Inspection Intelligence
What inspectors are finding, and what a good answer looks like
Vetting and inspection regimes decide which ships trade and on what terms. We track the recurring findings and focus areas that matter to owners and technical managers — SIRE 2.0, RightShip, Port State Control, CDI — with the same discipline we apply everywhere: every pattern is drawn from public sources and cited, aggregated at fleet level with no vessel named, and written by people who have stood in the engine room during the inspection.
Inspection regimes
SIRE 2.0 inspections
OCIMF’s digitalised, risk-based tanker inspection regime — live since September 2024.
3 articles →RightShip and RISQ inspections
The dry bulk inspection regime — RISQ question set and the revised inspection age trigger.
3 articles →Port State Control
Paris MoU, Tokyo MoU and USCG inspections — deficiencies, detentions and campaigns.
9 articles →CDI inspections
The Chemical Distribution Institute regime for chemical and gas carriers.
Coverage in progressTMSA
OCIMF’s Tanker Management and Self Assessment — the office-side companion to SIRE.
Coverage in progressFlag and class surveys
Statutory and class surveys — the audit layer beneath every commercial inspection.
2 articles →Free report
SIRE 2.0 Observation Response Pack
The response template — root cause, corrective and preventive action, objective evidence — with four worked engine-room examples and what an inspector asks to see.
Free tool
RightShip age trigger checker
Enter a delivery date and see when each phase of the revised inspection age trigger catches the vessel. Runs in your browser — the date is never sent anywhere.
Free tool
RightShip readiness check
Where does the vessel actually stand today — condition, records, crew familiarity? Work through it before the inspection window opens, then sequence the fixes with the 90-day preparation plan. Both run in your browser.
Free tool
PSC deficiency checklist generator
Pick a ship type and get a Port State Control preparation checklist organised by the official Paris MoU deficiency-code categories. Runs in your browser. See all tools →
Latest inspection coverage
The engine room detains the ship: what 52,000 port state control inspections in 2025 reveal
Port state control inspections of 52,020 ships in 2025 found 141,965 deficiencies and 1,943 detentions, with engine room failures being the leading cause.
Paris MoU detention rate reaches 4.18% — but the longer view complicates the story
Paris MoU detention rate rises to 4.18% in 2025 from 4.03% in 2024, returning to 2022 levels.
RightShip's age threshold drops to 11 years — and its own PSC data explains why
From July 1, 2026, RightShip inspections will be required for dry bulk and general cargo ships aged 11 years and over based on PSC risk data.
Inspection regime dates
- 2 Sep 2024
SIRE 2.0 goes live
OCIMF’s digitalised, risk-based tanker inspection regime replaces the legacy SIRE programme.
- 1 Apr 2026
RightShip age trigger steps to 12 years
Phase 2 of the revised trigger. A vessel without a valid RightShip inspection at the relevant age has its Safety Score downgraded.
- 1 Jul 2026
RightShip age trigger steps to 11 years
Phase 3. The threshold is being reduced from 14 years to 10 across four phases — this is the third.
- Late 2026 / early 2027
RightShip age trigger: final phase
The last step down is announced but its date and threshold are stated differently in two RightShip publications — 10 years across an October 2026 to January 2027 window in the phased-timeline release, 10.5 years from 20 January 2027 in the owner guidance. Confirm with RightShip before planning against either.
Sources: OCIMF — SIRE programme; RightShip — revised timeline press release and what it means for owners, managers and charterers. These two RightShip pages state the final phase differently; we have shown both rather than picking one. Dates as announced by the scheme owners — check the source before planning against them.
Apeks Brief
FreeDecision intelligence for the people who run ships: what changed, who is affected, what to do.
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