Bureau Veritas is introducing its new Cyber Health Analysis Report Tool (CHART) to help shipowners gain a better understanding of their ships’ digital architecture (OT/IT), specific vulnerabilities as well as their preparedness for potential cyber threats.s.

According to a statement, the goal of the tool is to offer a technical assessment of a ship’s cyber strength at specific moments and it was created out of the growing need to review, maintain and update systems in the face of increasing cyber threats.

Paul Delouche, strategy and advanced services director at Bureau Veritas Marine and Offshore, said: “The monitoring and remote management of connected and even hyper-connected systems, as well as cloud-based web applications, have become instrumental to improve ships’ performance and efficiency. While their benefits are undeniable, these systems also increase the surface for potential cyber-attacks. Such incidents could compromise valuable cargo and entire fleet operations, as well as the safety of the ship and crew. Therefore, cybersecurity must be taken into consideration during the whole lifecycle of a vessel.

“Our role at BV is to support companies with our technical expertise on the cyber security ecosystem, and our knowledge of the highest industry standards, to help them progress in their digital resilience journey with the confidence that the right safeguards are in place to protect their systems and critical data. Our goal is to enable shipowners to protect their assets, define expectations for shipyards and equipment manufacturers, and support compliance with flag authority, IACS and IMO regulations.”

CHART provides a detailed audit of the ship’s equipment, networks, security mechanisms and interconnections, to ensure these are compliant with cybersecurity standards and regulations from IACS and flag states. The tool delivers an analysis which is a form of a “cybersecurity health check report”, with recommended mitigation measures. 

CHART is able to validate a ship’s compliance with upcoming IACS Cyber Resilience Unified Requirements UR E26, which will require mandatory implementation of cybersecurity protections from January 1, 2024.