Background and regulatory context
Regulatory frameworks such as IMO DCS and CII, EU MRV and ETS, FuelEU Maritime, UK MRV and ETS, and related charterparty and financial initiatives increasingly rely on accurate, traceable and comparable operational data. While these regulations differ in scope and methodology, they largely depend on similar underlying vessel data, much of which originates from logbooks, noon reports and abstracted daily reports.
Historically, the maritime industry has relied on proprietary, bilateral and often manual data exchanges, leading to duplicated effort, inconsistent interpretations and high implementation costs. This fragmentation increases complexity for vessel operators and data users alike and creates unnecessary barriers to digitalisation and automation.
The OVD initiative was established to address this challenge by providing a common, software vendor-neutral data standard that can be reused across systems, regulations and services. OVD is designed to make data exchange simpler, more transparent and more cost-effective for all participants, while preserving flexibility for different operational and regulatory use cases.
Within the OVD framework, certain data elements are defined as truly mandatory and must always be provided. These include the ship's IMO number and timestamps (date and time). In addition, Time_Since_Previous_Report can generally be regarded as mandatory, although limited exceptions exist for specific reporting scenarios. Beyond these core elements, the classification of data points as mandatory or optional depends on several factors. Requirements may vary based on the ship's operational mode, the applicable regulatory framework and dependencies between individual data fields. As a result, many data points become conditionally mandatory rather than universally required.
Due to this inherent complexity, it is not feasible to provide a single, definitive list of mandatory versus optional data fields for all use cases. Instead, the applicable data requirements must be assessed in context. Each company or operator should therefore perform a gap analysis based on its operational profile, reporting obligations and intended use of OVD data. An overview of data points and their relevance across environmental reporting schemes is available in the OVD Interface Description.
Since its introduction, OVD has progressed beyond a conceptual proposal and is today used in production across multiple organisations and reporting workflows. This practical adoption has helped validate the core structure and concepts of the standard, while also highlighting areas where further clarification, guidance or incremental extension is beneficial. The current feedback phase builds on this operational experience.
The OVD white paper outlines the guiding principles behind the initiative, including:
- Reuse of common maritime concepts and definitions.
- Clear separation between data, validation and regulatory logic.
- Support for both regulatory compliance and commercial applications.
- Practical implementation with existing shipboard and shore-side systems.
In parallel, industry efforts such as the Smart Maritime Network white paper on standardised noon reporting highlight the widespread recognition that greater alignment on noon report datasets is essential to reduce reporting burden, improve data quality and enable scalable digital solutions. OVD builds on these shared insights and translates them into a concrete, implementable standard.
How to read and use the OVD Standard
This chapter explains how the Operational Vessel Data (OVD) Standard is structured, how it should be read and how it is intended to be used in practice. The purpose of OVD is not to introduce new reporting requirements, but to provide a common and consistent way to exchange existing operational vessel data — particularly log abstract and noon report data — in support of GHG reporting and related use cases.
Intended audience
The OVD Standard is designed to be used by a broad range of stakeholders, including:
- Ship owners and managers (ISM Companies).
- Vessel operators and charterers.
- Accredited verifiers and classification societies acting as Recognized Organizations of Flag Authorities.
- Software vendors and system integrators.
- Data and analytics services providers.
- Regulators, Flag Authorities, auditors and accreditation bodies.
The standard is therefore written to balance technical precision with operational practicality, and to be understandable even for readers without deep IT or data-modelling backgrounds.
Structure of the OVD Standard
The OVD Standard consists of several complementary elements:
- Introduction
- Describes the core concepts used in OVD, such as vessels, voyages, reporting periods, activities, fuel consumption and emissions-relevant parameters. This section explains what the data represents, independent of technology.
- Data definitions and attributes
- Provides detailed definitions of each data element, including units, formats and semantic meaning. This is the authoritative reference to ensure that data exchanged between parties is interpreted consistently.
- Usage guidance and examples
- Illustrates how OVD can be applied to typical use cases, such as noon reporting, log abstract extraction and regulatory GHG reporting. These examples are non-normative and intended to support implementation.
Readers are encouraged to start with the conceptual overview before diving into technical details, as this provides essential context for understanding the intent and scope of the data elements.
What the OVD Standard is — and is not
It is important to understand the boundaries of the OVD Standard:
- OVD defines data, not rules
- The standard specifies what data is exchanged and how it is structured, but does not define regulatory calculations, compliance thresholds or business logic. These remain the responsibility of regulations, contractual frameworks or consuming services.
- OVD is regulation and use-case agnostic
- While motivated by regulations such as IMO DCS, EU MRV, EU ETS, FuelEU Maritime and others, OVD is not tied to a single regulation. The same OVD dataset can support multiple reporting obligations and commercial use cases.
- OVD is designed for system-to-system and human exchanges
- In practice, the OVD format can be used for human reporting through spreadsheet templates as well as for system-to-system automated reporting via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
- OVD does not replace operational systems
- OVD is not a noon reporting system or logbook itself. It is a standardised interface for exchanging data between existing shipboard, fleet and shore-side systems.
How to use OVD in practice
In practical terms, OVD is intended to be used as a shared data exchange layer between parties. Typical usage includes:
- Extracting noon report or log abstract data from onboard or fleet systems and exporting it in OVD format.
- Transferring OVD-formatted data between companies, systems or platforms.
- Consuming OVD data for GHG calculations, regulatory reporting, analytics or commercial reporting.
By using a common structure and shared definitions, OVD reduces the need for custom integrations, manual mappings and repeated clarification of data meaning between parties.
Relationship to industry initiatives and noon reporting
OVD aligns closely with broader industry efforts to standardise noon reporting datasets, such as those described in the Smart Maritime Network white paper on standardised vessel datasets for noon reports. These initiatives reflect a shared recognition that much of the data used for operational efficiency, decarbonisation and compliance is overlapping and should be reported once and reused many times.
OVD builds on these principles by
- Providing a concrete, implementable data standard.
- Supporting both regulatory and commercial use cases.
- Encouraging reuse of data across stakeholders and platforms.
How to engage and provide feedback
Users of the OVD Standard are encouraged to:
- Assess whether definitions align with operational reality.
- Identify ambiguities, overlaps or missing elements.
- Provide input on usability, clarity and implementation experience.
Feedback on both the standard itself and the process for maintaining and evolving it is essential to ensure that OVD remains practical, credible and industry-owned. Contributions are particularly valuable where they help ensure that OVD remains clear, stable, interoperable and fit for long-term industry use, while avoiding fragmentation or incompatible extensions.
Please use the consultation questionnaire to submit your feedback.
Reference materials
The current OVD standard and supporting documentation are maintained externally by the OVD custodian. A reference copy of the consultation background report is available for download:
Call to action
We strongly encourage all interested parties to review the proposed standard and participate in the feedback process. Your input will help ensure that OVD:
- Reflects real operational practices.
- Supports current and future regulatory needs.
- Remains practical, scalable and industry-owned.
The objective of this process is to strengthen and consolidate OVD as the shared industry foundation, not to introduce parallel or competing data models.
Please share your interest in participating in the workshop and providing feedback, or submit initial comments through the questionnaire. We look forward to constructive collaboration and to shaping a shared foundation for trusted, efficient maritime GHG data exchange.
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