We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. -- Aristotle

Transcription

1 We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. -- Aristotle

2 CORPORATE HISTORY International Marine Consultants (IMC) was founded in 1980 for the purposes of providing comprehensive management and consulting services to oil companies, marketing and refining businesses, ship owners and operators, charterers, financiers, and a myriad of other marine related organizations. In December of 1997, IMC ventured across the Atlantic Ocean and established a European office, trading as International Marine Consultants (UK). As well as expanding our area of operation, our presence in Europe affords us greater local knowledge and enables customers to appoint the same representative consultancy at both ends of an operation where appropriate. IMC achieved ISO 9002:1994 accreditation in February of As part of our process of continuous Quality development, we will shortly be updating to (ISO 9001:2000). IMC is a member of several professional organizations such as the American Petroleum Institute and Intertanko, thereby maintaining current on the latest industry developments. IMC maintains it s Corporate Offices in Syosset, New York. A well staffed regional office is located in Houston, TX. IMC s Technical staff is positioned in the major ports along the US East and Gulf. In addition to our US presence our European office has personnel that are well placed for the coverage of vessels within Europe, the Baltic States and Middle / Far East regions. Each IMC office is staffed with sufficient personnel during business hours to handle any customer inquiry. Additionally, all customers are provided with a single telephone number for 24 hour, around the clock communication with Managers and Technical Personnel. Response time to critical inquiries, both during and after business hours, is assured through IMC s unique setup and organization. As a full service Marine Consulting and Technical Services company IMC specializes in providing its clientele with experienced and qualified consultants to attend vessels and facilities worldwide to troubleshoot and resolve problems. IMC has been especially successful in placing personnel in remote locations for extended periods to oversee and supervise various clients operations. For over twenty three years, IMC has continued to develop and expand those services that enhance each customer s position and objectives. Page 2

3 REPRESENTATIVE SERVICES Petroleum Loss Prevention, Control and Expediting Services Surveillance and Attendance Vessel Expediting Demurrage Analysis and Claims Assistance Vessel Performance Analysis Cargo Transfer Supervision Port Captain and Superintendent Services Round-the-Clock Oversight of Cargo Transfers Supervision and Coordination of Tank Clearing Pre-Loading Tank Inspections Stowage and Stability Planning Oil Spill Prevention and Audit Services Plan Development Vessel and Terminal Audits Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures Operations Safety Marine Investigation and Legal Assistance Claims Investigation Expert Witness Petroleum Inspection Services Bonded / U.S. Customs Approved Surveyors / Inspectors Other Surveys / Miscellaneous Services Qualitative Risk Assessment, Root Cause Analysis (in partnership with Stratos LLC). Condition, Pre-Purchase and Pre-Charter Surveys Vessel Screening and Approval for Terminals Ship Vetting Marine Casualty and Damage Surveys Bunker Surveys On-Hire and Off-Hire Surveys Draft Surveys Data / Information Coalition / Database Development Contract Demurrage and Loss Control Claims Management Flag State Investigations / Surveys / Inspections / Documentation Appointed Nautical Inspectors for Bahamas Maritime Authority Page 3

4 LOCATIONS AND CONTACT INFORMATION UNITED STATES Company Headquarters 6800 Jericho Turnpike Suite 118 E Syosset, New York Contact: John O Connor Tel: (800) (24 hours) Tel: (516) (24 hours) Fax: (516) [email protected] Gulf Coast Regional Office 3601 Allen Parkway Suite 37 Houston, Texas Contact: Clinton Wolfe Tel: (800) (24 hours) Tel: (713) (24 hours) Fax: (713) [email protected] UNITED KINGDOM Headquarters Horsebridge Mill Horsebridge Hants, SO20 6PX Contact: Stuart Vallis Tel: [44] (179) (24 hours) Fax: [44] (179) [email protected] Page 4

