Vetting
Meaning
Vetting is an oil company's or charterer's risk assessment of a tanker, using inspection reports and history, before agreeing to charter it or accept it at a terminal.
Also written as Ship vetting, Vetting approval
Vetting explained
Vetting teams review recent SIRE inspections, port state control history, incidents, the operator's TMSA self-assessment, crew experience and the ship's age. Each oil major has its own criteria, and an approval is usually needed per voyage.
“Sub vetting” is one of the most common subjects on a tanker fixture, and failing it is one of the most common reasons a fixture fails.
Related terms
SIRE
SIRE is OCIMF's Ship Inspection Report Programme: standardised tanker inspections whose reports are shared with oil companies for vetting.
TMSA
TMSA is OCIMF's Tanker Management and Self Assessment programme, in which tanker operators rate their own management systems against best practice.
Subjects
Subjects are conditions attached to an otherwise agreed fixture, such as charterer's approval or vetting, that must be lifted before it is binding.
Port state control
Port state control (PSC) is the inspection of foreign ships in a country's ports to check they meet international safety and pollution rules.
Q88
The Q88 is the standard tanker questionnaire listing a ship's particulars (dimensions, tanks, pumps, certificates and more) that charterers check before fixing.