OCIMF human factor-based SIRE 2.0 inspection will soon be a reality and companies need to start training crew and staff to meet the new expectations and with it, change their mindset
Vetting is seen by many shipowners and operators as a process where inspectors are looking for defects, and where none can be found, superficial comments are made on the report. This ingrained approach around the SIRE inspection is being tackled head-on through OCIMF’s human-factor approach, which will require a fundamental change in mindset for those managing vessels.
This became clear in the webinar SIRE 2.0: how the new inspection regime will impact LNG shipping and terminals, held 15 February 2023, featuring INTERTANKO gas manager, Mahyar Jokhi and Excelerate Energy manager fleet operations Frederic Decaluwe. Although this webinar was part of the LNG Shipping & Terminal webinar week, the process Excelerate Energy underwent to test the new vetting process is valuable for tankers, too.
But first Mr Jokhi, who is seconded to INTERTANKO from Anglo-Eastern ship management, explained the changes that will occur with SIRE 2.0 for shore staff. This will include preparing documentation.
“This is not limited to the pre-inspection documents and submissions: PIQ or photographs or certificates, “ he said, “SIRE 2.0 will verify those processes that have been declared by the operator or the owner in the TMSA submissions, are actually being complied with on board the vessel.”
The aim is to close up the link between the vessel and the TMSA submissions made by the shore office. In parallel, this engages the human element side and will reveal the level of support being offered to the crew by the shore office.
The element that will probably concern many is the fundamental change in direction SIRE 2.0 requires.
“The inspection now moves from a defect identification process,” he said, “Towards identifying or inspecting how the vessels are managing the risk or how businesses are managing their defects.”
The outcome is a detailed report, far more comprehensive than observations and negative comments. The vessel managers will now have to show how the known defects on the vessel are being managed. For the excellent shipmanager it is “a very good opportunity to showcase the highest standards within which they are managing the vessels,” he said.
To reach this stage, the operator and manager need to have a thorough understanding of what is needed. There are detailed questions and answers on the SIRE 2.0 sections of the OCIMF and INTERTANKO websites, including the development of a guide for seafarers (see image). Mr Jokhi thanked Riviera Maritime Media for providing an opportunity to broadcast the challenges faced with SIRE 2.0 and how these can be addressed.
Mr Decaluwe has been closely involved in testing SIRE 2.0. He noted it has been a lesson for all, and the release of SIRE 2.0 was delayed from the early part of 2022. Excelerate Energy started the SIRE 2.0 process in December 2021 with a ’Management of change’ process to find the problems and what the company needed to change in procedures.
The company started to introducing the SIRE process on its nine vessels from February 2022. “We sent the vessels questionnaires, with some of the questions divided into chapters,” he said. By using chapters of questions, the SIRE adaptation workload could be spread across the fleet.
From September 2022, the company started collecting the required images. This also needed database management, but in October 2022, the offline editor was released. “In December 2022, we installed it on all our vessels.”
The current status is to update TMSA inline with the findings of SIRE 2.0, with a target date of 15 March 2023. This process undertaken by Excelerate Energy is one of the clearest indications of the time required to bring an organisation up to speed with the requirements of SIRE 2.0.
Mr Decaluwe noted the OCIMF training videos are being used by the whole crew and superintendents will be on board for the first SIRE 2.0 inspections to aid the crew. He noted SIRE 2.0 involves questions for the whole crew, not just the main officers.
The lessons learned by the operator in the preparation for SIRE 2.0 vary from solving cyber-security issues from having to have wireless printers on board the vessel to expanding the office staff to cope with the increase in workload. Bearing in mind, this is a company with only nine vessels, the scaling up requirements for larger fleets could be significant.
A SIRE 2.0 inspection is expected to be finished within 10 hours, but as Mr Decaluwe noted, there are months of data collection required by each vessel before the inspection takes place.
Thereafter, subsequent SIRE 2.0 inspections would require an updating process of the core questions (those asked every time) and images of repairs or new images to replace those that are out-of-date. It was noted the rotational questions require additional work the first time these are encountered.
In the webinar questions and answers session, Mr Mahyar noted SIRE 2.0 will require a different mindset: the defect list is handed over at the start of the inspection. The inspector’s role is not to be negative and look for defects, but to answer questions on the assessment of the handling of the defects. “The defects are not a negative observation,” he said, but conversely, “If there is any defect, which the inspector notices and which is not there in that defect list, then of course, it will be coming as a negative observation.”
The takeaways
Mr Mahyar said, “There was a lot of discussion when SIRE was first introduced and we are going through a similar process with SIRE 2.0. It is important to understand what SIRE 2.0 is and what are the benefits.” He added, “The (SIRE 2.0) mindset change should start from within us, within the organisation, and then in conversations with others.” He noted this is the critical ingredient if the industry is to achieve the prefect safety it is striving for.
Mr Decaluwe added, “The big challenges are training and timing,” he said. The challenge is to train the whole crew and to have the tools available. He noted it is important to know if the industry is ready for SIRE 2.0
Webinar poll results
Is your company ready for the implementation of SIRE 2.0?
Yes – we are fully ready: 8%
Yes – we are still on preparedness journey: 29%
No – we are not prepared yet: 29%
I do not know: 34%
Is the wifi, wireless printer on board approved by your IT department?
Yes: 38%
No: 31%
Not applicable: 31%
Does your company have a schedule for collecting and updating the photographs required by SIRE 2.0?
Yes – 3 monthly: 14%
Yes – 6 monthly: 14%
Yes – Before inspection: 5%
No: 27%
I do not know: 40%
What is the biggest challenge for the operators in their journey towards the SIRE 2.0 transition?
Training seafarers for the human factors element of the inspection: 13%
Inspectors’ interpretation of human factors: 13%
Increase in administrative requirements eg submission of PIQ, certificates, pictures: 27%
Driving the mindset change required by all stakeholders: 47%
How would you rate your readiness for the SIRE2.0 programme?
Too early to say at this stage: 30%
Commenced the transition for the SIRE 2.0 programme: 10%
Preparation is in progress: 60%
Ready for the SIRE 2.0 programme: 0%
What do you perceive as SIRE 2.0’s greatest value to industry?
SIRE 2.0 will provide a detailed report of the ways risks are managed by the operators, rather than just stating defects: 37%
SIRE 2.0 will provide an opportunity to the operators to showcase their strengths and standards: 42%
SIRE 2.0 will be a means for data collection within the industry: 21%
Source: Riviera Maritime Media
SIRE 2.0: how the new inspection regime will impact LNG shipping and terminals webinar panel.
From left to right: INTERTANKO gas manager, Mahyar Jokhi and Excelerate Energy manager fleet operations Frederic Decaluwe (source: Riviera Maritime Media)
