Refresher Courses (SIRE)
SIRE Programme
A schedule of refresher courses for the SIRE Cat-1 and Cat-3 programmes will begin on 4 February 2025.
All SIRE Category-1 inspectors due to undertake refresher courses in 2025 will be allocated a course by OCIMF.
Places will be allocated to ensure all existing SIRE Category-3 inspectors undertake their refresher courses as required by the current accreditation guidelines.
New Inspector Courses (SIRE)
SIRE Programme
SIRE Category-1: A training programme for new SIRE Category-1 inspectors has been scheduled for 2025 for applicants nominated by Submitting companies. A full list of courses for 2025 are provided in the attached appendix.
All applicants must be invited by submitting companies and nominations must be submitted to OCIMF via the electronic SIRE registration portal.
All applicant inspectors must complete SIRE 2.0 pre-course accompanied inspections as per the requirements by the current accreditation guidelines to be eligible to attend the training course.
SIRE Category-3: Training Courses for new SIRE Cat-3 inspectors in the North America Region have been scheduled for 2025. New SIRE Category-3 inspector training courses will be scheduled for Europe and South and Central America regions where a minimum number of applicants have been nominated by submitting companies.
Inspector Audits (Initial and Renewal)
SIRE Category-1 inspectors: OCIMF has suspended the requirement for existing inspectors to be assessed during physical inspections. An alternate process is being used to review and continuously improve the performance of existing inspectors. These inspector performance reviews will continue to be carried out by OCIMF and will be prioritised according to the original accreditation expiry date for each inspector.
SIRE Category-3 inspectors: The audited inspection process for SIRE Category-3 inspectors does not change. Renewal audits for SIRE Category-3 inspectors in North America (NA), South and Central America (SACA) and Europe will continue to follow the requirements in the current accreditation guidelines once they are restarted.
Initial audit:
SIRE Category-1 inspectors: Applicant inspectors will be required to successfully undergo an initial audited inspection during a physical SIRE Cat-1 inspection to gain their accreditation.
SIRE Category-3 inspectors: The audited inspection process for SIRE Category-3 inspectors does not change. SIRE Category-3 inspectors in NA, SACA and Europe will be required to undertake an initial audit following the requirements in the current accreditation guidelines.
Accreditation Expiry Dates
SIRE Category-1 inspectors: Accreditation expiry dates for all SIRE Category-1 inspectors have been aligned with the inspectors’ original dates of expiry. All SIRE Category-1 inspectors will be issued with virtual ID cards on their inspection tablets.
SIRE Category-3 inspectors: There are no changes to the inspector accreditations and updated inspector ID cards will be sent out in all cases.
ECDIS Training (SIRE Cat-1)
All existing SIRE Category-1 inspectors are required to have undertaken a one-day ECDIS training course for inspectors.
Accredited inspectors that have not yet undertaken this course will be allocated to a course and will be notified accordingly.
Travel
Any candidate travelling for SIRE/OVID new inspector courses will be required to take into consideration all costs of travel and/or accommodation and should comply with all applicable local, national, or international health and safety requirements when travelling.
Applications
Applications for new inspector courses should be submitted at the earliest opportunity to allow sufficient time for logistics, such as the setup of venues, visa applications, accommodation, and travel arrangements.
OCIMF will review courses up to three months before their start dates to determine whether a course will take place.
Cancellations
While every effort is made to ensure that courses are run as scheduled, OCIMF reserves the right to cancel published courses at any time. In such cases, OCIMF is not responsible for any costs related to travel or accommodation that may be incurred by candidates.
Queries:
