Leading Classification Society ClassNK has certified ‘SOPass’, developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd (KHI), as Innovation Endorsement for Product & Solutions, under the Society’s certification service for innovative technologies.
In July 2020, to promote the spread and development of innovative technologies, the Society launched Innovation Endorsement as a swift certification service in co-operation with technological front runners to establish appropriate evaluation criteria. Among the certification categories, ‘Product & Solutions’ covers digital equipment and software technology installed for use on vessels.
SOPass is a solution service that realises improved fuel and transport efficiency through an optimised routing feature and boil-off gas (BOG) management system for LNG carriers.
Receiving KHI’s application, ClassNK’s experts verified the functions of SOPass which include provision of optimised routing by integrating weather data with simulation of ship motion, provision of optimised operation for LNG carriers based on the calculation of the amount of BOG, evaluation of plant efficiency and propulsion efficiency including future deterioration prediction, and issued the certificate.
After the launch of Innovation Endorsement in 2020, ClassNK has been receiving many inquiries on the service, and has certified 63 ships with the Digital Smart Ship notation (DSS). For the Product & Solutions category, two cases have been certified, and a further 21 cases are currently under inspection.