ABS joins hands with leading public health officials to address maintaining the safety of vessels and offshore assets potentially exposed to COVID-19, says a press release published on their website.
Guidance on sanitizing and decontaminating
ABS has launched comprehensive guidance on sanitizing and decontaminating marine and offshore assets that got exposed to COVID-19.
Best practice guidelines
Response Measures to COVID-19 for the Marine and Offshore Industries provides the best practice guidelines for sanitizing assets exposed to COVID-19 and helps maritime leadership address the challenges.
The best practices document helps to answer a range of practical, urgent questions including –
- how to prevent an asset from getting contaminated,
- how to maintain an asset in a sanitized state,
- how to decontaminate an asset when there is an onboard COVID-19 case and
- considerations for the choice, use and disposal of cleaning and disinfecting products.
Produced from a maritime public health perspective, the best practices are applicable to commercial and naval vessels, as well as drilling units, production installations and other offshore units.
Challenges faced
According to Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, marine and offshore operators face the same challenge globally today :
- Determining how to protect crews while continuing operations in complex environments with unique requirements,
- where decontamination is considerably more challenging than for assets on land.
ABS industry safety leadership
“This guidance builds on ABS’ industry safety leadership to give operators confidence they are doing everything possible to protect their crews and assets.”
Health official’s comment
Rear Admiral Joyce Johnson DO MA U.S. Public Health Service (Ret), a physician with a 35-year career of senior public health leadership in civilian and U.S. military sectors, said:
“ABS has compiled a useful, best practices publication for mitigating the SARS-CoV-19 virus threat aboard marine and offshore platforms. The sanitization guidance provided will potentially save lives for people who must live and work at sea.”
Restart Risk ModelTM design
The guidance follows last week’s announcement by ABS subsidiary ABS Group Consulting of a Restart Risk ModelTM designed to help commercial and public organizations get workers safely back on site following the COVID-19 stay-at-home directives.
The easy-to-follow risk-based framework will aid ship owners to maintain their operations with enhanced working practices that address the ‘new normal’ business environment.
Download a copy of Response Measures to COVID-19 for the Marine and Offshore Industries here.
Did you subscribe to our daily newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe!
Source: ABS
