IT and ship vetting DECK HEAD Ship vetting - the means in which charterers test out ships - is not popular. Is there any way software can make it easier? PHOTOS- have a few in the post, apparently BODY According to industry estimations, ships on average are subject to around 10 inspections per year. This includes 1-2 Chemical Distribution Institute inspections every year, with 2 or 3 from oil companies in the Oil Companies Industry Marine Forum (OCIMF). There are 3-4 per year from terminals, 2-3 from independent vetting associations, 1 from the P+I club, 1 ISM audits every year, 3-4 port state control audits, 1 annual flag state audit, 8 surveys from class, an annual inspection from the US Coast Guard. These inspections are expensive; Mike Shuker, Chief Safety and Compliance Officer with Greece shipping company Ceres Hellenic estimates that inspections cost on average $3,000 each. When the vessel comes into port, the seafarers exhausted, they must tolerate important men coming onboard and asking difficult questions, with the threat that if they fail, the ship won't be chartered again or be declared unseaworthy. There is often a lack of trust between shipowners and charterers, with shipowners unhappy about the choice of tests they are forced to follow, feeling like they are forced to jump through unnecessary hoops set for them by charterers. With such sophisticated software and communications tools coming onto the market, surely we should have a system which makes it easier for charterers to test the quality of a ship? SUBHEAD Choosing a ship The charterer's decision of whether or not to charter the vessel is made on a variety of different criteria, of which the inspection is just one element; charterers review information from numerous sources, including the vessel's detention and casualty record, its past experience with the vessel and its management. Charterers have their own complex systems (many automated) of actually assessing the ship from the data available and determining whether or not it is suitable. It is worth noting that charterers do not want to fail ships, or to set impossibly high standards; the more ships which are deemed suitable for charter, the keener is the competition, and the more likelihood a vessel will be available immediately when required. But obviously, if the vessel is deemed too high a risk, then it will not be chartered. Part of the reason for the whole process is trying to reduce the chances of sub standard ships being used to carry oil. Another consideration is that if a vessel is also detained by port state control, then while it may not be liable to charter costs (if the shipping company can be proved to be to blame), it does mean that a very valuable asset, its cargo, is sitting idle, and will be late to arrive at its destination. Charterers want to avoid chartering a ship which might be detained. If two ships become available for the same price, but one of them has a minor deficiency, then the charterer may well choose the one without the deficiency with everything being equal. But having deficiencies reported does not necessarily blacklist the ship. According to Paul Markides, director of OCIMF, the Oil Companies Industry Marine Forum, quality charterers will review numerous elements of a prospective vessel to be chartered when deciding who to give their business to. With spot charters, brokers typically present the charterer with a range of different options at different prices enabling the charterer to take the cost into account when making his chartering decision. Contrary to popular belief, Mr Markides believes that charterers, especially OCIMF members, will often pay more for a ship they believe to be of superior quality. SUBHEAD Data to improve ship safety Many tanker companies are reaching the conclusion that shipping has a real image problem, ie most oil companies don't trust them, politicians don't trust them, and so they get subject to so many rounds of vetting inspections and new regulations. The problem with vetting inspections and regulations is that they are not a very good way of ensuring the quality of the ship, ie they generally give shipping companies a bunch of hoops to jump through, and reward the shipping companies who manage to figure out what the hoops are and jump through them. The result is that shipping does not genuinely get much safer, oil companies continue to distrust shipping companies, shipping companies have a bad image and the problem gets worse. There is plenty of data available about shipping companies in various databases, including data about their casualty record, costs, decision making processes, detentions, casualties and surveys. If this data was better shared, everybody would know who the bad ships are, and would not give them any business, and everybody would know who the good ships are, so they would not need to be subjected to continuous inspections and seafarers could get more rest. The overall safety of shipping would be much improved. SUBHEAD Chemical Distribution Institute The Chemical Distribution Institute, based in the UK has its own inspection system which it is harmonising with the OCIMF SIRE system. The form was originally introduced by CEFIC, the European Chemical Industry Council. The CDI is gradually harmonising its safety measures with OCIMF, so the two groups can share information. Companies in CDI include Chevron, DOW, Lyondell, BP Norsk Shell, Du Pont, ExxonMobil, Hoechst, Akzo Nobel, BASF, ConocoPhillips, Petrobras and Kuwait Petroleum. The databases are available to all participating companies, accredited inspectors, shipowners (marine) and terminal operators (terminals). CDI produces report analysis software, which can, for example, show tables and reports of the number and percentage of non conformances, inspector observations, comments, non conformances by category. SUBHEAD RightShip RightShip, of Melbourne, Australia, is a company formed by BHP Billiton Freight Trading and Logistics, and Rio Tinto Shipping, which aim to provide accurate and reliable online assessments on vessels, owners and managers. The system was originally developed by the two charterers for their own use, and now put on general sale. It covers dry bulk, petroleum (tanker), gas and liner ships, also terminals. Ships can be searched by ship's name or Lloyd's number, or other details such as ship type and size. RightShip claims that the system offers as much information about a vessel as Equasis, but also with a professional evaluation of the data, rather than just presenting the data for the user to interpret as Equasis does. There is information about any particular ship. Each ship has a 5 star rating scale. 3-5 stars means that the vessel is an "acceptable risk". About 15 per cent of ships get 5 stars, and 65 per cent get three or four (acceptable). 12 per cent get two stars and 8 per cent get one stars. Two stars mean that users should contact RightShip for further review of the vessel's risk profile. A one star rating means that RightShip should conduct a "more detailed review" of the vessel owner. The risk rating is based around 42 criteria, covering structural integrity and the competence of management and crew. Data includes yard, owner, operator/manager, vessel age, casualty history, port state control history, flag, conditions of class and class changes, trading patterns and cargo history. The vetting specialists look at this data and interpret it, so that instead of just getting a page of data, the user gets the data plus evaluation. Data is currently available for 31,000 ships. There are 300 vessels ratings every month, and the company physically inspects about 20 ships. If the ranking indicates higher risk, then we may carry out a physical inspection to verify the condition and operation of the vessel prior to recommending to our customer for use. However if the system rates the vessel as acceptable risk, based on evaluating many factors, then a physical inspection is not done unless a client specifically requests it. Altogether in 2002 it vetted 3391 ships, of which 23 per cent were rated one or two stars, and after further investigation, 127 ships were considered unacceptable for the proposed trades. Companies can also request their own specific criteria is considered, for example if they only wish to charter ships of a certain age. RightShip has vetting specialists who physically inspect vessels and audit management and crew competence. Customers can quickly assess the risk of a nominated vessel for an intended voyage. A special petroleum services division assesses a vessel's overall suitability, as well as looking at the specific requirements, including suitability of mooring arrangements, venting systems, hose handling and manifold operational performance. Mr Norman claims that his track record in spotting dodgy ships is quite high. "After the Prestige, the EU banned 55 ships from its ports. All were already rated high risk by our system. Before the Christopher was lost, we already rated it one star. Our clients are able to avoid those kind of risks." One customer is Portman Ltd of Australia, a charterer of iron ore ships. Export marketing co-ordinator Jenny Proctor says her clients expect quick turnarounds, so it makes a big difference being able to vet ships instantly. "We get immediate evaluations of ships online, but any questions we have are also answered without delay," she says. Mr Norman says that he sees his role as an intermediary between shipping company and charterer, kind of like a shipbroker which has figured out a useful role for himself. "A good vetting system helps a shipper or charterer find and use like-minded shipowners and managers," says Mr Norman. SUBHEAD Linking to ship safety systems Mr Norman suggests that there are electronic tools shipping companies can use to make the vetting process easier for them. "These range from simply maintaining up to date electronic copies of vessel certificates, to actively tracking the process of any defects and deficiencies from Port State Control inspections," he says. "To pass the audit successfully and become a preferred supplier in our system, the company must demonstrate that, on a continuing basis, they do follow up and actively manage these risk issues." Mr Norman says there are possibilities that in future the vetting process can be developed, to take data directly from a shipping company's fleet safety management data base, gaining updated certificate dates and data, along with port state control inspections reports directly, with a continuing active link between the performance of the shipping company and their status in our system. "Many people who carry responsibility for chartering ships have a strong commercial background but do not have equal experience in understanding and evaluating the complex factors that make up marine risk," he says. "We designed our system so shippers and charterers have an easy way to get an experienced perspective on marine risk. " SUBHEAD Reducing the vetting workload Mr Norman is keen to reduce the amount of workload involved on both sides in the vetting inspection, by sharing information with similar projects as much as possible. He recently formed