VPS, a global marine fuel testing advisory company owned by Fremman Capital has acquired Emsys Maritime, a real-time emissions measurement company operating globally and based in Manchester. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

VPS is the market-leading fuel testing, inspection, and advisory services company in shipping, with laboratories located in Rotterdam, Singapore, Houston and Fujairah. VPS tests marine fuels and lubricating oils, producing high quality, reliable analytical data with further expert interpretation and advice, helping ship operators to run their vessels efficiently, optimising fuel costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The acquisition of Emsys Maritime complements the growing digital decarbonisation service offering from VPS, servicing a rapidly increasing demand from shipping customers.

Dr Malcolm Cooper, CEO of VPS said: “In Emsys Maritime, we have acquired a company with a strong technical capability and excellent reputation, helping us to deliver our ambition to be the leading service provider in fuel performance optimisation and emissions reduction. The addition of real-time emissions measurement data complements our existing marine fuel analysis data to provide a comprehensive understanding of greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime sector. The integration of real-time emissions monitoring into our existing portfolio of digital decarbonisation services (which currently includes Maress, NOxDigital, CORE and PortStats) within a single, unified platform will provide added value throughout the VPS digital customer journey. This new flow of information will assist us in providing our customers with the tools required to understand, control and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, moving the industry forward toward achieving carbon emission reduction targets for 2030 and beyond."

Emsys Maritime is a market-leading manufacturer of real-time, laser driven marine emissions measurement technology. Headquartered in Manchester (UK) with an overseas operating hub in South Korea, the company’s customer base includes the world’s leading shipyards and ship operators. Their unique technology is supported by a comprehensive digital data platform which provides unique insights into the vessels real-time environmental profile allowing operators to maximise efficiency whilst maintaining regulatory compliance. The recent introduction of the ‘Emsys Analytics’ software platform has provided a comprehensive, real-world data stream to ship operators and charterers to help manage their ESG reporting requirements.

Simon Brown, founder and Managing Director of Emsys Maritime said ”Emsys Maritime was established to provide the maritime industry with the most accurate and reliable emissions measurement tools to enable ship operators to manage their environmental and regulatory requirements and goals. The acquisition by VPS allows Emsys Maritime to accelerate its already strong growth into new market areas and customer sectors. The integration of our real-time data into the VPS digital decarbonisation platform will create an industry leading portal which will help the wider shipping community on it journey towards net zero”

Contact

For further questions contact Malcolm Cooper - CEO VPS at: malcolm.cooper@vpsveritas.com

Following the adoption of the resolution MEPC.361(79) of establishing a Mediterranean Emission Control Area (ECA) for sulphur oxides and particulate matter from 1st May 2025, by the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee, it has been reported, the European Commission has welcomed this action to further tighten sulphur emissions from shipping.

The Commission claims that by limiting the sulphur content to 0.10% within marine fuels, or use an exhaust gas cleaning system, the Mediterranean ECA, will eventually cut sulphur emissions by almost 80% and particulate matter by 25%, providing considerable health benefits to the environment and improve human health.

Estimations suggest approximately 300,000 premature deaths per year are attributable to air pollution in the EU and this latest ECA could see a reduction of at least 1,000 premature deaths and a drop in child asthma cases by 2,000 per year within the Mediterranean basin.

In addition to this news, Israel’s government have recently announced they will impose a 0.10% sulphur limit for ships entering Israeli ports and designated anchorage areas as soon as February 2023. All of which further adds to the reduction of shipping’s emissions and improving our environment.

Back in January 2021, VPS compared the impact of the IMO introduction of MARPOL Annex VI back in 2005 to the sulphur levels tested by VPS in 2020 reporting an incredible 67% reduction in sulphur oxide emissions from global shipping over that time period:

However, towards the end of 2022, VPS testing and reporting showed that VLSFO sulphur off-specification fuels were still being delivered across most regions of the world:

Global VLSFO sulphur non-compliance during the final quarter of 2022, remained relatively constant at 1.2% for all VPS-tested VLSFO stems. Focusing on Europe, we can see in the graphic below that 3% of all VLSFOs bunkered in the region showed a sulphur level of >0.50%, with 0.7% being >0.53%:

There is firm scientific evidence that reducing the sulphur content of marine fuels is having and will continue to have, a positive impact upon human health and the environment.

Whilst there is now an additional environmental focus for the world’s shipping fleet to reduce carbon dioxide and green house gas emissions, the testing of sulphur levels within marine fuels, should always be a key priority for ship owners and operators, in order to ensure their fuel is compliant to not only the global cap, but the everincreasing ECA regions across the world.  

To find out more on how VPS can help you with your marine fuel management, please contact technical@vpsveritas.com or contact your local VPS Office & Account Manager. 

A key factor in the drive to radically reduce emissions will be the choice of fuel used to power ships. Biofuels are an immediate alternative to traditional hydrocarbons – but come with very different fuel management challenges.

VPS’s new APS-BIO service has been expertly developed to meet these challenges, helping to ensure ships are fully protected against potential damage when using biofuels to achieve emissions reduction targets.

For over 40 years, VPS has worked with the maritime industry to help optimise its fuel management to protect assets, safeguard crew health and safety, and achieve environmental compliance.

With APS-BIO, VPS takes another step forward in helping the industry to meet the challenging emission targets set by the IMO, whilst improving vessel operational efficiency.

Global shipping emits 940 million tons of CO2 every year and is responsible for 3.0% of global Green House Gases.

The IMO has set challenging targets to reduce these greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 this equates to reducing emissions by almost 500 million tons over the next 28 years.

To meet these targets, vessel owners and operators are actively looking to alternative low-to-zero-carbon fuels to help achieve compliance. These include biofuels, LNG, methanol, ammonia and hydrogen.

Biofuels offer an immediate solution in emissions reduction, and can be used today. However, these fuels require different and additional considerations in terms of their fuel management, if they are to be successfully used as a marine fuel.

“Biofuels have been quickly recognised as an immediate ‘drop-in’ option to reduce shipping emissions. However, their chemistry and behaviour is very different from traditional marine fuels. So their fuel management requires a unique set of laboratory tests and advisory support, to assess and monitor their quality. VPS APS-Bio provides this service, giving our customers peace-of-mind when using biofuels.” Steve Bee, Group Commercial Director of VPS

By leveraging its vast experience and expertise in marine fuel testing and advisory services, VPS has developed an ‘Additional Protection Service’ for when biofuels are to be used onboard ships.

This innovative suite of analytical testing tools will provide the necessary insight and understanding to help ensure:

• Asset protection
• Operational efficiency
• Legislative compliance

The IMO’s aggressive emission targets will have to be met and biofuels can be part of the answer. VPS expertise regarding the chemistry, behaviour and use of biofuels gained through detailed, rigorous research and development programmes, fuel studies and sea trials is leading the way in helping the industry understand these fuels and mitigate any associated risks when using biofuels.

Ready to discover more about how APS-Bio can help your company? 
info@vpsveritas.com