5 KEY PERSONNEL John O Connor Professional Qualifications State University of New York, Maritime College - BS, Marine Transportation U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point - Diesel Ship Automation and Control Seaman s Church Institute - Maritime Law American Petroleum Institute - Member of Committee on Measurement Accountability The Bahamas Maritime Authority - Appointed Nautical Inspector Marine Qualifications U.S. Coast Guard Licensed Chief Officer of Unlimited Tonnage Steam and Motor Vessels Lead Auditor - Quality Systems Details of Experience Twenty Three (23) years in marine operations and surveying, including extensive seagoing experience on tank vessels including crude, product and chemical tankers. Experienced Marine Surveyor for Petroleum and Dry Bulk Cargoes. Contributing Author for the revised publication entitled Tanker Operations: A Handbook for the Person-In-Charge (PIC), Fourth Edition, 2001 Marine Consultant to Investor Group developing a bulk (coal) transshipment facility for the Port of New York. Liaison with local labor unions, Government Regulators, EPA, Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, and Pilots. Developed Vessel Response and Shore Based Contingency Plans for US based ship operator. Developed and implemented training, observation and reporting requirements for contracted personnel responsible for administering an EPA program for the offshore monitoring of the disposal of municipal sewage sludge. Coordinated improvement of Operational Procedures and development of Terminal Manuals for Major East Coast Utility. Revision of Petroleum Inspection Guidelines for Gulf Coast refining company. Developed Recommendations for Minimum Qualifications and Training requirements for Vetting and Inspection Personnel for Gulf Coast refining company. Assisted Gulf Coast refining company with review and changes to Best Practices involving Petroleum Measurement and Sampling Procedures. Database development and implementation for a US based Oil Major to track vetting, petroleum inspection and other pertinent information. Page 5

6 KEY PERSONNEL Stuart Vallis Professional Qualifications Certified Lead Assessor of Quality Systems for both ISO and the ISM Code. Marine Qualifications Certified Chief Officer, UK License with Dangerous Cargo Endorsements (Chemical, Petroleum Products), with substantial marine and cargo surveying, vessel vetting and petroleum loss control experience. Details of Experience Editing and compiling technical reports concerned with all matters pertaining to the marine oil industry, but predominantly involving loss control, vessel inspection, vetting and auditing, expediting and P & I appointments. Experienced at preparing reports for arbitration. Provides independent, expert marine advice and assistance in all aspects of marine technical operations, safety and dispute. Interfacing with industry contacts including daily involvement with ship owners, charterers, cargo owners and P&I, legal and insurance services. Safety operations co-ordination for a major UK oil refinery Vessel vetting inspections for oil major and preparation of vessel audit reports. P&I claims administration and preparation of reports prior to litigation for cargo contaminations and collision investigations. Auditing major Canadian oil refinery and writing of marine policy thereafter. Loading Master and Port Captain duties offshore at Dubai for a series of lightering and fuel oil blending operations. Experience as an independent cargo inspector for a major European inspection company. Responsible for attending vessels, quantity and quality determination of crude oil and various petroleum products. Drafting detailed reports for each operation. Carrying out critical analysis in laboratory on samples drawn from shore tanks and vessels compartments. Development and program preparation for the maintenance and administration of a proprietary database covering Chemical Distribution Institute (CDI) and Ship Inspection Report Exchange (SIRE) inspections of marine vessels. This program provided for the necessary technical expertise to evaluate inspection reports and coordinate and administer approximately 350 CDI inspections, 150 SIRE inspections and 50 other worldwide inspections on an annual basis. The program also included downloading CDI and SIRE reports into the client s database and then updating these reports with information obtained from new inspections and port state casualty and detention lists. Page 6

7 THE BENEFITS OF FIELD ATTENDANCE Actual Attendance and Actions by IMC Representatives 1 Suggested Movement of Vessel While attending a VLCC lightering at the Southwest Pass lightering area, it was discovered by IMC s Representative that the final lighter vessel would be at least thirty-six hours late in arriving at the lightering position. Subsequent investigation via cellular telephone revealed that the service vessel was in the Port Arthur area. It was also known that the service vessel would eventually discharge at Baytown, Texas. IMC s Representative suggested, and the customer concurred, that the STBL (ship to be lightered) should be moved to Sabine Pass, thereby saving at least seventy-five (75) hours of demurrage between the two vessels. $75, USD (@ $1,000.00/Hour) Page 7

