Every tanker fleet has layers of navigational oversight. At the base of that structure sits the ship navigational audit — conducted by the Master and Chief Officer, on their own vessel, monthly. Around that sits the marine superintendent’s annual navigational…
Most ship managers can show that safety meetings happen. Minutes are filed, inspection forms are signed, the permit-to-work system is in place. That is Stage 1 of Element 9. It is not a TMSA safety audit. A TMSA safety audit…
A TMSA engine room audit is what separates a Stage 3 operator from a Stage 4 one on Element 4. TMSA compliance is not a single test — it is thirteen elements, each assessed across four stages, and Element 4…
Mooring operations kill people. That is not a dramatic framing — it is the operational context that makes Element 6A of TMSA 3 different from almost every other audit requirement. The fatality statistics from snap-back incidents, winch failures, and line…
he TMSA cargo audit under Element 6 is not a universal requirement — it is a Stage 4 commitment, and understanding what it asks for is what separates a structured assurance programme from a superintendent visit that happened to coincide…
TMSA navigational audit requirements vary by stage. Element 5 distinguishes between three audit types, each serving a different evidential purpose. Here is what each one demands. The distinction matters because oil majors and vetting bodies do not just ask whether…
Near miss reporting in shipping sits at the heart of any serious safety management system. ISM Section 9 requires it. TMSA KPI 5A scores it. SIRE 2.0 & RightShip RISQ inspectors ask about it. Every SMS I have reviewed —…
This silence is a symptom — one often associated with the normalisation of deviance in shipping. When I pull up a VDR audio file for a port approach on a well-run vessel with an experienced Master, this is often what…
The OCIMF Ship to Ship Transfer Guide for Petroleum, Chemicals and Liquefied Gases was published in a second edition in 2025. The first edition, the document that most existing STS Operations Plans reference — and in many cases were built…
When a ship manager or DPA decides to start a VDR audit programme, the first question is usually about findings — what will the data show, what will the auditor look for, which ships should go first. These are reasonable…
The BWMP new requirements that came into force on 1 February 2025 are not yet reflected in a significant number of plans currently on board. The PSC Concentrated Inspection Campaign that ran from September to November 2025 focused exclusively on…
The first article in this series set out what SOLAS Regulation II-1/3-13 requires across a fleet — which equipment is in scope, what the compliance deadlines are, and where the documentation gaps tend to appear. This article goes one level…