Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan
The Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) 62nd meeting largely focused on the Reduction of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) from ships which led to the adoption of “Energy Efficiency Regulations” as part of a new Chapter 4 of MARPOL Annex VI. These include Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP).
The purpose of the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) is to establish a mechanism for the Company and/or the ship to improve the energy efficiency of a ship’s operation. Preferably, the ship-specific SEEMP is linked to a broader corporate energy management policy for the Company that owns, operates or controls the ship, recognizing that no two shipping companies or ship owners are the same, and that ships operate under a wide range of different conditions.
The enhancement of energy efficiency can reduce fuel consumption, save money and decrease environmental impacts for individual ships. While the yield of individual measures may be small, the collective effect across the entire fleet is significant.
The Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan provides a possible approach for monitoring ship and fleet efficiency performance over time and some options to be considered when seeking to optimize the performance of the ship.
The SEEMP is a ship-specific plan that seeks to improve the ship’s energy efficiency through four steps:
- Planning,
- Implementation,
- Monitoring and
- Self-evaluation & improvement.
These components play a critical role in the continuous cycle to improve ship energy management since, with each iteration of the cycle, some elements of the SEEMP will necessarily change, while others may remain as before.