8 2 Coordination of Free Water Distribution (Offshore) Upon completion of the OBQ survey of the first lighter vessel, inspection of the vessel s calibration tables by IMC s representative revealed unfavorable increments and/or spacing of bottom innage quantities, in addition to the absence of an absolute bottom gauge in the cargo tanks. As such, the delivery of free water was minimized to this vessel in order to reduce the customer s exposure to free water deductions at the eventual discharge port. On the same movement, free water delivery was also minimized to another vessel reportedly headed for a terminal employing an in-line sampler, where large quantities of free water can and do adversely inflate automatic sampler S&W content. Both actions prevented overstatement of free water and S&W content at the outturn terminals. All lighter vessels were for the account of the customer. $24, USD (@$20,000.00/Barrel) Page 8

9 3 Witnessed/Corrected Poor Sampling Technique A crude oil custody transfer took place at a particular terminal where NSV outturn was agreed to be based upon TCV shore tank receipts, less deductions for vessel s arrival free water and S&W content of the vessel s composite sample. Careful monitoring of the sampling process by IMC s Representative revealed that the independent inspector (inexperienced and untrained) was incorrectly sampling the tanks. In the inspector s haste to obtain cargo samples and leave the terminal, he was observed to be sampling free water from the absolute tank bottom when taking running average samples. The resulting vessel composite sample would have produced disastrous and accordingly grossly inflated S&W content when analyzed. The lead inspector was informed, and a carefully measured sampling line was provided, preventing sampling of absolute tank bottoms. A new vessel composite was formulated. Not Quantifiable; But Significant Page 9

10 3 Coordination/Monitor Stripping Operations Twenty-Four (24) hour, around the clock attendance by IMC s Representative includes constant oversight of stripping operations. In one particular case, stripping was deemed to have been completed by the vessel s staff, but not to our representative s satisfaction. Additional ballast was added aft, to increase the vessel s stern trim. The tanks were restripped via the eductor, with our representative witnessing each tank innage, as well as the performance of the pumps. Following completion of the discharge, the VLCC declined to strip its lines adequately. Under the threat of refusal to release the vessel and a Letter of Protest, the vessel complied. The entire process was observed and monitored closely by our representative. SAVINGS: (Restrip Vessel) $8, $20.00/BBL. SAVINGS: (Line Stripping) $6, $20.00/BBL. $14, USD Page 10

11 5 Testing Calibration of Portable Electronic Thermometer IMC Representatives insist, prior to every custody transfer, that the inspector s Portable Electronic Thermometer (PET) be verified as accurate versus a laboratory standard. Errors in cargo temperature can adversely affect the customer s position. In one particular instance, our representative noted an error of three degrees Fahrenheit (3 o F); this translated into a potential measurement error of 650 GSV barrels for a typical crude oil parcel of 500,000 barrels at 25.0 API Gravity. $13, USD (@ $20.00/Barrel). Page 11

12 6 Precise Documentation of Line Displacement Losses Line displacements intended to prove the condition of the terminal transfer piping are worthless unless properly documented. There are many reasons for apparent line displacement losses, not the least of which is poor measurement. During a recent attendance, IMC s Representative insisted that the independent inspector issue a complete ullage report for the vessel after completion of the line displacement. A displacement loss of some 700 barrels was recorded, and accordingly, IMC s Representative ordered that the entire vessel be resurveyed to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that the cargo had not migrated into another space on the vessel. On the strength of this documentation, the supplier (our customer) received the benefit of the apparent line discrepancy added back to the outturn quantity. $14, USD (@ $20.00/Barrel). Page 12

13 7 Investigate/Document Irregularity During Transfer IMC was in attendance during a crude oil custody transfer where an apparent ship-toshore loss of approximately 3,000 barrels was experienced. Subsequent investigations by IMC of terminal inventory records indicated that one of the receiving tanks was active or live during a period which was intended to be a settling period before measurement. The subject tank, with a capacity of approximately 500,000 barrels, lost one and one-half (1-1/2 ) inches or the equivalent of 2,500 barrels during this period. Although the terminal later tried to deny that this had occurred, IMC was able to support the supplier s case by insisting that the independent inspector document same at the time of the discovery. As a result, VEF corrected ship quantities were agreed upon as the basis for outturn reconciliation. $50, USD (@ $20.00/Barrel). Page 13