SSI defends efficiency ratings schemes

"With owners there are owners who have some room for improvements. That's the whole idea of a ratings scheme, to actually make the differentiation, to push people to make change. I recognise that may penalise certain owners with older vessels… where it is difficult to make these changes."

As well as being a member of SSI, Cargill is a joint owner of ship rating system Rightship, along with BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto Shipping.

"Is the system perfect? Probably no, but the system is meant to institute or induce some changes to the shipping community and unfortunately there will be situations where certain vessels may be less useful, at least for us as an operator."

"I'm not going to be apologetic about that. That may not suit everybody, that's likely. We try to cooperate though, by giving them advice and by helping them and we will probably take another look at a vessel, but there is a line we will not cross. If we would not do that then we might as well not set it up."

Janson spoke as a panellist at an event in Singapore to mark the release of SSI's progress report "a case for more action", which includes the release of their web-based tool to help charterers and cargo owners to find the best ratings system to suit their needs.

"I think it's important that this voyage has started," added SSI director Helle Gleie, "Rightship is not an initiative under SSI, what is an initiative under SSI is the ratings scheme tool that has now become available from today where the operators, players, the leaders in the field can go out and find what suits them best. It's a beta version compared with where we may end up in the end.

"This is the starting point, we had to do something about it. Sharing information and being transparent is the way forward for shipping."

Prompted by Seatrade Global to respond to the resistance to ratings schemes voiced at the International Chamber of Shipping's conference in London just last month, Forum of the Future founder Jonathon Porritt replied: "This is absolutely par for the course in any industry. The appliance manufacturers were first invited to think about an energy efficiency rating scheme for appliances, they said 'over our dead bodies, this is completely wrong, this is not the way forward on energy efficiency, we will have nothing to do with it. 'Now it is completely accepted, absolutely, as the way to provide information, to the consumer in this case rather than other businesses, about efficiency."

"We are in the early stage, as Roger says, of getting Rightship and other ratings systems sorted out," Porritt continued. "But you've got to take that kind of push back from that type of trade association, which represents an awful lot of what one could politely describe as non-leading companies, you've got to expect push back from that source."

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