a partnership with the Green Award program of the Netherlands, which recognises quality ships. "Shipping companies who have passed Green Award's rigorous evaluation process, are rewarded in the RightShip system by having their vessels more highly rated," he says. SUBHEAD Equasis Equasis is a free online resource for information about ships. It tells you if the ship has ever been held up by port state control, if it has ever had any deficiencies from port state control, and for most vessels, what the class status is. Once you've made your log in, and logged in, you can search for a ship with just 3 letters of its name. From the Lloyds Register Fairplay database you get the ship's IMO number, call sign, type of ship, flag, owner, manager, gross tonnage, year of build, shipowner and manager address. You can find out about its ISM code audit, P+I insurers and port state control deficiencies. For most ships, you can find out the class data, if it is classed by Lloyds Register, ABS, ClassNK and Korean Register of Shipping. You can access information from 60 flag states, including survey information from class societies working for the flag state, with the sad exception of Liberia and Panama. Under the European Directive on Class, due to come into force in July 2003, and which requires the EU recognised societies to make certain information public, new data available through Equasis covers statutory inspections and certificates subsequently issued, including all outstanding statutory notes; and classification surveys and class certificates issued, including overdue class recommendations. You can also search for all the ships operated by a specific ship manager. The data is only available by logging onto the Equasis.org website; it is not available as a web service, reportedly a source of some annoyance by a certain maritime bank, which wanted a fast way of searching for any new deficiencies for the 1000 vessels on its books. However it is still a phenomenally powerful system, and it is very new. It can do a lot to improve maritime safety. BOX ARTICLE - OCIMF SUBHEAD OCIMF and SIRE Most people involved with tankers are used to seeing SIRE (Ship Inspection Report Programme) accredited inspectors coming onboard at major ports, preparing the vessels for inspection, answering questions and providing documents. OCIMF, the Oil Companies International Marine Forum, was established in 1970 as an association of oil companies with an interest in shipment and terminalling of crude oil and oil products. The Ship Inspection Report Programme (SIRE) was launched in 1993 to address concerns about substandard shipping. SUBHEAD The inspection process Inspectors, working for oil companies, go onboard the ship and make a report based on quality of the vessel, its equipment and operational practices. Under the SIRE program, all the vetting inspections, which oil companies make on shipowners, are put into a standard format, so they can be shared between the oil companies. The SIRE inspection is geared around checking for items which can only be checked by physically having someone on the ship, checking that all the documents are there (logbooks, manuals, certification) and are correctly compiled, the necessary complement of seafarers is present, they can all speak a common language, there is a training policy all charts are up to date, alarm systems are operational and tested, lifeboat drills are held, hoses, gauges, mooring equipment and pipelines are in good condition, planned maintenance systems are being followed and the ship is clean and tidy. All the inspection questions are based upon IMO regulations and best-accepted industry practices. (ie the ship should be compliant with all the questions anyway). To be accredited as a SIRE inspector, inspectors must have a Class 1 deck or engine certificate of competency and not less than 5 years of sea service including not less than 2 years at senior rank. They must pass a formal written examination, pass an onboard audit, and undergo periodic re-auditing. They must conduct a minimum number of inspections every year and periodically attend refresher courses. The inspector normally spends about 8 hours on board the ship carrying out the inspection, normally accompanied by a senior ships officer or in some cases the ship's superintendent The inspector's report is sent to the shipping company, which has 14 days in which to make a comment on it (or explanation for any deficiencies). The shipping company can comment at any time during which the report stays in the system. Once any comment has been received, or after 14 days (whichever is the earlier), the report is made available through the SIRE system. SIRE participants can access each report and the applicable comments. Government organisations, including port state control authorities, can access all the reports free of charge. The reports are made available on the system for 12 months, after which they are put in an archive for 12 months and then deleted. In most cases vessels are inspected 2-3 times a year ensuring that the most up to date condition of the ship is available. SIRE has put together a very large database of information about tankers. 