|
| Ship Inspection. |
| |
|
Tanker inspections may be initiated either by the charterer or the ship owner. The charterer will initiate an inspection if there is no valid inspection report available on the databases on which to base a vetting decision. Failure to do so could expose the charterer to corporate risk in the event of a serious incident involving a ship which he or she has chartered. The ship owner will initiate an inspection in order to maintain a valid inspection report on the databases and thereby enhance a ship’s chartering potential. Failure to do so could mean loss of business.
ShipVet Services will provide inspectors to carry out inspections throughout N.W. Europe/Mediterranean, or further afield if required, on request from a charterer or ship owner. SIRE inspections can only be initiated by a charterer who is a subscribing member to the SIRE program. It is often the case that ship owners will request the charterer (eg the oil majors) to conduct a SIRE inspection on his/her ship. CDI inspections may be initiated by either a charterer or ship owner, provided that they are subscribing members of CDI.
ShipVet Services’ inspectors are drawn from a pool of independent associates all of whom come with the highest credentials and considerable experience as inspectors in the tanker industry. Inclusion in the ShipVet Pool is by invitation only. All associated inspectors are ex-seafarers having sailed in senior ranks onboard tankers. Each possesses a Class 1 Certificate of Competency as Master with Dangerous Cargo Endorsements and are all accredited as ship inspectors under the two main inspecting regimes:
|
|
| |
 | Chemical Distribution Institute (CDI) for chemical tankers and liquefied gas carriers. |
|
|
| |
|
Accreditation under both these regimes is all about promoting a high and consistent standard of inspection. Annual refresher training is compulsory and inspectors are subject to continuous performance monitoring if they are to retain their accreditation status.
Inspections follow a standardised format laid down in the Vessel Inspection Questionnaire (VIQ) in the case of OCIMF/SIRE inspections, or the Ship Inspection Report (SIR) in the case of CDI. The conduct of these inspections will be carried out strictly in accordance with the guidelines to inspectors contained within the preambles to the respective reports. On completion of the inspection the report will be submitted electronically either to the charterer who initiated the inspection, in the case of OCIMF/SIRE reports, or direct to the CDI database in the case of SIR reports. In the case of OCIMF/SIRE reports it is the charterer’s responsibility to submit the report for inclusion in the OCIMF/SIRE database. The ship owner is always able to comment upon any negative aspects of the report and such comments will form part of the report.
|
|
Once on the database a ship inspection report has a validity of one year from the date of inspection. During this time it may be downloaded and scrutinised by any other subscribing member interested in chartering the ship. This practise goes a long way towards resolving problems arising out of the multiplicity and proliferation of shipboard inspections, itself an item on the agenda at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
|
|
|
|