359
1 INTRODUCTION
Thecarriageofliquidcargoslikeoil,petrochemicals
andpressurisedproductsatseaisaprocessthathas
anintrinsichighlevelofrisk.Maritimeaccidentscan
result with casualties and severe damage to the
environment, cause significant financial losses and
have long‐term economic impact. Therefore it
is
important that all stakeholders involved in the
operation, including oil and chemical companies,
other charterers, ship owners and operators, Port
States Authorities, Flag State Authorities, insurance
companiesidentifyandmanageriskrelatedtomarine
transport.[2]
Over the past few decades some important
changes that influenced risk management from
the
perspective of oil and chemical companies have
occurred. [5] Because the tanker ownership moved
from oil and chemical companies to independent
owners in the 1980s and long‐term time charters
becameincreasinglyrare,thespotchartermarkethas
intensified.Atthesametime,ownershipstructurehas
altered, in some cases
resulting with small and
inexperienced fleet or willingness to cut costs by
loweringsafetystandards.Concurrently,inresponse
to a spate of tanker accidents with serious
consequences, public awareness and concerns about
marine pollution has raised, very often placing
responsibility on cargo owners. Therefore, to limit
corporate liability and protect
reputation, oil and
chemical companies began to focus on
appropriatenessoftheshipstheychartered.
Todeterminewhethercharacteristicsofshipsand
its crew enable safe transport of their cargo, they
implemented a voluntary process known in the
industry as “vetting”. [2] Ship vetting involves
sourcing all relevant data (such as
owner/operator
profile,thevessel’shistory,PortStateControlrecord)
andevaluating the potential risks by using available
researchresources.Asapartoftheoverallscreening
process ship inspection is performed by inspectors
working for or hired by company. Two inspection
regimes are the most commonly used in the tanker
industry: Ship Inspection Report Programme (SIRE)
developedbytheOilCompaniesInternationalMarine
Forum (OCIMF) and Chemical Distribution Institute
(CDI)inspectionsystem.
SIRE Inspections on Oil Tankers
L.Grbić,J.Čulin&T.Perković
UniversityofZadar,Zadar,Croatia
ABSTRACT:ShipInspectionReportProgramme(SIRE)addressesconcernsaboutsub‐standardshippinginoil
industry.AsapartoftheriskassessmentphysicalinspectionoftheoiltankerisperformedbyaccreditedSIRE
inspector and resulting report is available to charterers, ship operators, terminal operators and
government
bodies.InthisarticleSIREinspection is describedandcomparedwithothernon‐mandatoryandmandatory
inspectionsonoiltankers.Somepotentialconsequences oftankerover‐inspectionsarediscussed.
http://www.transnav.eu
the International Journal
on Marine Navigation
and Safety of Sea Transportation
Volume 12
Number 2
June 2018
DOI:10.12716/1001.12.02.17
360
Although vetting inspection is non‐mandatory,
andanoiltankerdoesnotpassorfailit,itisoneof
the most important steps in the evaluation process.
Consideringthatmanycharterpartiescontainvetting
clauses, and that failure to obtain vetting approval
may result with costs, it is important
to take all
necessarystepstodemonstratetotheinspectorsthat
cargo can be transported safely, responsibly and
competitively.[7]
In this article SIRE inspections on oil tankers are
described and comparedwithother tanker
inspections.
2 SHIPINSPECTIONREPORTPROGRAMME
The Oil Companies International Marine Forum, a
voluntaryassociation
ofoilcompanies,wasformedin
1970inresponsetothegrowingpublicconcernabout
marine pollution. [9] Because a common interest of
membersistoevaluatethequalityoftheshipandits
crew in advance of charter to ensure safe and
environmentally responsible transport and handling
of cargo, OCIMF
introduced SIRE, a tanker risk
assessment tool‐a database of information about
tankers,in1993.
