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.
5 articles →Port State Control
Paris MoU, Tokyo MoU and USCG inspections — deficiencies, detentions and campaigns.
11 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.
3 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
Guide · Regulation & Compliance RightShip Inspection: Process, Finding Grades and Validity Periods
A guide to the RightShip inspection process, RISQ finding grades, the 15-day close-out, the validity matrix and the Rev 4.0 vetting criteria.
News · Regulation & Compliance Tokyo MoU warns: improper certificate extensions can lead to detention
Tokyo MoU Safety Bulletin 05/2026, published 23 October 2026, says ships that keep trading on a SOLAS I/14(e) or (f) certificate extension instead of reaching the port of survey may be detained, and an RO that issued the extension may be held responsible. A separate RO performance method starts collecting data on 1 January 2027.
News · Regulation & Compliance RightShip Rev 4.0: general cargo added, 'unknown' ship records on the platform rated Unacceptable
RightShip's Dry Bulk Vessel Vetting Baseline Criteria, Revision 4.0, dated 1 October 2026, now cover general cargo ships. Under RightShip's criteria, a ship whose DOC company, class, flag or P&I club shows as unknown on the platform is Unacceptable, three or more PSC detentions in 24 months mean Unacceptable, and the MoC/VTOP questionnaire is due within 1 month of a newbuild delivery or DOC change.
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.
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 10.5 across four phases — this is the third.
- 20 Jan 2027
RightShip age trigger steps to 10.5 years
Phase 4, the final step, for dry bulk and general cargo vessels. RightShip updated this phase on 26 May 2026; the earlier 10-year, 1 January 2027 figure no longer applies.
Sources: OCIMF — SIRE programme; RightShip — revised timeline press release and what it means for owners, managers and charterers. The final phase follows RightShip’s 26 May 2026 update, as given in its owners, managers and charterers guidance: 10.5 years from 20 January 2027. Earlier RightShip publications giving 10 years from 1 January 2027 are superseded. 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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- European Parliament Backs Delay to Methane Obligations on Energy Imports
- RightShip Rev 4.0: general cargo added, 'unknown' ship records on the platform rated Unacceptable
- EU ETS for ships of 400 to 5,000 GT: what the Commission proposed, which ships, which dates