LNG carrier alongside during a night-time ship-to-ship transfer

Policy & standards

The safety, quality and environmental commitments that govern every operation we attend, and the international standards we conduct them to.

Our commitment

Safety is not a procedure. It is the whole job.

A Ship-to-Ship transfer puts two loaded vessels alongside each other at sea. Everything we do — planning, risk assessment, on-site supervision and reporting — exists to make that a controlled, predictable and fully compliant operation for every party involved.

Safety & HSE

No cargo movement is worth an injury, a spill or a damaged vessel. We hold an unambiguous stop-work standard: any person on either vessel may halt the operation at any moment, and the transfer does not resume until the condition is resolved.

Quality

Every operation follows the same disciplined sequence — technical meeting, written plan, risk assessment, checklist-controlled execution, and a complete written report on completion. Consistency is what makes an independent superintendent worth engaging.

Environment

Zero spill is the only acceptable outcome. Hose and manifold integrity, drip trays, pre-agreed emergency shutdown procedures and continuous monitoring throughout the transfer are treated as non-negotiable, not as paperwork.

The framework

Standards every operation is conducted to.

OCIMF & ICS

The Ship to Ship Transfer Guide for Petroleum, Chemicals and Liquefied Gases is the working baseline for planning, mooring, fendering and transfer control on every job.

SIGTTO

SIGTTO recommendations govern our LNG and LPG practice — compatibility, manifold arrangements, ESD philosophy and cryogenic transfer discipline.

ISGOTT & MEG4

ISGOTT for tanker safety and the ship/shore interface; OCIMF MEG4 for mooring analysis, line management and safe mooring practice alongside.

IMO framework

SOLAS, MARPOL Annex I Chapter 8 STS requirements and the ISM Code, applied together with the flag state, terminal and charterer matrices that apply to the specific transfer.

Policy statement

Health, safety & security policy

Geomar STS attends Ship-to-Ship operations as an independent superintendent. Our authority on site is advisory to the Masters of the vessels involved, and we exercise it with one priority above all others: that every person, vessel and cargo leaves the operation as safely as it arrived.

Every operation begins with a documented technical meeting and a written transfer plan agreed by both vessels.
A formal risk assessment is completed before any approach, covering weather limits, traffic, mooring arrangement, fendering, ESD and emergency unmooring.
Industry-standard checklists are completed and signed at each stage — before approach, before connection, before transfer and before disconnection.
Stop-work authority is unconditional and belongs to every person on either vessel.
Operations are suspended when conditions exceed the agreed limits, without commercial pressure entering the decision.

Quality policy

We are engaged because owners, charterers and terminals need a transfer to be conducted the same disciplined way every time, and to be able to evidence it afterwards.

One consistent operational sequence: enquiry and technical meeting, planning and risk assessment, on-site supervision, written report.
Superintendents are Master Mariners with direct command experience on the vessel types they attend.
Every operation is closed out with a complete, transparent report covering timings, conditions, deviations and any observations raised.
Client feedback and lessons learned from each attendance are carried into the planning of the next.

Environmental policy

Ship-to-Ship transfer of LNG, LPG and oil cargoes carries an inherent pollution risk. We treat the prevention of that risk as a core operational duty, not a compliance exercise.

Zero spill and zero release is the standard for every operation we attend.
Hose, manifold and connection integrity is verified before transfer and monitored throughout.
Emergency shutdown and emergency unmooring procedures are agreed, briefed and tested before cargo moves.
Operations are conducted in line with MARPOL requirements and the environmental conditions of the terminal, port or offshore location involved.

Independence

Geomar STS is an independent superintendency. We are not owned by, and do not act as agent for, any vessel operator, terminal or trader involved in the operations we attend. Our advice on site is given on operational and safety grounds alone.

Competency

Our superintendents hold Master Mariner Certificates of Competency, LNG Person in Overall Advisory Control (POAC) standing and STS Superintendent qualification, supported by the tanker and gas carrier endorsements required for the cargoes attended. Certificates and supporting documentation are provided to clients on request as part of the vetting process.

Documentation

The full policy documents, superintendent certificates and sample operational reports are available to owners, charterers, terminals and vetting departments on request. Contact us and we will send them directly.

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