What is OCIMF (Oil Companies International Marine Forum ) ?

What is OCIMF ?

The Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) is a voluntary association of oil companies with an interest in the shipment and terminalling of crude oil, oil products, petrochemicals and gas.

OCIMF was formed in April 1970 in response to the growing public concern about marine pollution, particularly by oil, after the Torrey Canyon incident in 1967.

In the early 1970s, a variety of anti-pollution initiatives were starting to emerge nationally, regionally and internationally, but with little coordination. Through OCIMF, the oil industry was able to play a stronger, coordinating role in response to these initiatives, making its professional expertise widely available through cooperation with governments and intergovernmental bodies.

OCIMF was granted consultative status at the IMO in 1971 and continues to present oil industry views at IMO meetings. Since then, its role has broadened to take account the changing maritime activities of its membership. Its remit now covers tankers, barges, offshore support vessels and terminals and its advice extends to issues like shipping in ice and large-scale piracy, which rarely troubled the oil industry when OCIMF was first created in the 1970s.

The current membership of OCIMF comprises 112 companies worldwide.

OCIMF's mission is to be the foremost authority on the safe and environmentally responsible operation of oil tankers and terminals, promoting continuous improvement in standards of design and operation.

Governments had reacted to this incident by debating the development of international conventions and national legislation and the oil industry sought to play its part by making its professional expertise available and its views known to governmental and inter-governmental bodies. The role of OCIMF has broadened over the intervening period. Most recently the organisation has contributed to the EU discussion on tanker safety and the draft EU Directive on Environmental Liability, and has provided support to the European Union (EU) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) debate on the accelerated phasing out of single-hull tankers and on the carriage of heavy grades of oil.

Today, OCIMF is widely recognised as the voice of the oil industry providing expertise in the safe and environmentally responsible transport and handling of hydrocarbons in ships and terminals and setting standards for continuous improvement. Membership is extensive and includes every oil major in the world along with the majority of National Oil Companies.

OCIMF has much to be proud of. Not only has it contributed to a substantial quantity of regulation at the IMO aimed at improving the safety of tankers and protecting the environment, but it has introduced important new guidance on pressing current issues such as piracy and Arctic shipping. With the process of introducing new Internationally-accepted regulation necessarily slow as it crosses many individual countries and jurisdictions, OCIMF is in the unique position of being able to leverage the expertise of its membership to press ahead with much needed guidance on important industry issues. This provides the means to improve practices in the membership and in the wider industry, and serves as a valuable reference for developing regulation.

The officers of OCIMF comprise a Chairman and three Vice-Chairmen, all of whom are elected at the Annual General Meeting of OCIMF member companies. A committee structure with the Executive Committee at its head and three senior standing committees reporting to it was established. The senior standing committees may establish Sub-Committees or Forums as necessary.

The Executive Committee is the senior policymaking Committee of OCIMF. The membership of the Executive Committee is limited to a maximum of 15 members plus the Chairman and Vice Chairmen who are ex officio members. Members of the Executive Committee are elected at the Annual General Meeting. 

In addition to its extensive publications library, OCIMF has a rich portfolio of tools including its Ship Inspection Report (SIRE) programme and Tanker Management and Self Assessment tool (TMSA), both of which have gained worldwide recognition and acceptance. 

A full-time Director is in charge of a small permanent Secretariat located in London. This Secretariat comprises full-time employees and technical staff seconded from member companies.

The work of OCIMF is carried out through four main Committees (General Purposes Committee (GPC), Ports and Terminals Committee, Offshore Marine Committee and the Legal Committee. Sub-Committees, Forums, work groups and task forces composed of members' representatives and assisted by the Secretariat.

OCIMF has developed the MTIS system with the aim of filling the gaps that exist in the international standards for terminals and also that would complement the similar work already being done by OCIMF and its members to improve ship safety and environmental protection.

MTIS is a strictly voluntary programme, run by OCIMF for the benefit of its members and to protect the marine environment.

This programme includes the development of a consolidated safety system embracing the physical properties of the terminals, management systems and operator training.

OCIMF’s trusted, neutral and fully independent status within the global industry is essential to capturing and sharing information and best practice aimed at raising standards of safety and environmental protection.

Members’ commitment to transparency and willingness to exchange technical knowledge and practical experience will drive a number of benefits from the OCIMF Marine Terminal Information System, which include:

Higher safety standards, which will lead to fewer incidents – which in turn will feed back over time into lower insurance costs
Improved operational efficiency through better matching of terminals and ships
Improved effectiveness and efficiency, with better dissemination of terminal Information
A rigorous, self-assessment and review based approach to the continuous improvement of safety management
Better trained and motivated staff
A secure process that is owned and managed by the terminal operators who retain full control over their data.

