NCOE Community Spotlight: DNV GL, Risk Advisory Team

DNV GL and the USCG have a well-established partnership centered around protecting crews and ensuring that vessels are operating safely within US waterways.

Each edition of the USCG LGC NCOE newsletter contains a spotlight on one member of the Coast Guard’s Liquefied Gas community that has gone above and beyond to help keep the liquefied gas industry safe, secure, and clean. In this month's edition the USCG decided instead to shine the light on an entire group, DNV GL’s Risk Advisory Team.

DNV GL and the USCG have a well-established partnership centered around protecting crews and ensuring that vessels are operating safely within US waterways. 

With the growing popularity of LNG as a marine fuel in the U.S., the USCG and DNV GL recently expanded the existing partnership to include training programs that are agile and easy to implement. 

Focusing on thought leadership and improving operational efficiency, DNV GL continuously seeks out new ways to build competence for employees, regulators, and industry partners. Recently, DNV GL’s Risk Advisory Services team, which is headed by Pedram Fanailoo, invited LT Ethan Lewallen, of the LGC NCOE to join their operations for a period of eight weeks. LT Lewallen accepted the invitation and was granted open access (by both DNV GL and the client) to participate and oversee the development of a Qualitative Risk Assessment (QRA).

During this time, DNV GL’s risk experts worked with LT Lewallen to develop new tools which are now being used by the LGC NCOE to review the quality and completeness of risk studies on proposed LNG bunkering operations. Pedram commented, “This experience was mutually beneficial for all. The time that LT Lewallen spent with the Risk team provided a greater insight to the challenges the USCG faces when reviewing risk assessments. At the same time, LT Lewallen took away an appreciation for the critical components of a risk study.” 

Risk assessments are recognized for providing clarity around critical and robust decision making processes―especially when an organization is considering how to implement a new tool or approach.

“It was an incredible opportunity to work with DNV GL's Risk Advisory Group. As the use of LNG as a marine fuel grows, so does the complexity of some LNG fueling operations. As this occurs, risk assessments will be needed and it was great to learn from the leading industry risk experts,” LT Ethan Lewallen, USCG.

“Since the collapse of oil prices, DNV GL has intently focused on developing new digitalization tools that improve operational efficiency. These cloud-based tools (many of which are free) simplify the decision-making process and provide added value to our existing services,” added Peter Bjerager.