The Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) has announced that it has begun the phased roll-out of its new digitalised tanker inspection programme, SIRE 2.0, which will replace the existing Ship Inspection Report Programme (SIRE) used by the marine industry to assess a vessel's condition and operational standards.

SIRE 2.0 is being rolled-out in four phases, with Phase 1 of the transition now in progress and showing successful results. Phase 1 is the internal testing stage whereby a pre-selected group of Inspectors, Submitting Companies and Vessel Operators test the entire end-to-end system with the support of the OCIMF Secretariat.

As per the transition plan, Phase 1 will continue for one month or until all Phase 1 critical success factors are met. OCIMF will then activate Phase 2 of the roll-out plan. Phase 2 participants have already been engaged in preparation and are undertaking the necessary steps to ensure their readiness for a SIRE 2.0 transition inspection. During Phase 2, participants will test the entire end-to-end process without support from the OCIMF Secretariat.

All companies and individuals that have not been actively engaged for Phase 1 or Phase 2 will be provided with ample notice before Phase 3 is activated.

Phase 3 will be open to all users of the existing SIRE programme, offering participants the opportunity to conduct SIRE 2.0 inspections for familiarisation and testing purposes. All users are encouraged to engage in Phase 3 to test their readiness before the system goes live and SIRE 2.0 becomes the commercial inspection programme at Phase 4.

The full phased roll out timetable for SIRE 2.0 can be found below.

Aaron Cooper, OCIMF’s Programmes Director said: “The commencement of Phase 1 of the new SIRE 2.0 tanker inspection programme represents a significant step forward for all involved in tanker vetting. The phased roll-out was adopted in response to feedback from all stakeholders and ensures the readiness of the programme and its users. I am delighted to report that feedback from Phase 1 so far has been positive.”

“Inspectors have been well received onboard and have commented that the new regime is intuitive and practical. Vessel Operators and crew have been well-prepared and Submitting Companies have also been positive about the outcomes. The key learning so far is that preparation by all programme users is critically important,” he added.

SIRE 2.0 has overhauled the way inspections are carried out and involves the introduction of tablet-based inspections, dynamic question sets, increased focus on the human element, a more comprehensive inspection process and enhanced policies and procedures.

As a digitalised programme, SIRE 2.0 can be easily updated to bring it in line with new regulations and technology to future-proof the inspection process in the years to come and brings significant changes to how tankers of all sizes are assessed by inspectors.

“During trial inspections to date, all parties have been working cooperatively together throughout the process, which has been helpful in identifying any potential improvement actions. This is precisely why we decided to implement a phased roll-out strategy – with this four-phased approach all parties are given the opportunity to test and interrogate the regime and provide feedback if they wish to before SIRE 2.0 becomes the new standard for tanker vetting at Phase 4,” said Cooper.