Vetting is the process by which an oil company determines whether a vessel is suitable to be chartered, based on the information available to it. In our case, it consists of ensuring that for every voyage undertaken the vessel used by us complies with the criteria mentioned above.

Unlike Certification or Classification, vetting is a private, voluntary system set up by oil companies to help them choose a particular vessel among all of the certified vessels available. Vetting in its current form first appeared in 1993, the year the Ship Inspection Report (SIRE) database was created.

For each voyage, the vetting department assesses the vessel to be used, relying in particular on inspection results. The results of inspections carried out by oil companies who are members of the OCIMF are shared via the joint SIRE database.

Oil majors perform inspections according to a standard report format developed by the OCIMF. These reports are available to all OCIMF members via the SIRE database, which provides each company’s vetting department with the information it needs to apply its own internal criteria without having to inspect each vessel itself.

Vetting inspections are usually carried out during commercial unloading operations, with the prior agreement of the shipowner and management company, the only organizations authorized to allow third parties onboard.

Vetting inspections do not include a survey of the vessel’s structural elements, which is the responsibility of the classification society and the shipowner as part of the vessel’s regular maintenance and of the process of ensuring that it complies with applicable rules and regulations. In any case, it would be technically impossible for a vetting department to carry out such a structural survey.

Vetting inspections also give the company access to confidential documents relating to the vessel’s maintenance and classification, which can only be consulted by third parties onboard.