Original SIRE was revised several times. [10] At
thebeginningoftheprogramme,diverseinspections
protocolswereusedandvariousreportformatswere
submitted. To establish a standardised, objective
inspection process the Uniform Vessel Inspection
Procedure,composedofanInspectionElementanda
ReportElement,in1997wasintroduced.TodaySIRE
covers vessels grouped in categories: oil tankers,
chemicals tankers, LPG carriers, LNG carriers and
combinationcarriers(categories1and2dependingon
tonnage)andoffshorebarges,inlandbarges(manned
and unmanned) and integrated barges (category
3).
Tomakeprogramuniform,transparentandpra ctical,
Vessel Inspection Questionnaire (VIQ), Barges
Inspection Questionnaire (BIQ), Uniform SIRE
Inspection Report, Vessels Particulars Questionnaire
(VPQ) and Barge Particulars Questionnaire were
developed. These documents are continuously
checkedand,ifnecessary,revised.
Safeandenvironmentallyresponsibleoperationof
shipsis required by a
numberof regulations, codes,
conventions, guidelines, procedures and standards,
and depend on compliance and responsible
behaviourson‐boardshipthatshouldbecheckedand
objectivelyevaluated during time‐limited inspection.
[6] Therefore inspectors must possess qualification,
knowledge,experience and physical fitness,attained
and/or examined through training and accreditation
process. Accredited SIRE
inspectors, appointed by
OCIMF membercompany, after receiving the vessel
particularsandthecorrespondingquestionnairefrom
the database conduct on‐board inspection in
accordance with the requirements of the SIRE. The
completed report is uploaded to the SIRE database
and provided to the operator for respond to
comments or observations.
The resultant report is
availableforanominalfeetoOCIMF members,bulk
oil terminal operators, port authorities, canal
authorities, oil, power, industrial or oil trader
companies.OCIMFcooperateswiththeInternational
Maritime Organisation, the Paris Memorandum of
Understanding, the UK Marine and Coastguard
Agency, the Australian Maritime SafetyAgencyand
otherPortStateControl administrationsineffortsto
eliminatesub‐standardships.Therefore,freeaccessis
provided to Governmental bodies which supervise
safety and/or pollution prevention in respect of oil
tankers/barges.
3 OILTANKERVETTINGINSPECTION
Under the SIRE programme each tanker should be
inspected every six months. Inspectors, causing
the
least disruption to the tanker´s operation and
accompanied by a member of the tanker´s staff,
conductaninspectioninafollowingorder:areview
of the tanker’s documentation, followed by an
inspection of the wheelhouse and navigation,
communications, general external areas (including
mooring, main deck and pumproom), cargo control
room,
engineandsteeringcompartmentsandfinally,
theaccommodation.[6]
VIQ contains a serious of questions related to
various aspects of tanker operations, grouped into
chapters:generalinformationonoiltanker(including
data on last Port State Control inspection),
certification and documentation, crew management,
navigation,safetymanagement,pollutionprevention,
structural condition,
cargo and ballast systems,
mooring, communication, engine and steering
compartments, general appearance and condition
and,ifthevessel has anIceClass Notation or hasa
valid winterisation certificate, ice operations. The
inspectormustrespondtoallthequestions.The“Yes”
“No”,“NotSeen”or“NotApplicable”responsesare
utilised. For
a “No” or “Not Seen” response, an
observationbytheinspectorisrequired.Answersto
some questions mustbe accompanied by comments.
Non‐mandatorycommentscansupplementresponses
orbeaddedattheendofthechapters.
