PSC vs RightShip RISQ vs SIRE 2.0
What's the Difference?

PSC, RightShip RISQ 3.2, and SIRE 2.0 are three different inspection regimes with three different purposes — and confusing them in your preparation is a costly mistake. PSC is a government inspection that can detain your vessel. RISQ 3.2 is a charterer-driven vetting for dry bulk vessels. SIRE 2.0 is OCIMF's tanker vetting standard used by oil majors worldwide. Same industry, very different rules.

They are not the same inspection with different names. They serve different purposes, are conducted by different people, and failing one has completely different consequences from failing another. Getting that wrong in your preparation costs you.

Here is a clear breakdown of all three.

The Short Version — At a Glance

Port State Control — The One You Cannot Avoid

PSC is a government inspection. The Port State Control Officer (PSCO) who boards your vessel works for the maritime authority of the country whose port you are in. He has the legal authority to detain your vessel if he finds it is not fit to proceed to sea. No charterer approval required. No advance notice required beyond what your port agent receives.

PSC is governed by 10 regional agreements called Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs). Paris MOU covers Europe and the North Atlantic. Tokyo MOU covers the Asia-Pacific. Indian Ocean MOU, Black Sea MOU, Mediterranean MOU, Riyadh MOU, Abuja MOU, Viña del Mar, Caribbean MOU, and the US Coast Guard regime cover the rest of the world. Each MOU maintains a database of inspection records. When a PSCO targets your vessel, he pulls your entire PSC history before he even boards.

What PSC checks against are the international conventions — SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW, MLC 2006, ISPS. These are minimum statutory requirements. A PSCO is not checking whether your vessel is well-run or commercially attractive. He is checking whether it is legal and safe to operate.

Which vessels get inspected? Targeting is risk-based. Your vessel's flag, classification society, age, type, and recent PSC history all feed into a risk score. High-risk vessels get inspected at every port call. Low-risk vessels may go months without an inspection. A detention resets your risk score to high and increases inspection frequency significantly.

RightShip RISQ 3.2 — The Dry Bulk World's Vetting Standard

RightShip is a private organisation, not a government body. It does not have the authority to detain your vessel. What it does have is the attention of major dry bulk charterers — BHP, Rio Tinto, Cargill, Glencore and many others rely on RightShip's assessment before approving vessels for their cargoes. A charterer requests a RISQ inspection before approving a voyage. If your RISQ score is poor, the vessel does not get the fixture.

RISQ 3.2, released November 2025, is the current version. It covers 17 sections and over 610 questions. A RightShip-approved inspector boards the vessel, works through every applicable question, and records a finding for every negative answer. The report goes to RightShip within 72 hours. The charterer sees it.

Unlike PSC, which checks statutory minimums, a RISQ inspector is assessing whether the vessel meets best practice standards — not just whether certificates are valid. He checks whether the SMS is genuinely implemented, whether the SEEMP reflects real voyage data, whether officer ECDIS training is type-specific. These go beyond what a PSCO will typically examine.

One detail that many managers miss: after the inspection, you have 15 days to submit a root cause analysis for every finding. RightShip evaluates the quality of your response. A generic one-line reply damages your overall assessment further. A well-reasoned root cause with genuine corrective and preventive actions works in your favour.

SIRE 2.0 — The Tanker Industry's Vetting Standard

SIRE stands for Ship Inspection Report Programme. It is managed by OCIMF — the Oil Companies International Marine Forum. If you operate tankers — oil, chemical, LPG, or LNG — SIRE is the inspection standard that your major charterers and oil company clients use to assess whether to put their cargo on your vessel.

SIRE 2.0 replaced the previous SIRE programme with a fundamentally redesigned questionnaire. The question library runs across 12 chapters in two parts — Part 1 covers Chapters 1 to 7 (711 pages), Part 2 covers Chapters 8 to 12 (579 pages). In total, that is 1,290 pages of inspection criteria. This is by a considerable margin the most detailed vetting questionnaire in shipping.

The 12 chapters cover:

• Chapter 1 — Vessel, Operator and Inspection Particulars
• Chapter 2 — Certification, Documentation and Management Oversight
• Chapter 3 — Crew Management
• Chapter 4 — Navigation and Communications
• Chapter 5 — Safety Management
• Chapter 6 — Pollution Prevention
• Chapter 7 — Maritime Security
• Chapter 8 — Cargo and Ballast Systems (tanker-type specific)
• Chapter 9 — Mooring and Anchoring
• Chapter 10 — Machinery Spaces
• Chapter 11 — General Appearance and Condition
• Chapter 12 — Ice Operations (where applicable)

Chapter 8 is where SIRE 2.0 separates itself most clearly from both PSC and RISQ. It covers cargo and ballast operations in detail specific to your vessel type — inert gas systems, cargo heating, vapour control, chemical cargo compatibility, LPG reliquefaction, LNG cargo systems. No general shipping questionnaire goes anywhere near this level of cargo-specific assessment.

The SIRE 2.0 inspection also uses the Harmonised Vessel Particulars Questionnaire (HVPQ) — data submitted by the operator before the inspection. The inspector cross-references everything on board against what was declared in the HVPQ. Discrepancies between what was declared and what is found on board are findings in themselves.

How They Compare — Side by Side

The Key Differences That Actually Matter in Practice

PSC can stop your vessel. RISQ and SIRE cannot.

A PSCO has legal authority to detain your vessel. A RightShip inspector and a SIRE inspector do not. They record findings and report them. The commercial consequence — a charterer refusing to use your vessel — can be just as damaging financially, but the mechanism is different. A PSC detention is immediate and public. A poor RISQ or SIRE score plays out over subsequent fixtures.

PSC checks minimums. RISQ and SIRE check beyond minimums.

A vessel can pass a PSC inspection with valid certificates and basic compliance — and still score poorly on RISQ or SIRE because its SMS is weak, its ECDIS training is not type-specific, or its superintendent visit records are not in order. PSC is the floor. RISQ and SIRE are a higher standard.

SIRE 2.0 is tanker-specific in a way nothing else is.

Chapter 8 of SIRE 2.0 goes into cargo operations at a level of detail that neither PSC nor RISQ approaches. Inert gas operations, cargo heating systems, vapour management, chemical cargo compatibility — these are assessed against OCIMF best practice standards, not just SOLAS requirements. If you operate tankers, SIRE 2.0 preparation requires a completely different approach from PSC or RISQ preparation.

Your PSC record affects your RISQ and SIRE inspections.

Before a RISQ inspector boards, he reviews your recent PSC history. Before a SIRE inspector boards, the HVPQ includes your last PSC inspection date and outcome. A recent PSC detention or multiple deficiencies puts both inspectors on alert before they step on deck. Your records across all three regimes are connected.

Which One Should You Prioritise?

The answer depends entirely on your vessel type and trading pattern.

If you operate dry bulk vessels trading with major charterers — RISQ preparation should be your primary focus. PSC compliance is the baseline you maintain continuously. RISQ is what determines whether you get the fixture.

If you operate tankers — SIRE 2.0 is your primary vetting standard. It is significantly more demanding than either PSC or RISQ, and passing it well means PSC compliance is largely covered as a by-product. RISQ does not apply to tankers.

If your vessel trades across multiple regimes or vessel types have changed — you need a clear picture of which inspections apply, when your last inspections were, and where your current gaps are. Managing this across a fleet through email and spreadsheets is how things get missed.