Ship-to-Ship Transfer Control Recovery Leader

The mandate

A hose strain and unexpected vessel movement came within one action of cargo release during a laden ship-to-ship transfer. Initial review found that compatibility, fender geometry, mooring analysis, hose certification, traffic exposure and weather limits sat with different parties, while the final readiness call had become a document-collection ritual. Commercial teams now face 68 planned transfers and uncertain substitute capacity. The operator needs temporary command of its own control system without pre-empting the independent near-miss investigation.

The near miss permits seven days to establish temporary command and six months to finish it. All booked transfers are reviewed, unsupported nominations suspended and one live readiness register created during the first 14 days. By day 60, the recovered control must govern representative crude, product and partial-cargo operations. The middle months test provider decisions under both normal and deteriorating conditions; month six exercises escalation, expires temporary waivers and transfers the tested portfolio to the confirmed marine-operations successor.

Completion requires all 68 planned transfers to hold time-bound vessel and cargo compatibility, approved equipment identity, location and traffic assessment, forecast and observed weather limits, named stop-work authority, emergency readiness and post-transfer evidence. At least 15 witnessed transfers must show no unapproved equipment substitution, no unresolved pressure or quantity anomaly at sailing, and prompt stop or reassessment when a stated limit changes. Provider scorecards must use physical performance rather than paperwork punctuality alone.

The interim may reject or reschedule a company nomination, exclude an STS provider from new company work, require additional tug or equipment support, command the shore readiness gate and approve recovery expenditure up to MYR 12 million. Each master and mooring master retains immediate vessel and transfer safety authority; coastal authorities control location and traffic permissions; chartering retains fixture authority; and the chief executive approves strategic provider termination or exposure above delegation.

Near-miss causation, liability, claims settlement, statutory investigation, cargo ownership, charter-party interpretation and public enforcement are outside scope. The leader will preserve requested evidence but will not coach witnesses or adapt controls to support a defence narrative. Crude-tanker vetting policy is also excluded: this seat proves that a nominated pair, provider, place and transfer arrangement can operate safely on the day, even when both vessels have acceptable external vetting status.

Why this seat is open

The group marine transfer head was removed after the near miss, and the organisation discovered that commercial coordinators had gradually become the de facto readiness integrators. Masters could stop work onboard but received late or inconsistent shore evidence. A temporary executive must restore company control through the booked programme while a permanent marine leader is selected and independently assessed.

What you will own

• Revalidate 68 nominations across hull geometry, freeboard, manifold, cargo, hose, fender, mooring and transfer-rate compatibility.
• Establish one readiness gate joining provider evidence, traffic, location, weather, tug, emergency and master acknowledgement.
• Witness at least 15 transfers and test stop, suspend, resume and equipment-substitution decisions under changing conditions.
• Track pressure, movement, mooring load, quantity, spill-prevention and post-transfer exceptions to physical closure.
• Score providers on deployed people and equipment, limit discipline and recovery performance rather than document delivery alone.
• Separate operational corrections from investigation, liability, chartering and vetting conclusions and preserve their evidence boundaries.
• Transfer approved pairings, provider restrictions, open waivers, learned limits and the exercised escalation roster to the successor.

Candidate qualifications

• Held senior tanker marine or STS operating authority across crude, product or comparable high-consequence liquid transfers.
• Has stopped a commercially urgent transfer after vessel pairing, equipment, traffic, weather or mooring evidence changed.
• Understands fender selection, hose certification, manifold geometry, mooring, cargo rate, quantity control and emergency response together.
• Can work credibly with masters and mooring masters without diluting their immediate stop-work or vessel-safety authority.
• Has recovered provider discipline across repeated live transfers while an incident or near-miss investigation remained independent.
• Completed handover with physical acceptance criteria, restricted pairings, provider evidence and unresolved risk plainly visible.

Non-negotiables

• Available in Port Klang within seven days and for approximately 65% onboard or transfer-location attendance.
• Brings direct STS tanker command; desk vetting, chartering or terminal-transfer experience alone is insufficient.
• Accepts master, mooring-master, coastal-authority, investigator, chartering and chief-executive decision boundaries.
• Will disclose interests involving tanker owners, charterers, traders, STS providers, equipment firms, agents and surveyors.

1. 49 words maximum. Describe an STS transfer you stopped after both vessels had already been commercially accepted.
2. 49 words maximum. Which observed condition should immediately reopen an approved mooring and transfer plan?
3. 49 words maximum. Confirm your Port Klang start date and the largest live STS programme you controlled.