ABS Hosts Ship Operators Cooperative Program

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ABS hosted the fall meeting of the Ship Operators Cooperative Program (SOCP) in Houston October 5 and 6, welcoming representatives from industry, government and academia to discuss current issues and new technologies.

“It is a privilege to host the SOCP and to share information with the other member organizations,” says ABS Chief Technology Officer Howard Fireman. “This is an excellent forum for presenting advances in our technology program that will provide solutions for some of the most important industry challenges.”

A number of significant issues were on the meeting agenda, which kicked off with a look at the impact of Subchapter M and how companies can prepare for implementation. The program included a discussion on navigational safety in the Houston Ship Channel and a segment on technology that provided an opportunity for ABS to share insights on ocean predictions and underwater noise, information on how companies can strengthen safety culture at the deck plate and some of the innovative technologies being developed to support mariners.

Another subject – one that has moved to the forefront of industry concerns – is what needs to be done to prevent cyber intrusions. As a leader in this space, ABS shared its plans to expand the ABS CyberSafety series, the industry’s first risk-based management program for asset owners to apply best practice approaches to four key cyber areas: cybersecurity, automated systems safety, data integrity and software verification, along with some of the developments being undertaken in the ABS CyberSafety laboratory.

“Sharing ideas in this forum is valuable for every participating organization,” Fireman says. “The opportunity to look at issues from different perspectives and to talk openly about potential solutions allows us to make more rapid progress toward common goals and solutions.”