Issue 14

"In addition to a contemporary look and feel the new site is optimised to run quickly and efficiently delivering the information required in a user friendly format."

Director’s Log

April 2014 will be remembered as a milestone for OCIMF. It is the month when the three and a half year project to create a Maritime Trade Information Sharing Centre for the Gulf of Guinea (MTISC-GoG) moved from design and construction into operation.

The centre is based in the grounds of the Regional Maritime University, near Accra in Ghana, and is staffed by watchkeepers from the Liberia Maritime Authority, Togo Navy, Tullow Oil, Nigeria LNG and Ghana Navy. The officer in charge of MTISC-GoG is Lt Cdr Kpetigo of the Ghana Navy who is also assisted by an experienced MNLO from Shell. The centre has been manned since mid-April and operational capability will build as experience is gained. The centre, the only one in the Gulf of Guinea region with the safety of seafarers as its core mission is currently, receiving between 20 and 40 reports from shipping each day.

April also saw the OCIMF regional panel programme expand to the Americas with a meeting held in conjunction with the Offshore Marine Committee in Houston Texas, for more read our regional champion Luciano Maldonado’s (Petrobras) account below.

Have you seen the new Marine Terminal Information System (MTIS) website (http://www.ocimf-mtis.org/)? MTIS is the first of the OCIMF websites to undergo modernisation. In addition to a contemporary look and feel the new site is optimised to run quickly and efficiently delivering the information required in a user friendly format.

We have also updated the version of the Seamanship Library available to SIRE and OVID Inspectors adding new titles to the comprehensive library which provides a ready reference to our inspectors and assists with maintaining up to the minute knowledge of industry regulation and best practice guidance.

I do hope you enjoy the April edition of the OCIMF newsletter.

Captain David Cotterell

We'd love to hear more from our members - you can submit news and/or photos to be included in the newsletter by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

The Maritime Trade Information Sharing Centre within the Gulf of Guinea region

Following the successful short term trial in February 2013, the Pilot Project of the Maritime Trade Information Sharing Centre within the Gulf of Guinea region (MTISC-GoG) began in March 2014.

The Centre originally used for the trial (based in the grounds of the Regional Maritime University in Accra, Ghana) has now been renovated and provided with a standby generator high speed internet connection.

The first MTISC watchkeeping team came together and began a three week training course in mid-March. The team is formed of an Officer in Charge from the Ghana Navy, a Merchant Navy Liaison Officer seconded from Shell (with recent experience of UKMTO), a Second in Charge from the Sierra Leone Navy and a six person watchkeeping team made up of representatives from Liberia Maritime Authority, Togo Navy, Tullow Oil, Nigeria LNG and Ghana Navy.

Following training and a series of practical exercises MTISC-GoG then took a central role in the US AFRICOM organised Exercise “OBANGAME EXPRESS 2014” in April, which enabled the Centre to work with seven other navies in the region.

The MTISC GoG Centre is now open and is manned 24-hours a day. To ensure that the watchkeeping team was given a gradual introduction and were not overwhelmed only a small number of OCIMF member companies were requested to begin using the voluntary reporting scheme. The number of ships reporting to the Centre is gradually increasing with the publication of the Maritime Security Chart whilst the Centre is working towards achieving its Initial Operating Capability.

Further updates will follow.

Americas Regional Panel

The first Americas Region Panel met on the 17 April in Houston Texas following the Offshore Marine Committee meetings held earlier that week.

Director David Cotterell and Offshore Marine Committee Chairman Mark Newby (BG) greeted the attendees and led a presentation on current and planned OCIMF activities.

Regional Champion Luciano Maldonado (Petrobras) led the panel and close to 70 participants in a session to highlight and prioritise the issues of the Americas Region.

Discussions ranged from recent Bridge/Pilot interface issues resulting incidents to maintaining regional presence in Latin America. Issues raised that fall within the OCIMF mission will be passed to the principal committees to be assessed, prioritised and added either to the global or regional work programme.

The afternoon sessions allowed the three work streams (ship, terminal, and offshore) to work in more detail on the issues facing members in the region.

For more information on regional panels, or to see when the next panel will held in your region, click here.

A word from the regional champion

The first Americas Regional Panel was a great start. OCIMF members in the region have two main aspirations:

• To maintain and enhance the alignment of interests between Latin and North Americas.
• To increase the capacity of capturing regional issues beyond Terminal, covering Offshore and Shipping issues.

“At the first regional panel nearly 100 professionals, encouraged by OCIMF, were given the opportunity to raise and discuss operational safety in the Oil Industry. And from now on, it will depend on each one of us to make this first panel just the beginning of an era of hard work, producing and beneficial results for the entire industry and consequently for the entire planet.

“Thank-you in advance - to members, sympathisers and collaborators - for supporting the creation and the work of the Americas Regional Panel, which from now on offers itself to be the place available for the regional level issues discussion related to ports and terminals, shipping and offshore.”

Luciano Maldonado, Petrobras.

Regional champion, Americas.

Marine Terminal Information System

In April the Marine Terminal Information System (MTIS) website became the first of the OCIMF websites to undergo a transformation.

The new look site has been optimised to run faster, is much more up-to-date, and also incorporates some new features.

The most notable of these is the terminal map. This shows an approximate location of all the marine terminals that we have been able to identify globally; for those that are not yet in MTIS, the icon will show in green, while the blue and purple pins represent those who have completed a Marine Terminal Particulars Questionnaire (MTPQ) or Marine Terminal Management and Self-Assessment document, respectively. If you click on the pins of a terminal that is in MTIS, you can view the details by clicking on the View Terminal in MTIS link - you will then be prompted to enter your login credentials, if you are not already logged in.

New how-to guides have been uploaded on to the Resources link of the MTIS website, which will expand on all of the new features that have been introduced, and to provide information on how to register, how to populate your MTPQ / MTMSA and so on. Please go to the website for full details. We have also updated the FAQ’s section, which should answer any of your common questions.

For any further questions that you may have relating to MTIS, after reading the site, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or you can call our OCIMF Programme helpdesk +44 (0) 20 7654 1200.

Marine Terminal Information System Focus Group

The Marine Terminal Information System Focus Group met in our London offices on the 2-3 April 2014.

China focus group

The China Focus Group held its 20th meeting in Shanghai on the 25 March 2014 and a new Chairman, Mr Zhu Xiaoheng (CNOOC) was elected.

Among the topics discussed were the translation of OCIMF publications into Mandarin, and future workshops to support maritime China.

Seamanship Library SIRE OVID gets an upgrade

SIRE and OVID Inspectors, who already have a subscription to the Witherby Seamanship ‘Seamanship Library OVID or SIRE’ product, are to receive access to additional maritime publications as part of the ongoing service.

After careful consideration the following titles (see the table below) have been added to the already extensive list of IMO, OCIMF and Witherby Seamanship titles available.

The new updated content will be released to all subscription holders with the next update, due to be released at the end of April.

For the full contents listing or to subscribe to either product please click here.