Duringinspectionof oiltanker 282items,related
tocertification,safetymanagementand
theoperator’s
procedures manuals, survey and repair history,
enhanced survey programme, condition assessment
scheme,crewmanagement,crewqualifications,drug
and alcohol policy, navigation policies, procedures
and documentation, navigation equipment, charts
and publications, navigation, safety management,
drills, training and familiarisation, ship security,
enclosed space and pump room entry procedures,
monitoring non‐cargo
spaces, gas analysing
equipment, hot work procedures, life‐saving
equipment, fire‐fighting equipment, material safety
data sheets, access, oil record books, shipboard oil
and marinepollution emergency plans, VOC
management plan, cargo operations and deck area
pollutionprevention,pumproomsandoildischarge
monitors, ballast water management, engine and
steering
compartments,garbagemanagement,energy
efficiency, structural condition, cargo and ballast
systems policies, procedures and documentation,
stability and cargo loading limitations, cargo
operationsandrelatedsafetymanagement,cargoand
ballasthandlingandmonitoringequipment,ullaging,
sampling and closed operations, venting
361
arrangements, inert gas system, crude oil washing,
staticelectricityprecautions, ma nifold arrangements,
pump rooms, cargo hoses, cargo lifting equipment,
shipto ship transfer operations, mooring equipment
documentation, mooring procedures, mooring
equipment, anchoring equipment, single point
moorings, emergency towing arrangements,
communications procedures, communications
equipment,engine and steering compartments
policies, procedures and
documentation, planned
maintenance, safety management, machinery status,
steering compartment, hull, superstructure and
external weather decks,electrical equipment,
internal spaces and accommodation areas are
carefullyandcriticallyexamined.Takingintoaccount
timeneeded to checkall afore mentioned
components,requirementstodiscussanyobservation
with the member of the shipʹs
staff assigned to
accompanytheinspectorandtheinspectionfindings
with the Master or the Masterʹs authorised deputy
before leaving the vessel, vetting inspection usually
lasts10h.[1]
Considering comprehensiveness of the VIQ,
properly conducted inspection by competent
inspector,asenabledandassuredbySIRE,shouldbe
sufficientas
apartofthescreeningprocess.However,
it seems thata number of oil companies do not use
SIRE system as it was intended and requires
additional SIRE inspections although tanker has a
report that is less than 6 months old. Therefore the
intensity of vetting inspections and associated costs
forthetankerownerscouldbeunnecessarilyhigh.[8]
Furthermore, due to extensive preparations and
durationitmaycauseadditionalburdentothecrew
and contribute to the occurrence of fatigue. For
example,frustrationofthecrewpriortovettinghave
beendetectedbyKarlsson.[3]
Moreover,thelackoftrust
intheindustrybetween
flag states, port states, classification societies,
insurancecompaniesandcargoownersresultedwith
numerous inspectionsperformed by different
organisations. [4] Our study shows that vetting
inspectionis one of the 13 annual regimes oftanker
survey.Itisoneoffourbasictankersurveyregimes,
together
withPortStateControls(PSC)andFlagState
Controls(FSC),AnnualClassSurvey,andProtecting
and Indemnity (P&I) Club Survey. Another regimes
are: International Ship and Port Facility Security,
International Safety Management Audit, Maritime
Labour Convention Audit, Greenward Associates
Survey,Superintendent’sGeneralInspection,Internal
ISPS Audit, Internal ISM Audit, Internal Maritime
Labour Convention Audit. Our analysis shows that
tankersareinspectedfrequentlyandcomprehensively
(Table 1). As seen from Table 1, among survey
regimes,vettinginspectionisthemostextensiveone.
Thereforeit is not surprising that itsduration is the
highest among basic tanker survey regimes: 20 h
annuallyin
comparisonto 8 hneeded for FSC,10 h
forPSC,10hforClassSurveyand4hforP&I.
Table1.Surveyitems
_______________________________________________
SurveyregimeNumberofAnnual Number
inspected frequency ofitems
itemsinspected
annually
_______________________________________________
1.PORTSTATEINSPECTION 246 2 492
2.FLAGSTATEINSPECTION 181 1 181
3.CLASSSURVEY101 1 101
4.ISMAUDIT30 0,515
5.ISPSAUDIT13  0,56,5
6.P&ICLUBINSPECTION 292 0,5146
7.VETTINGINSPECTION 282 2 564
8.SUPERINTENDENTAUDIT 78  1 78
9.GREENAWARDFUNDATION159 1 159
10.MLCAUDIT25  0,512,5
11.INTERNALMLCAUDIT 20  1 20
12.INTERNALISMAUDIT 60  1 60
13.INTERNALISPSAUDIT18  1 18
_______________________________________________
Total:1853
_______________________________________________
Source:authors
As shown in Table 2 a certain numbers of items
relatedtoshipseaworthiness arecheckedrepeatedly
(Table2).
