To ensure the safety of life, cargo and the environment, companies chartering oil tankers screen vessels for compliance against safety and operational criteria. For major oil companies, this is carried out in conjunction with the Oil Companies International Maritime Forum (OCIMF). We recognise the importance of this process and ensure compliance through our onboard, more stringent, ship inspection process.

In 2004, OCIMF introduced the Tanker Management and Self Assessment (TMSA) programme. This is designed to enhance standards of safety and operational management in the tanker industry by requiring tanker operators to assess and rank their safety management systems against a comprehensive list of 12 performance areas established by OCIMF. BW Fleet Management's predecessor company in Singapore, BW Shipping Managers, began implementing similar procedures in 2001, and by the end of 2005 had safety and management processes in place to cover all of the operational elements of TMSA.

We have undertaken two further initiatives to provide assurance to charterers. First, we have invested in a hull integrity inspection and monitoring programme, supported by Det Norske Veritas (DNV). We have also worked with Lloyds Registry of Shipping to generate a computer model of each vessel as part of the Lloyds Registry of Shipping Ships Emergency Response System, or SERS. This model allows various response scenarios to be digitally explored in the event of an emergency.