INTERNATIONAL OIL COMPANIES TO CIRCULATE TANKER INSPECTION REPORTS

In late October 34 international oil companies will begin to circulate information on oil tankers collected through inspections in an effort to improve vessel and operating standards in the world tanker fleet.

Each major oil company completes as many as 3,000 inspections/year on it; tankers, tankers it intends to charter, and tankers that plan to use its terminals. Until now, this information has not been shared.

On Sept. 27, Oil Companies International Marine Forum (Ocimf), London, an industry group formed to improve safety and pollution prevention, unveiled the Ship Inspection Report (SIRE) program to pool information among members.

HOW SIRE WILL WORK

Inspection reports will be submitted to Ocimf, which will maintain a database of available reports. Tanker owners will be sent a copy of reports on their vessels. They then will have 14 days to submit their statements, which will also be made available to Ocimf members.

"SIRE will be a fax based system to provide reports on tankers for professional assessment," said Ocimf Director Ed Ball. "It will not provide ratings of tankers nor act as a guarantee of a ship's fitness to operate."

A computer based index of all available reports, updated daily, will be accessible by electronic mail. Each report will be kept in the index for a year and taken off the index while still on file for another year.

"We hope to cover 80-90% of the world's tanker fleet through SIRE," said Ball. "Many of the reports will look at the management of vessels as well as technical aspects. Management is as important as technology in ship safety."

Tankers are often inspected by several oil companies at about the same time, before one of them agrees to charter. Ocimf said SIRE will cut duplication of effort and disruption of tanker crew work.

"We will not reduce the number of inspections overnight," said Ball. "It will be some time before operators feel comfortable with accepting other operators' reports."

In addition to Ocimf's 34 members, claimed to represent virtually every important oil organization in the world, reports will be made available to companies or organizations chartering tankers to carry oil, bulk oil terminal operators, and government agencies having flag or port state responsibility for tanker safety.

IMO/COAST GUARD PROPOSAL

In a parallel move, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been approached through the U.S. Coast Guard with a suggestion that IMO establish an International Ship Information Database.

This would contain information provided by owners, charterers, insurers, classification societies, port and flag states.

"The U.S. intends to shine a bright light on poor performers as a method to encourage compliance with international standards," warned Rear Admiral Henn of the U.S. Coast Guard.

"The U.S.'intends to make selected vessels' inspection and boarding files available worldwide to shipowners, ship charterers, classification societies, and flag states, allowing them to see the enforcement history on any particular vessel."