The Importance of Vetting Inspections

Marine Operations The Importance of Vetting Inspections

By Yannis Romanidis / Marine Manager

Captain Prashant Kumar/ Marine Superintendent

Oil Tankers Ship vetting is a very important tool for our Customers (Oil Majors, Charterers & Terminal Operators) and for the ship’s Crew and Operators. It involves a broader evaluation of activities onboard, including the proper implementation of regulations in force and Company procedures. It is a wider risk assessment based on the condition of the Vessel and Crew safety culture and competence. Our Customers have a wide range of Vessels to choose from for an intended voyage, thus Vessel acceptance is critical. Vessel acceptability is assessed when a Vessel is proposed with the use of Vetting records, including SIRE reports, terminal feedback, commercial information etc. A vetting assessment’s overall goal is to give the Customer/ ordering party a SIRE report that depicts a factual record of the Vessel’s condition and standards of operation at the time of inspection .The vetting inspection result allows an assessment to be performed of the risk that a Vessel’s trade engagement will pose to the stakeholders (Oil Majors, Terminals, cargo traders, cargo owners etc.).The ultimate aim of the vetting inspection and assessment is to ensure a safe voyage and to avert harm and losses to human lives, environment and cargo property. Regular self-assessments are critical for maintaining the vessel's continual preparedness. Sharing the findings of the selfassessment during onboard sessions with the office allows for effective and transparent feedback to solve issues as they arise. Preparation for vetting inspections is an ongoing process which requires team work, both on board and ashore. The outcome achieved by cohesive teams, teams that look out for one another, teams that exhibit good leadership, and teams that prepare together (both on board and ashore) is always positive, and actual progress is seen. A timely and accurate response after the publishing of the SIRE report is essential. Close cooperation between the ship and office is required to address any observations made during the vetting inspection. Each observation requires precise root cause analysis, documented rectification and steps taken to avoid any reoccurrence of the same deficiency. The “No blame culture” applies in all cases as the aim is not to penalize but to pinpoint the procedural errors that led to a deficiency which could compromise safety. The introduction of the SIRE 2.0 vetting system in 2022 will bring many changes to the vetting process. The new vetting system will be a subject of a future Wavelength article.

Preparing for a vetting inspection

Bulk Carriers Equally important to SIRE vetting inspections for Tankers are Rightship’s inspections for Bulk Carriers. Rightship’s Dry Bulk inspections have been developed to assess the quality of a Vessel by verifying Crew competence and familiarity with statutory and safety requirements as well as industry recommendations and best practices. Rightship inspectors also observe closely the welfare of the ship’s Crew. Rightship issued an expanded inspection questionnaire (RISQ, Rightship Inspection Ship Questionnaire) in November 2021. The newly issued RISQ will be the template for all future inspections.

The questionnaire has been expanded to include more vessel type specifics, making it the most comprehensive inspections reporting tool in the dry bulk sector. The expanded scope of inspections covers statutory items as well as recommended and desirable items with reference to IMO, ISO, ILO, OCIMF, ICS, P&I Loss Prevention Bulletins, maritime publications and industry codes of practice. Following a Rightship inspection, the ship is assigned a safety score rating from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest). The score evaluation takes into consideration various factors of different impact on the safety score:

•Incidents encountered by the ship or other ships of the fleet are High Impact factors.

An incident on one ship affects the safety score of all the ships in the same fleet. •Port State Control performances are Medium Impact factors.

•Flag State performance & Classification records reviews are Low Impact factors. It is worth noting that a low safety score cannot be upgraded before the lapse of a certain period of time. A High Impact ship incident is removed from the database after 5 years have elapsed. A good rating is very important as it confirms the good condition of the ship and enhances the ship’s trading ability. Our Company holds a subscription to the Rightship platform. Therefore, we have the ability to view online and in real time all changes in scores and individual timeline activities of our Vessels. The platform is also used for submitting online close out reports to be reviewed by Rightship’s experienced Vetting Superintendents. Detailed information about Rightship’s Online platform and Safety Score system can be found at the website: www.rightship.com

IIn conclusion, safety is equally important for all types of ships. In conclusion, safety is equally important for all types of ships. SIRE Vetting System and Rightship Ship Inspections are making a great contribution to this effect. Thus, there is a real benefit in terms of safety to ships’ crews and operators from carrying out successful vetting inspections. Despite the consistently good results obtained in our ships during vetting inspections, we have to strive for further improvement and aim for nil deficiencies. There is no room for complacency; safety has to be the main concern of all crew members and office personnel. We would like to take this opportunity to thank once again all the crew members of our ships for sparing no effort towards our common goal of safe shipboard operations. We wish you calm seas & safe voyages!

Rightship safety score & timeline of activities