Compliance and software for oil and chemical tankers

What oil and chemical tanker operators have to comply with

SIRE 2.0

SIRE 2.0 became the standard OCIMF inspection for oil, chemical and gas tankers on 2 September 2024. It replaced the old yes-or-no questionnaire with observation: the inspector watches tasks, questions the person doing them and records human performance as well as hardware and process findings. Some questions are core and asked on every inspection, including hours of rest. Your Pre-Inspection Questionnaire, photographs and declarations shape which questions the ship receives, so poor office preparation shows up on board.

TMSA 3

Oil majors assess the operator through TMSA 3. Each stage you claim needs objective evidence and KPIs, and reviewers sample that evidence in your office and question the people who own each element. Navigation, cargo operations, change management, incident investigation and mooring (Element 6A) all have to be shown working, not just written down.

CDI for chemical tankers

Chemical companies vet the tankers they charter through the Chemical Distribution Institute's marine inspection scheme, which covers chemical and LPG tankers. Unlike SIRE, the owner requests the CDI inspection, and the ship completes CDI's self-inspection documentation first. Most chemical tanker operators run CDI and SIRE 2.0 in parallel, with different questionnaires and different customers reading the results.

Cargo rules and industry guidance

• MARPOL Annex I and Annex II govern oil and noxious liquid cargoes, tank washing and discharges. Ships switching between Annex I and Annex II cargoes carry particular risk.
• The IBC Code sets the construction and equipment standard for chemical tankers.
• ISGOTT (sixth edition, June 2020, from ICS, OCIMF and IAPH) is the reference for safe oil tanker and terminal operations. It puts more weight on human factors and on building its recommendations into your SMS.
• The ICS Tanker Safety Guide (Chemicals) reached its sixth edition in April 2026. It adds guidance on switching between Annex I and Annex II cargoes, a tank cleaning decision flowchart, analysing wash water to avoid unnecessary enclosed space entries, and hot work zones for risk assessment. Chemical tanker procedures written against the previous edition are now out of date.

Enclosed spaces and hot work

Cargo tanks, pump rooms and void spaces make enclosed space entry one of the highest risks on a tanker. IMO's revised recommendations for entering enclosed spaces, resolution MSC.581(110), raise the bar for permits, atmosphere testing and drills, and SIRE 2.0 inspectors observe how the crew applies them.

Mooring

Since 1 January 2024 SOLAS regulation II-1/3-8 requires every ship to inspect and maintain mooring equipment, including lines, following MSC.1/Circ.1620. OCIMF's MEG4 makes Ship Design MBL the anchor value, SIRE 2.0 questions mooring in Section 9, and TMSA 3 gives it its own element.

Hours of rest, including OPA 90

MLC 2006 and STCW set minimum rest. Tankers trading to the United States also face the Oil Pollution Act 1990 limit in 46 U.S.C. 8104(n): no more than 15 hours of work in any 24 hours, or 36 hours in any 72, except in an emergency or drill. Administrative work counts.

How Synergetic helps tanker operators

Services

• Sailing audits, SIRE 2.0 pre-vetting and CDI pre-inspections: a Master Mariner sails with the tanker and audits navigation, mooring and cargo operations as they happen, then inspects against SIRE 2.0 or CDI and questions the crew the way an inspector would.
• Remote VDR and S-VDR analysis: bridge practice reconstructed from the ship's own data and graded against your procedures, SIRE 2.0 and TMSA 3.
• TMSA 3 gap assessment: every element tested against evidence, evidence packs built and a mock office audit before the oil major arrives.
• SMS revamp and simplification: cargo, technical and navigation manuals rewritten as plain, task-based procedures, with every SIRE 2.0 and TMSA 3 requirement traced to the procedure that meets it.
• MEG4 mooring gap analysis and engineering assessment, including oil major query responses and TMSA Element 6A reviews.
• Incident investigation, shore and onboard training and PMS database creation.

Marine X7 modules that fit tankers

• HSEQ X7: SIRE 2.0, PSC, audit and near miss findings across the fleet turned into AI focus areas, ready for your TMSA submission.
• DMS X7: your SMS as a live library, mapped to SIRE 2.0 and TMSA 3, so the crew can find the procedure an inspector asks about.
• Work-Ship: work and rest hours software approved by ClassNK and IRClass. Its ClassNK type approval covers MLC 2006, STCW, OPA 90 and SIRE.
• PTW X7 and RA X7: permits and risk assessments built for the ship, the space and the task, for tank entry and hot work.
• DigiMoor X7: mooring line management with ClassNK type approval against SOLAS II-1/3-8, MEG4, SIRE 2.0 Section 9 and TMSA 3 Element 6A.
• Navigate X7, PMS X7 and Voyage X7 for navigation audits, ClassNK approved maintenance and emissions reporting.

Each module runs on its own. See the full Marine X7 suite and our approvals and certifications.

Why tanker operators work with us

• 550+ onboard sailing audits and pre-vetting inspections and 2,200+ remote VDR analyses.
• 28 SIRE 2.0 and RightShip gap analyses, 16 TMSA 3 and DryBMS office preparations and 14+ SMS revamps.
• 70+ ship owners and managers, with 100% client retention.
• Our free SIRE 2.0 inspection guide explains the regime in plain language.

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