OCIMF Refreshes Mission at London Event, Widens Outreach

OCIMF Day Marks Brand Refresh

According to OCIMF’s Members’ News Issue 159, the organisation used OCIMF Day in London on 20 May 2026 to launch a refreshed mission, scope and visual branding. More than 90 attendees, including members and industry partners, gathered at the Institute for Engineering and Technology to hear the outcome of the review process.

OCIMF Director Karen Davis wrote in her Director’s Log that the project began with a question about how the organisation stays relevant as the industry evolves. She said feedback from members and stakeholders consistently described OCIMF as “a trusted collaborator” that brings members and industry together to build shared operational understanding. The resulting mission statement is: “United in purpose to drive maritime safety in the energy sector.”

Executive Committee members Heidi Aakre of Equinor and Dr. Waddah Ghanem of ENOC offered perspectives on the revised mission during the event. Davis and Engineering Adviser Alexys Nielsen also joined a panel, moderated by Human Factors Adviser Maartje Wibrew-Forster, discussing human factors drawn from their own sailing experience as Master and Chief Engineer. Additional panel sessions covered Offshore Operations and the Programmes Modernisation Project.

Inspector Training and Industry Engagement

OCIMF Quality Assessor Jenny Long presented on ethics, compliance and inspection submission practices at BP’s CAT 3 SIRE Inspector Conference in Houston on 12 May, which focused on consistency and quality in inland barge inspections.

At OTC Houston (4–7 May), OCIMF shared exhibition space with publisher Witherbys, represented by Offshore Adviser Christopher Holland and Publications and Advocacy Director Darron L. Biddle. OCIMF thanked representatives from bp, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell, Woodside Energy and TotalEnergies for supporting the event. A related OVID User Forum was held in Houston on 7 May, covering publication updates, survey results and inspection statistics, with further sessions planned in southeast Asia later in 2026.

Regional and Port Sector Developments

Nautical Adviser Javed Bhombal attended the 20th Singapore Maritime Week, where discussions centred on geopolitical fragmentation, the dual transition to digitalisation and low-carbon energy, and regulatory gaps around alternative fuels. Bhombal also attended IAPH Technical Committee Days in Singapore (22–24 April), where port experts discussed cybersecurity threats, digitalisation, decarbonisation progress and infrastructure resilience.

OCIMF’s newsletter also noted the release of its Annual Report 2026, though further details were not included in the excerpt provided.

Apeks view — Behind the rebrand, the substantive thread here is consistency: inspector training on ethics and submission practices, forum discussions on inspection statistics, and renewed emphasis on shared operational understanding across members. For owners and technical managers, what matters isn’t the new mission statement but whether inspection quality and data consistency across SIRE and OVID programmes actually improve. Industry collaboration is only useful when it translates into more reliable, comparable evidence at the vessel level.