Knut Orbeck-Nilssen is backing the continued use of surveyors despite an industry rush to remote inspections during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The comments by the chief executive of DNV GL's maritime division may surprise many, as the classification society has been one one of the most frequent users of remote surveys in which ships are inspected without a surveyor in attendance.

DNV GL has clocked up more than 20,000 remote inspections already.

Orbeck-Nilssen said the use of remote survey techniques has been vital in order to overcome the travel and quarantine restrictions, which prevented surveyors from getting to ships.

“It’s been a difficult year,” he said. “But we have managed to live up to our purpose to provide a safety net for the industry, and remained fully operational, by leveraging our digital capabilities and using remote surveys to an extent that no one could have imagined.”

Such has been the success of remote survey work that there has since been a clamour to accelerate its usage in the shipping industry. Some have even suggested there is no turning back and the days of the surveyor could be numbered.

Important role

Orbeck-Nilssen said remote surveys will continue to play an important role in some areas.

He pointed out that remote operations have proved a success for simple inspection jobs such as checking small overdue items without a surveyor returning to the ship and incurring travel and port costs.

But he said that to fully understand the safety condition of a vessel, there is no alternative to the surveyor.

Classification society RINA uses a drone to conduct the world's first statutory and associated intermediate class surveys in June. Photo: Rina

“The value of having an attending surveyor is that it gives a broader and deeper impression of a ship and its crew than, say, a livestream,” Orbeck-Nilssen said. "To me, it is not a question of technical capability or bandwidth."

His comments are bound to make ship surveyors feel more comfortable about their job security.

DNV GL's maritime division has managed to maintain its workforce of around 3,300 with only a few temporary layoffs during the pandemic.

Orbeck-Nilssen said the Oslo-headquartered classification society had already been through a far-reaching reorganisation in recent years, and there was no need for further restructuring measures during the pandemic.

However, one looming problem on the horizon is the lack of newbuilding contracting during the pandemic, which could have a negative impact on demand for DNV GL's classification services in the future.

One reason for the lack of activity is the uncertainty over future regulation on decarbonisation, which will strongly influence the technical design and fuel choices of new ships.

Orbeck-Nilssen believes the newbuilding market will recover and that, despite the pandemic, contracting levels this year will still manage to surpass the lows that were experienced in 2016.

He also believes shipowners can order LNG dual-fuel vessels with confidence that they will comply with future carbon regulation scenarios.

“Hopefully we will see more newbuilding activity in the next few years," he said. "Many are concerned about what fuel choice is the best way to go forward. Given future scenarios, dual fuel is a robust choice, [but] my advice is gas is a good solution to go with now.”