Specifically, the consolidated system embraces:

Marine Terminal Particulars Questionnaire (MTPQ)
Marine Terminal Management and Self-Assessment (MTMSA)
Marine Terminal Operator Competence & Training (MTOCT)

Marine Terminal Particulars Questionnaire (MTPQ)
The ultimate aim is to compile a comprehensive database of relevant information for all of the world’s 3,500+ terminals – from the hardware available, to berth measurements and transfer rates. The Marine Terminal Particulars Questionnaire (MTPQ) was developed to collect this information in a common format using consistent units of measurement. By comparing the information generated by the MTPQ with SIRE vessel data, vessel programmers, schedulers and operators will be better able to assess the compatibility of ships and terminals and ensure safe operation and environmental protection.

MTIS MTPQ was launched October 2011 and is being completed by more and more terminals each week.

Marine Terminal Management and Self Assessment (MTMSA)
OCIMF members have found the Tanker Management and Self-Assessment (TMSA) guide a very practical and valuable tool for driving up safety standards and encouraging continuous improvement – some 90% of tanker operators use it, including all the oil majors. As a result, OCIMF has revised, updated and improved its existing Marine Terminal Baseline Criteria publication to make it consistent with the TMSA format. This was published in September 2012, and is called the Marine Terminal Management and Self-Assessment (MTMSA); the old Marine Terminal Baseline Criteria will be gradually phased out and replaced with this new tool.

MTMSA provides the best practice and key performance indicators against which terminal operators can assess the effectiveness of their management systems for berth operations and the ship to shore interface. With a self-assessment culture at the heart of OCIMF’s approach, members can use the MTMSA guide to develop their own internal review methodology. They can then use the internal review results to continuously improve their safety and environmental performance and to identify and share best practice around their terminal network.

Marine Terminal Operator Competencies and Training (MTOCT)
The Marine Terminal Operator Competencies and Training (MTOCT) aims to identify key competences and knowledge requirements, together with appropriate verification processes, to help members develop or commission their own terminal operator training programmes to ensure that personnel working on the ship/shore interface have the required skills and competence. OCIMF spent three years reviewing and updating OCIMF Marine Terminal Training and Competence Assessment Guidelines and the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators (SIGTTO) Suggested Competence Standards, to create the MTOCT manual and database. This allows a terminal operator to install the MTOCT database and then fully customise it to meet their own requirements.

OCIMF is not a training organisation, but this is a good example of how it can bring together and share best practice from its members and elsewhere to provide guidance on personnel training, which can in turn improve safety and environmental protection standards worldwide.

OCIMF’s committee structure comprises the Executive Committee at its head and four senior standing committees with the power to establish sub-committees or forums as necessary.

These committees are the drivers of all the change projects championed by OCIMF’s membership, from the development of OVID to the terminal review programme. Active participation in the various committees is one of the best ways for OCIMF members to influence policy development, share best practice and contribute to new standards promoting continuous improvement in the standards of design and operation of tankers, terminals and offshore support vessels.

The Executive Committee is the senior policymaking Committee of OCIMF.

The membership of the Executive Committee is limited to a maximum of 15 members plus the Chairman and Vice Chairmen who are ex officio members. Members of the Executive Committee are elected at the Annual General Meeting.

The function of the General Purposes Committee is to support the OCIMF vision and work to improve safety and environmental issues relating to the safe operation of tankers and prevention of pollution of the marine environment.

The purpose of the Ports and Terminals Committee is to support the OCIMF vision and work to improve safety and environmental issues at ports and terminals with particular reference to the ship and terminal interface.

The purpose of the Offshore Marine Committee is to support the OCIMF vision and work to improve safety and environmental issues in offshore theatres which member have an interest.

The purpose of the Legal Committee is to support the work of OCIMF.

The committee recommends the positions that OCIMF should adopt on relevant issues that are before, not only the IMO, but also the European Union and national governments, and provides special representation at IMO and governmental meetings to assist the Secretariat as necessary. It is responsible for reviewing subjects dealt with by the IMO Legal Committee and the IOPC Fund and its assemblies - including when requested, assisting in the preparation of OCIMF position papers.

The Committee also provides OCIMF with general and specific legal advice on a wide range of pollution and safety issues as well as working with other industry associations on similar issues. The Legal Committee also reviews all OCIMF publications, with respect to legal issues, prior to publication.

The day to day administration of OCIMF is carried out by a full time Secretariat of twenty three people who may be supplemented by personnel assigned temporarily by member companies at times of peak work load.

In addition to servicing the Executive Committee, the other standing committees and sub committees, the Secretariat also attend meetings of the IMO committees and sub committees.

The outcome of each IMO meeting is reported to either the Executive committee or other standing committee as appropriate. Enquiries for information and advice are generally dealt with by the Secretariat, with the advice of the membership where necessary.