OCIMF programme director Aaron Cooper explains the rationale behind the new approach to tanker inspections
While industry has been able to maintain a very impressive safety record for the transfer and shipment of LNG compared to other liquid products, the nature of risk across the marine industry is continuously evolving; so are the tools and processes in place to maintain safety standards.
As a voluntary association for the industry, the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) introduced in 1993 its Ship Inspection Report Programme – known as SIRE – to ensure industry standards of safety were being met onboard tankers and at their interfaces with terminals.
This unique tool has been of value to charterers, ship operators, terminal operators and government bodies concerned with ship safety for nearly 30 years, resulting in over 180,000 inspection reports. In this time, the number of incidents, including spills from tankers, has decreased significantly. However, technology, expertise and risk profiles, including the integration of human factors in our understanding of safety, have developed faster than the current paper-based system can keep pace with and now much more can be done, through the use of technology, to further enhance safety and best practices.
“The move to a digitalised inspection regime enables more involvement from vessel operators”
For this reason, the OCIMF membership – comprising 110 oil majors and independents – agreed to overhaul the SIRE programme so that it takes a risk-based approach, integrates human factors, and provides significantly enhanced reporting outcomes through a future-proofed regime that can be adapted to evolving risks and requirements on board. All of this is enabled by moving to a digitalised inspection regime.
The new programme – SIRE 2.0 – will significantly expand the depth and quality of marine assurance data gathered during vessel inspections. This will allow for more in-depth reporting outcomes and comprehensive assessments, on an ongoing basis, of the quality of a vessel and its crew.
Most affected by the new regime will be inspectors, ships’ crew, vessel operators, and users of the SIRE reports, which includes terminal operators. All these parties have a key role to play in the smooth transition to the new programme by engaging with OCIMF’s training and familiarisation sessions, carefully reviewing the Question Library and supporting documentation and preparing employees for the new regime, which will be rolled out from Q4 2022.
Dynamic questionnaire
One of the major changes of the new regime is the introduction of digital reporting to the inspection process. The pens, clipboards and paper questionnaires carried by OCIMF-approved inspectors will be replaced with intrinsically safe tablet devices, pre-loaded with inspection software.
The use of tablets in the reporting process will enable a dynamic questionnaire, comprising core questions as well as rotational questions based on past reports and selected by the programme, plus information provided in advance of the inspection by the vessel owner.
The move to a digitalised inspection regime enables more involvement from vessel operators, which, under SIRE 2.0, will have the opportunity to provide information on vessel particulars and other information ahead of the inspectors’ arrival on board the ship.
This style of reporting replaces the static, paper-led questionnaire used in the original SIRE programme, making it risk-based and tailored not only to the specific vessel class, but to the individual vessel itself. This will produce richer, more meaningful, and actionable data for operators and crew alike, supporting their continual learning practices.
Inspectors will be able to conduct inspections in real time and take photographic evidence of their findings, ensuring all parties have more substantive data points on which to make their own marine assurance assessments. Paper-format questionnaires will only be used under SIRE 2.0 as a contingency where the use of a tablet is not permitted, due to local requirements or regulations.
Intrinsically safe
OCIMF recognises the introduction and implementation of SIRE 2.0 is a significant change for industry and has put in place a robust Management of Change (MoC) programme to underpin the development of, and transition to, SIRE 2.0, while also operating and updating SIRE alongside it.
The importance of ensuring the safety and privacy needs of operators, crew and terminals throughout the project has been paramount, and is demonstrated by the rigorous selection process of the tablet device for use in SIRE 2.0 inspections. This intrinsically safe tablet device is certified for use in hazardous areas (Zone 1/Div 1). It has been configured so that it can only be used for OCIMF inspections and no other software can be downloaded to it. The cameras can only be accessed through the SIRE 2.0 software and they can also be fully and demonstrably isolated if photography is prohibited on board a vessel, at a terminal or in a port.
“Much more can be done, through the use of technology, to further enhance safety and best practices”
Where ports or terminals are identified as having a potentially significant impact on the conduct of SIRE 2.0 inspections, OCIMF is committed to engaging and working with them to implement measures to allow the safe and secure use of these tablets.
It is important to stress that while the move to SIRE 2.0 will be a significant step-change for industry and the adjustment will take some time, the benefits will be long-lasting and will transform the marine industry’s ability to understand and address issues of risk across tanker operations and their interfaces with terminals. Industry will also become altogether better positioned to respond to evolving risks and changing regulations.
A range of resources and information about SIRE 2.0 is available on OCIMF’s website, at , including the full SIRE 2.0 Question Library and supporting guidance materials.
Mr Cooper will present on the new SIRE 2.0 inspection regime at LNG Shipping & Terminals Conference, Europe 2022, which will be held in London on 16-17 November 2022. For more details, click here.
Supporting documents for SIRE 2.0 inspectors
