognize and avoid the risk of parametric and synchronous resonant rolling.
By using a ship-specific hydrodynamic database, the system can provide a risk picture for the ship, based on its course, speed, load status and environmental conditions.
MSC will be the first shipowner to implement the ARCS notation and will integrate the application into its shipboard meteorological routing systems.
“At MSC, the safety of our crews, ships and cargo will always be our top priority,” said Giuseppe Gargiulo, MSC’s director of newbuildings.
“We are always looking for new solutions to minimize risk and the new Anti-Roll Assist gives MSC a new tool that can empower our people both on board and ashore.
“By implementing the new app on our ships, captains and crew can plan ahead and react the moment a potentially critical situation is identified, enhancing our culture of safety.”
“For a company like MSC to adopt this new solution is incredibly gratifying,” said Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, DNV Maritime CEO.
“We are very excited about the potential of Anti-Roll Assist and ARCS notation to help our customers improve the security of their cargo and vessels.”
Anti-Roll Assist can be stand-alone or integrated with other onboard systems such as mooring computers, weather routing tools, or navigation systems.
This is supported by the ARCS class notation which allows shipowners to demonstrate to their clients that there is a strategy in place to minimize the risk of container loss.
Owners can meet the requirements of the ARCS class notation by implementing a software solution that meets designated functional, technical, and performance requirements, particularly a strict hydrodynamic approach to calculating risk.
Major container losses have been reported in recent years: including lost containers at ZIM Kingston and, in 2020, when more than 1,900 containers were lost or damaged on an Ocean Network Express ship in inclement weather.