Onboard a ship, a variety of safety-related checks or safety inspections and examinations take place. This is the consequence of international and national rules that aim to manage the ship’s safe operation and the safety of everyone on board.
The following organizations will send inspectors and surveyors to board the ship:
- Flag State Administration
These inspections are frequently unannounced and are conducted by the Flag Administration, which is in charge of ensuring the safety of the crew onboard.
- Port State Control
These random inspections take place in port and are carried out by the Port State Authority, which is in charge of ensuring the safety of all ships operating inside their state and territorial waters.
Conduct regular surveys throughout the ship’s life to guarantee that the ship’s structure and equipment are maintained in line with the rules and regulations.
Any of these inspections may result in a ship being detained in port if inspectors and surveyors discover non-compliance problems.
Furthermore, chemical tankers are subjected to operational safety inspections by industry organizations working on behalf of the ship’s charterers. There are two industry groups:
- CDI Integrated Ship Inspection Scheme (ISIS)
The chemical industry developed the CDI-M inspection to increase the safety and quality performance of bulk liquid chemical shipment. CDI ship inspection reports are concerned with the operational safety standards of the world’s chemical tanker fleet. CDI is administered by chemical industry members, and reports are made accessible to industry, port state authorities, terminals, and anyone with a stake in the safe operation of chemical tankers.
The Ship Inspection Report Exchange programme was launched by OCIMF in 1993 to address concerns about substandard shipping. SIRE is a one-of-a-kind tanker risk assessment tool that is useful to charterers, ship operators, terminal operators, and government agencies concerned about ship safety.