45,000 inspection reports have been submitted to SIRE so far; currently there are over 10,000 reports on over 6,300 vessels, with inspections conducted over the last 12 months. Over 1600 reports are pulled out of the database every month. There are 275 fully accredited SIRE inspectors around the world, and 67 companies who can access reports from the database. SUBHEAD Standards of inspection The questions the inspector completes are designed to be more objective than subjective, with yes and no answers and room for explanation from the inspector eg "is accommodation clean and tidy," "is a planned maintenance system being followed." The inspector does not pass or fail the ship, although he is required to make factual comments that accurately describe either the condition of the ship and its equipment or the standards of operations that are observed. Professionals-for professionals" operate SIRE under the maxim It thus requires a professional tanker mariner to understand the observations that are recoded in the reports. As to making a decision, however, on acceptability, that is a matter exclusively for the report recipient. SUBHEAD Preparing for inspection The main preparation seafarers should make, according to SIRE manager Geoffrey Snow, is making sure that all the documentation is in one place together and ready for inspection. Having the documents together can reduce the amount of time the inspection takes by up to 2 hours, he says. All of the other issues ought to be continuously in order, since they are based on regulation. Obviously there is always an element of preparing the ship for an inspection, the same way that people prepare themselves for a job interview, but despite the fact that they cannot keep a continuous watch on the ship, charterers feel that regular inspections are the most accurate way to determine the physical condition of a vessel and its operation. SUBHEAD Reducing the number of inspections The total number of SIRE inspections has remained constant for the last 5 years, at between 600 and 1000 a month. The number of reports being accessed though is steadily increasing, from 1000 per month in November 2000 to 1800 in Feb 2003. Hopefully most of the people reading these reports are people who would otherwise need to conduct an inspection themselves. Contrary to popular industry opinion, that vessels can routinely be subjected to up to 10 SIRE inspections a year, OCIMF says that vessels in its database are inspected on average 2.33 times a year. In 2002, 1315 vessels were only inspected once, 1177 vessels inspected twice and 860 vessels inspected 3 times. 5 vessels were inspected 9 times and 1 vessel was inspected 10 times. Efforts have been made to reduce the amount of information inspectors need to collect, by allowing permanent information (eg about the vessel) to be sent directly by the shipping company to SIRE using an electronic Vessel Particulars Questionnaire (VPQ). Originally, inspectors were utilised to check many items that never changed though the entire lifetime of the vessel, but OCIMF members realised it was more efficient to use the inspector solely to assess the condition of a ship, its operational standards and of the risk that it might pose. . The shipping company sends the "Vessel Particulars Questionaire" directly to the SIRE System, although is sometimes completed on the ship. The Classification Society is mainly responsible for checking the structure of the ship, not day-to-day issues about it's running, and so its area is rather different. OCIMF is very keen to engage port state control inspectors in looking at the information in the SIRE database, so they can gain a level of understanding about the quality of a vessel when making decisions as to make their own inspection s. Most port state control inspectors are expected to look at 25 per cent of all vessels, but by using the SIRE data, OCIMF hopes they can make a more informed choice of which vessels to inspect. OCIMF recently held a training course for port state control inspectors at BP Shipping's UK headquarters, which was attended by 19 Paris MOU inspectors. SUBHEAD ISPS code So what additions will be made to the vetting questionaire to take into account the requirements of the ISPS code, coming into force in July next year? Updated VIQs are now being finalised to take into account of recent legislative changes, including issues addressing security. Geoff Snow, manager of the SIRE Programme says that inspectors will seek to determine that shipboard security is effective. They will look for a security plan that is approved by the administration; whether the ship's people understand the differing requirements for the three security levels, whether the operator has provided the ship with a copy of the ISPS Code, whether the security records for the port are in order, whether a security officer has been designated, and if he understands his duties, However he notes that inspectors are not planning to lengthen the amount of time given over to making and reporting an inspection (currently around 8 hours) as a result of the ISPS code. SUBHEAD Self assessment OCIMF is currently working on a system whereby shipping companies will be able to assess themselves, "self assessment" against set criteria and use this as a tool to improve the quality of their operations. The project intends to find a path through the different interpretations of the ISM code by shipping companies, and what constitutes "good practise." The initiative is to design a self assessment system, whereby the shipping company tells the charterer what standard they believe themselves to be operating to, against performance indicators developed by OCIMF, referenced to a list of "best industry practises. There should also be a step-by-step format for submitting the reports electronically. Companies involved in the group include BP, ChevronTexaco, IMT, Shell, TotalFinaElf and Vela. However OCIMF does not believe that this will be a substitute for routine inspections of ships.