Annual Report 2020
Annual Report 2020
Our previous investments in digital solutions meant we were prepared to deliver services remotely, both in terms of technology and in establishing, in co-operation with the involved flags, the regulatory framework to support this approach.
The marine part of the RINA business met 2020
targets that were revised in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We
successfully limited the impact of the pandemic, exceeding the target margin
and growing revenue from 2019 by 6%, closing the year at €135M.
A leader in digital solutions
Although a challenging year for everyone, 2020
showed the resilience of our marine business. Our previous investment in
digital solutions meant we were prepared to deliver services
remotely, both in terms of technology and in establishing, in co-operation
with the involved flags, the regulatory framework to support this approach. During
2020, our remote survey capability enabled us to continue to serve our clients
when surveyors could not be present on a vessel. Indeed, we were the first
classification society worldwide to complete a statutory
survey completely remotely.
Alongside navigating the pandemic, the use of
IT technologies and tools (e.g. drones,
hand-held
tablets and wearables) has
proven that remote
inspections and services if applied in a controlled and
conscious way and with a risk-based approach can ensure at least the same level
of effectiveness than traditional ones, while enhancing surveyors’ safety in
those cases where in-person inspection is difficult (e.g. in case of remote
locations and inaccessible environments) or potentially unsafe (e.g. in
confined or hazardous spaces).
Business agility
As well as quickly adjusting to deliver services in
new ways, the agility of RINA’s marine and
certification businesses was reflected in the quick time to market of
the new Biosafety Trust Certification.
This was developed following the conversion of
a Ro-Ro passenger ship into a hospital ship in Genoa to support the
medical fight against COVID-19. The new scheme is designed to specifically
mitigate the risk of infection on board ships and is a valuable tool to
help get facilities up and running again as the pandemic
subsides. A new additional Class Notation Biosafe Ship was also
launched.
Increasing sustainability and decarbonization
Decarbonization is a key focus for ship
owners and classification societies. RINA works with ship designers to verify the compliance with the
applicable rules of dual-fuel vessels and of novel concept designs incorporating new fuels, such
as hydrogen or ammonia.
However, we also work to
increase efficiency levels, which directly equates to
fewer emissions. One of the most important
tools for optimization is RINA’s digital
solution for performance
ship management, Optimum. This
provides real-time monitoring to identify
areas where efficiency can
be increased. In 2020, the take-up of this
solution
increased significantly with now over 250 ships
using this tool. As
the number of ships and the volume of data increases, this
enables deeper analysis and insights to help further increase
efficiency.
The new
fleet operation
centre in Piraeus became
fully operational in 2020, strengthening our presence in
Greece. This centre supports a full range of life cycle
competencies and will allow the society to manage RINA classed vessels
even more accurately and efficiently all over the world. We have also
strengthened our presence and local competencies in other areas,
including China to support the build of value-add
vessels in this region.
2020 Highlights
Alongside the advancement in our digital capability
and pioneering remote survey and inspection, which both help increase
sustainability and supported our resilience through the adversity of 2020, one
of the highlights of the year was reaching a fleet of 50M GT, with
the highest growth of all class societies.
Our new build business was strong, with the
delivery of several new vessels including the LNG-fuelled Carnival Group
flagship, Mardi Gras, and eco-friendly ships for the Grimaldi Group. We further
signed several important contracts for new builds, including three luxury
cruise liners which will be built by Fincantieri for MSC Cruises and
two Ro-Pax vessels that will be built in China for
the Finnlines fleet.
Our Inventory
of Hazardous Materials
(IHM) service to
meet mandatory IMO and EU regulations, launched at the end of 2019.
In 2020, we provided this service to more than 800 ships, making it a
significant contributing factor to our success.
Changing the face of shipping for the future
We still face challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic
continues into 2021. Having forced a complete stop to cruise activities in
2020, there are some hopes that the cruise market will restart around the
middle of 2021 and we will be ready to support this.
In 2021 and beyond, we see a global reduction in
new build activity as ship owners wait to see which technologies will lead the
path to
decarbonization. To this end, we will continue
supporting
compliance with regulations but also
meeting the challenges of the future, at the
heart of which are decarbonization and digitalisation, where
RINA is strong because of its work across different industries in new energy,
decarbonization and sustainability. We will push the value of
data in the industry and, through AI and machine learning, use
it to deliver even greater efficiencies and value to our customers.