The Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) is overhauling its Ship Inspection Report Programme (SIRE) by introducing tablet-based inspections, a more comprehensive inspection process and enhanced policies and procedures from Q2 2022
The new programme, SIRE 2.0, will facilitate a risk-based approach to assessing the safety and quality of a vessel and its crew on an ongoing basis, but will require a “change in mindset” from industry, OCIMF has warned.
Under SIRE 2.0, accredited inspectors will complete a Compiled Vessel Inspection Questionnaire (CVIC) in real-time using a tablet device. Unlike the existing paper-based questionnaire, the SIRE 2.0 CVIQ uses a sophisticated algorithm to select questions from a question library based on the type of vessel, its outfitting and operational history to create a bespoke risk-based inspection questionnaire.
This means no two inspections will be the same. In another significant change to the reporting process, most questions require the inspector to provide responses based on hardware, processes and human factors, with observations graded from not as expected through to exceeds expectation.
As a result of these enhancements to the programme each inspection question set is varied, providing vessel operators and crews greater opportunity to demonstrate their best practices, and for the first time both positive and negative observations can be documented. Enhanced governance processes will ensure greater transparency and control for OCIMF and other parties involved in the programme, with stringent compliance requirements enhancing accountability, creating an altogether more robust and programme that can more easily be adapted to the evolving risk profile of the industry.
OCIMF’s managing director Karen Davis, explained, “The development and introduction of the SIRE 2.0 tanker inspection regime represents a significant change for OCIMF, its members, users of the inspection programme and the marine industry as a whole. It’s a move away from a snapshot yes/no approach to providing richer, more meaningful insight that can be acted upon.
“The new programme will ensure observations are given context and will result in more detailed, reliable, granular and comparable marine assurance data, helping the report recipient better understand how well a vessel is managed,” Davis added.
