CDI, OCIMF and INTERTANKO have developed guidance aimed at reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission during inspections.
Inspections play a key role in ensuring quality and managing risk exposure to all parts of the oil, gas and petrochemical industry. The aim of these guidelines is to help mitigate the risk of virus transmission during vessel inspections by implementing special precautions and minimising contact time between the inspector and the vessel staff during inspections.
Separate guidelines have been developed to address
(1) Precautions to be taken by the inspector and vessel`s crew during an inspection to minimise the risk of transmitting the virus; and,
(2) Guidelines to be followed for conducting physical inspections during COVID 19 to minimise the time an Inspector needs to spend on board a vessel and ensure that the vessel`s crew, the Operator and the Inspector are adequately prepared.

1. Temporary Covid-19 precautions during an Inspection
This document outlines the measures to be taken by Programme Participants when conducting OCIMF Programme Inspections or CDI Inspections/audit programmes onboard vessels, at terminals or logistic service provider sites to protect inspectors, crew and terminal staff from the transmission of Covid-19.
It should be recognised that while the precautions outlined in these guidelines may reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission, they will not eliminate the risk to the crew or inspector of being infected and subsequently transmitting the virus. The precautions recommended in this document are aligned with current World Health Organization (WHO) Covid-19 precautions.
These guidelines should be adopted by all stakeholders at the earliest opportunity and can be accessed here

2. Temporary guidelines for conducting a vessel inspection during Covid-19
These guidelines will help facilitate CDI-Marine or OCIMF Programme inspections during the Covid-19 outbreak. They are intended to minimise the time an Inspector is required to spend onboard a vessel, while also ensuring that the vessel`s crew, the Operator and the Inspector are adequately prepared for the inspection.
The remote review of documentation will take effect from Thursday, 11 June 2020 and can be accessed here

Rob Drysdale, Director of OCIMF stated:
"I`m very pleased that in these difficult times of COVID-19 pandemic, we have been able to collaborate with industry partners and agree on procedures for ensuring reduced personal risk to crew and inspectors alike. This collaboration is a demonstration of OCIMF`s continued efforts to deliver our vision of a global marine industry that causes no harm to people or the environment."

Howard Snaith, General Manager of CDI stated:
"CDI recognises the importance of ensuring the safe continuity of the chemical/gas/petroleum and petrochemical supply chains in an effort to safely maintain the continual global supply of goods and services. The safe supply of chemicals enables the provision of countless products that are needed in the fight against Covid-19, to support life-saving medical care, including personal protective equipment (PPE) for front line health workers; chemical biocides and disinfectants, plastic products that help prevent contamination of food, medicine, and for personal care and medical products. The collaboration with industry colleagues in producing these temporary guidelines is therefore a great achievement"

Katharina Stanzel, Managing Director of INTERTANKO said:
"During these difficult times we need to do everything possible to protect our seafarers and those that interact with them. Working with our industry partners to adjust how we do things and develop these guidelines has been a top priority. Through the implementation of these guidelines, the risk of exposure can be mitigated and greater protection afforded to all, whilst as a bonus also reducing the administrative burden during the inspection. I would not be surprised if the work we have done to review and improve how we operate will not only save lives, but improve our operations permanently going forward. We rely upon the professionalism of seafarers for the safety of our entire industry and right now more than ever they need to be able to rely on us for their own safety too."

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