How Anthony Veder saved 2,000 hours of admin work per vessel with one simple change

Director, Development and Product Owner - Logbook, Safety Solutions, NAPA.

Imagine significantly cutting the administrative work for every ship in your fleet. For Anthony Veder, this isn’t just a goal—it’s already happening. By partnering with NAPA to digitize their logbooks, Anthony Veder has transformed shipboard administration, allowing crews to focus on what truly matters. The result? On average 14% reduction in time spent on paperwork, simplified data reporting, and a massive leap toward a more efficient, effortless working environment at sea. By integrating their data collection units into NAPA electronic logbooks, many entries are pre-populated. We sat down with the Anthony Veder Team – Sifra Westendorp, Branka Brglez and Jim Tijdgat – to know how they’re charting the course for the future of digitalized maritime operations. 

In today’s maritime landscape, where every minute matters, cutting down on administrative workloads has become a game-changer for both operational efficiency and crew morale. For many seafarers, up to 20% of their time is swallowed by administrative tasks—paperwork that pulls them away from ensuring the safety of their ship and cargo. As regulatory pressures intensify, especially with increasing environmental and ESG demands, this admin overload is growing, making it harder for crews to focus on their core responsibilities. 

Time and again, many industry surveys have revealed that an overwhelming number of seafarers feel that much of the documentation they handle is excessive and repetitive. Processes like port arrival and departure documentation are often perceived as overly complicated, draining valuable hours that could be better spent ensuring ship safety and smooth voyages. This frustration is felt across the industry, with many seeing the potential for digital solutions to streamline these burdensome tasks. 

Forward-thinking companies, like Anthony Veder, are thus embracing digitization to free their crews from paperwork, paving the way for safer, more efficient maritime operations.  

The Problem: An Overwhelming Admin Burden on Seafarers

In 2020, Anthony Veder uncovered a staggering statistic: crew members were spending 13,875 hours per vessel annually on administrative tasks—equivalent to 578 days of work. As the maritime industry grapples with labor shortages, inefficient admin processes stretch crews thin; consequently, little time remains for critical operational tasks. And doing what seafarers love most.

The Solution: Streamlining with NAPA Electronic Logbooks

To tackle this issue head-on, Anthony Veder partnered with NAPA in 2023, implementing the NAPA Logbook across 20 vessels. By digitalizing the logbook process, the goal was to reduce redundant reporting and simplify the administrative load for seafarers. The shift aimed to create a more efficient working environment, allowing crews to focus on their primary responsibilities—enhancing both safety and productivity. 

The Result: Reclaiming 2,000 Hours of Productivity at Sea 

The impact has been transformative. The first wave of engine room logbook automation alone saved 8,000 hours of manual labor across the fleet. This was achieved with NAPA Logbook‘s automation, reducing time and effort required from the crew:

• Less time spent on entering data due to automated data entry.
• Less corrections due to data validation when entering data.
• Single data entry that can be used for multiple purposes.

By cutting an average of 14% administrative time spent—Anthony Veder has given back a significant amount of productivity to each crew. This has not only boosted operational efficiency but several crews also reported higher morale, as they could focus more on their core duty—safe, efficient ship operations.

Accounting for Waste Management with Electronic Logbooks

With the introduction of the NAPA electronic logbooks onboard, Anthony Veder now also has access to the amount and type of waste that they generate on board and how they can dispose of it in the most efficient and environment-friendly way. Access to this data will assist them in analyzing the waste streams and determining improvement actions. They aim to start monitoring and reporting on waste streams and start a program to reduce waste and the environmental impact in 2025. 

What’s Next: Simplifying Voyage and Environmental Reporting with Automation 

With the initial success of NAPA Logbook, Anthony Veder isn’t stopping here. They’ll bring two more vessels into the program while doubling down on automation. Next step focuses on simplifying voyage reporting and stock-keeping with electronic logbooks.

In a recent joint project, the two companies have introduced the functionality of voyage reporting, helping Anthony Veder streamline onboard data collection to fulfil increasingly complex environmental regulatory requirements.   

With the new voyage reporting functionality, NAPA Logbook reduces the shoreside administrative burden of monitoring systems EU-MRV (Monitoring, Reporting and Verification), and the IMO-DCS (Data Collection System). The digital platform integrates logbooks with regulatory reporting and automatically shares data with shoreside teams via NAPA Fleet Intelligence and with the verifier, in this case DNV Emission Connect, in near real-time. With type approval from DNV, the platform goes beyond normal electronic logbook systems and can submit data for verification to DNV, as well as other relevant stakeholders in the supply and emissions chain, in a format that meets all requirements. This provides end-to-end compliance support, removes duplication of work and offers invaluable time savings for crew which would otherwise not be possible.

Ultimate aim: Effortless Admin  

With these ongoing advancements, the vision of a fully automated “Effortless Admin” program is consistently becoming a reality—freeing seafarers to concentrate on what truly matters.  

NAPA will continue collaborating closely with Anthony Veder as they automate and digitalize their processes, thereby pursuing the vision of effortless ship administration.

Ready to learn more about how NAPA Logbook can transform your fleet or see the setup at Anthony Veder to work? Visit the NAPA Logbook product page for full details, or book a demo with one of our experts to see the system in action and discover how it can streamline operations for your vessels.