Table2.Overlappingofitemsinspectedbytankersurveyregimes.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
CategoryNoofitemsinspectedby
8regimes 7regimes 6regimes 5regimes 4regimes 3regimes 2regimes
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
SHIPCERTIFICATES0213371
CREWCERTIFICATES0010730
LIFESAVINGAPPLIANCES0034311
FIRESAFETY0133537
NAVIGATION0212811914
SHIPSPROCEDURES003315
916
BRIDGEPUBLICATIONS00012110
SHIPSRECORDS000371119
MOORING/ANCHORING0003115
STRUCTURALCONDITION‐HULL&DECK 0012643
STRUCTURALCONDITION‐BALLAST 0000034
&VOIDSPACES
HEALTH&HYGIENE1034067
MACHINERYSPACEOPERATIONS011351513
STEERINGGEARSYSTEM0022023
ENVIRONMENTALPROTECTION0011156
CARGOWORTHINESS,TANKER023610227
CARGO
CONTROLROOM0000000
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Total18344676102 116
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Source:authors
362
Research show that beca use scope and extent of
tanker inspections significantly overlap, they are in
certain extent redundant, and such over‐inspection
may have a negative effect on the psychophysical
condition of the crew. [1] Additionally, it has been
shown that over‐inspection does not necessarily
decreasetheprobabilityof
havingacasualtybutcan
ratherincreaseit.[4]
Moreover, we estimate that average price of
inspectionsisatleast33600USDperoiltanker.Tobe
able to operate profitably, it is possible that money
must be saved somewhere else, maybe by cutting
costsof other operations,equally or
moreimportant
forsafety.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Becausemaritimeaccidentsinvolvingoiltankerscan
haveseriousconsequences,evaluationofthepotential
risks is necessity to minimise liability. Therefore
vetting approval has become obligated step for
charteringtoeliminatesubstandardoiltankers.Asa
part of the process, vesselsare screened againstthe
SIREinspection,whichisnotusedinthespiritthatit
was introduced, and oil tankers can be over‐
inspected.
Therefore, additional efforts by all concerned
partiesshouldbeputintoanalysisofSIREinspections
to ensure that additional vetting inspections are not
required by oil companies. Furthermore, better
cooperation
between all stakeholdersis necessary to
compare and acknowledge results of various
mandatory and non‐mandatory inspections
performed by different bodies and avoid inessential
inspections. Otherwise oil tanker safety can be
jeopardised and inspection regimes can defeat the
purposeforwhichtheywereintroduced.
REFERENCES
[1]Bielić,T.,Hess,M.,Grbić,L.,UnifiedTankerSurveyand
InspectionRegimeinTermsofReducingPsychophysical
Strain of the Crew, Promet‐Traffic &Transportation.
2017,Vol.
29, No 4, pp. 455-461.
[2]Intertanko,AGuidetotheVettingProcess,11
th
Edition,
2015.
[3]Karlsson T. Vettinginspektion en utredning om
vettinginspektioner leder till ökad arbetsbelastning
ombord;2011.
[4]Knapp,S.,BijwaardG.,HeijC.,Estimatedincidentcost
savings in shipping due to inspections. Accident
Analysis & Prevention. 2011, Vol .43, No 4, pp. 1532‐
1539.
[5]LoNigro,A.,Brunori,L.,
Guassardo,G.,Panebianco,C.,
RiskBasedApproachtoOilTankersandBulkCarriers
Vetting, Offshore Mediterranean Conference and
ExhibitioninRavenna,Italy,March16‐18,2005.
[6]Oil Companies International Marine Forum, Ship
Inspection Report (SIRE) Programme 2014 Edition Rev
1.2,2016.
[7]http://navlaw.com/vetting‐is‐becoming‐crucial‐to‐
awarding‐charters‐
for‐tankers
[8]https://www.intertanko.com/News‐Desk/Press‐
Releases/Year‐2013/Is‐the‐300m‐tanker‐vetting‐industry‐
out‐of‐control/
[9]https://www.ocimf.org/organisation/introduction/
[10]https://www.ocimf.org/sire/