Remote Inspections Scheme on Tanker Vessels During Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Remote inspection refers to an inspection where the inspector is off-site, whilst the intermediary (inspected entity, vessel’s crew or shore office personnel) is operating on-site. The process is performed via the use of technological, visual or database/portal means. The notion of remote inspections is not new in the maritime industry. The quest to apply efficient and cost-effective inspection techniques on commercial vessels has been underway for years and was closely correlated with the advancement of technology. Nevertheless, until the outbreak of the pandemic, such practices were subject to certain limitations: reliable technology and accepted procedural frameworks should be in place. These could only be applied against certain regulatory backgrounds and performed by qualified inspectors. However, during the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic crisis, unprecedented conditions emerged which significantly affected the ship inspection procedures and in particular the controls by the Port State Authorities and the inspections from energy companies, members of the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) Ship Inspection Report Programme (SIRE). These unforeseen conditions mandated an acceleration of pace towards the adoption of remote inspection schemes. During the pandemic, most Port States had to refrain from physically attending vessels to conduct Port State Control (PSC) inspections. Alternative means of inspections had to be employed by PSC Authorities with the aim of maintaining an acceptable level of control over substandard ships calling at their ports. Proceeding one step further, Tokyo Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has officially and permanently established a remote inspection system introducing technical specifications for remote inspections that may be conducted only with the consent of the Master. Further to the remote inspection techniques adopted by the US Coast Guard (USCG), Tokyo MoU has introduced live streaming interviews with the Master, officers and crew members. Livestreaming inspections, where the PSC officer may request the crew to visit specific areas of the vessel and witness live tests and operational controls, were established. It is anticipated that the feedback collected from the implementation of the first official remote PSC inspection regime will be exploited also by other PSC MoUs which will proceed with similar schemes in the near future. Embarking in the same direction, OCIMF, following an official announcement in August 2020, launched the remote inspection as an alternative against the restrictions imposed by the pandemic towards the physical SIRE inspections (OCIMF in Temporary guidelines for conducting a vessel inspection during Covid-19, 2020a; OCIMF in Guidelines for remote Inspections under OCIMF programmes (2nd ed.), 2020b). The option to conduct a remote SIRE inspection lies at the discretion of submitting companies, considering several factors including but not limited to the practical possibility and risks of conducting physical attendance at specific ports. The remote SIRE inspections scheme set certain standards for the development of the next Vessel’s Inspection Programme by OCIMF (SIRE 2.0) but at the same time generated concerns regarding the equal assessment of remote reports by individual OCIMF members.