Site Inspection and Prospective Assessment of Oil and Chemical Tankers
We constellation Marine often carry's out the pre-vetting site inspection preparation (ship inspection report programmed) for our clients. site output and credentials plays a Very important role for tankers and chemical tanker's when getting approved by several oil majors. Let's have some brief idea about it and key elements for same. Process used by oil & chemical companies to assess acceptability of 3rd party vessels to carry their cargoes and/or call at their terminals. The site inspections are based on industry best practices developed by the industry itself. Of course, each oil major might have their own specific requirements for clearing vessels.
The basic operating principles of site:
- How reports are accessed by recipients
- What the delivered reports look like
- Using the VIQs for site self-inspections
- Reporting defects and corrective actions – The defect management system
site inspections – key issues:
- Overall safety
- Conduct of the inspection
- The site report editor – The inspector's reporting tool
- Inspector observations
- Other comments, additional comments
- The new officer qualification matrix
- Getting ready and staying ready for inspection
- Oil Record Book – Analysis of parts I and II of an oil record book. How to review the excerpts and record where the entries may reveal problems or irregularities.
The inspection preparation:
Below mentioned sectors requires high attention and if we maintain same all the time then vessel is ready for inspection at given point of time.
- Remember first impressions is the last impression.
- Gangway boarding and safety briefing
- The opening meeting
- Important certificates and documentation
- ESP documentation.
- Officers' licences
- Hours of rest records
- Wheelhouse and navigation
- Communications
- External areas
- Maindeck, and foc's'le
- Oil spill protection
- Cargo and crude oil washing piping
- Fire lines and other piping
- Manifold area, gangways
- IG distribution system
- Deck water seal, non-return valve
- PV breaker, IG branch piping
- Cargo tank venting and secondary venting systems
- Assessment of tank condition
- Ballast water sampling
- Mooring systems
- Pump room
- Cargo operations and cargo control room, engine room
- PPE, documentation
- Engine control room
- The walk round, oily water separator
- Steering gear
- Accommodation – internal
- De-briefing with the master
- Dealing with site inspectors
- Dealing with inspection reports
- How it is and how it can be done
The Inspection Process:
The Vetting inspection is simply an inspection ie. a "snap shot in time". For vetting purposes doesn't declare that vessel has passed or failed an inspection, but the inspection forms part of overall screening process.
Vetting inspection preparation may be under taken by:
- Individual oil/chemical companies or terminals
- Accredited site inspectors under the site system
- Accredited CDI inspectors under the CDI system
As per Intertanko: "The site system is a very large database of up-to-date information about tankers and barges. Essentially, site has focused tanker industry awareness on the importance of meeting satisfactory tanker quality and ship safety standards. Since its introduction, the site Programme has received industry-wide acceptance and participation by both OCIMF Members, Programme recipients and by ship Operators. The expansion of Barges and small vessels into site was inaugurated in late 2004." In many cases, an "acceptable site result" is often less of a measure of risk and more of a raw count of the number of observations contained in one or more site reports. Two observations in Chapters 4 (Navigation), 5 (Safety) or 6 (Pollution Prevention) are likely to result in rejection, regardless of the nature of those observations.
site is the "Higher Authority"
The ship's owner/operator doesn't have to follow the site requirements. But the oil companies don't have to hire the ship either. In other words, OCIMF, through the site program, has made safety an economic priority. Hence last but not the least site inspection has increased the safety level and bound to follow the safety awareness culture in industry. It has reduced the number of incident drastically caused due to human error and equipment failure.
By Capt. Manish Kumar - Master Mariner - Ship Surveyors