V Ships primes up the Vetting Process

Committed to maintaining its foremost position in tanker trade, V Ships has been organising regular workshops and training to keep its fleet personnel well abreast of developments in shipping in general and requirements of V Ships in particular. The world’s largest provider of ship management services, V Ships has on its fleet nearly 1,000 vessels encompassing almost all types.

Their office in India recently focussed on one of the most significant initiatives to be introduced by Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) the Vetting Inspection which is in line with the Ship Inspection Report Programme (SIRE).

Accordingly it conducted a one-day Vetting seminar for its captains and other officers at a posh hotel in North Mumbai, which saw at least 40 of its officers participating. It was an opportunity to get an up-date on what is expected according to the vetting process, keeping up the standards and about the SIRE inspection.

This Ship Inspection Report (SIR) has been developed as part of the CEFIC “Safety and Quality Assessment System for the Management of Ship Operations”. For assessment purposes, the SIR is read in conjunction with the Vessel Particulars Questionnaire (VPQ) so that an accurate assessment of the ship at the time the inspection is carried out. The SIR is essentially a quality assessment of the ship, its operations and personnel which also incorporate essential aspects of safety and environmental protection. The SIR does not attempt to pass or fail the ship for any particular purpose but rather to gives an assessment of conformance at the time of the inspection as measured against internationally accepted standards.

The SIRE programme has been launched to specifically address concerns about sub-standard shipping. The SIRE Programme is a unique tanker risk assessment tool of value to charterers, ship operators, terminal operators and government bodies concerned with ship safety.

Essentially, SIRE focuses on tanker industry awareness on the importance of meeting satisfactory tanker quality and ship safety standards. The programme has received industry-wide acceptance and participation by OCIMF Members, Programme recipients and ship operators.

Despite his heavy schedule and having returned from Delhi the same morning, Capt Rajesh Tandon, Managing Director, V.Ships India Pvt. Ltd, came straight from the airport to the venue of the seminar to join the participants and to make himself available and help build a closer bond.

Giving a brief about the programme Capt Vaibhav Dalvi, General Manager and Capt Pankaj Nayak, Manager Training informed that once we have oil major approval as with OCIMF the value of the ship goes up and the company and the ship owners have a better chance of chartering their vessel, since this shows the condition of the vessel. In this regard SIRE is the commercial aspect. “V Ships has a good reputation and even if there are old vessels they are inspected and under SIRE we have a good reputation since we have a system in place to correct any defects.”

It was pointed out that creating a culture of self assessment is the best approach as it gears the ship’s crew to be well prepared at all times. This way one tends to fix everything that is in working order.
The one day ‘Mumbai Vetting Seminar’ was presided over by Mr. Alasdair Ireland, Group Training and Planning Manager, V.Ships, along with Capt Vishal Singh, Projects & Operations Officer. Both had flown in especially from Glasgow to address and interact with the officers.
Being ready to face any eventuality is what V.Ships aims to prepare its officers for and hence raises the competency of its officers. It is indeed the best way to get set even for Vetting inspections. This practice is what has made V Ships the foremost in shipping and tanker trade.
Capt Vishal and Capt Alasdair presented details about the Vetting process and the various issues involved with regard to tanker inspection. “Ships are complex pieces of machinery and are operated in a hostile environment,” described Capt Vishal. “Anything can go wrong when you least expect it.”

They highlighted the importance of being constantly prepared for the Vetting inspection. In this regard they amplified what is required to be done when an inspection is arranged; the need to maintain correct records; carry out necessary repairs, prepare documents; getting all personnel on board attuned to meeting the inspector, etc. It also projected the need to give the inspector a warm welcome and to have a good interaction.

After lunch, all the participants had an opportunity to interact with each other on the morning sessions. This afforded the officers to realise the finer details of the Vetting Inspection. The interaction was followed by one of the most significant presentations of the day, ‘Tanker Officer Training Standards’ (TOTS).
It was during the seminar that the sad news of the sentencing of two V Ships officers, Captain Jasprit Chawla and chief officer Syam Chetan by the South Korea appeal court was received with shock. A pall of gloom settled on the participants in the hall where the seminar was being conducted. The evening cultural programme which would have been full of gaiety and entertainment was called off as no one was in a mood for any celebrations. Instead it was just a quiet evening over cocktails and dinner.