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and consistency of inspections, shifting the focus from procedural compliance toward demonstrable operational excellence.Transparency has also improved meaningfully. Increased use of photographic evidence, more standardised observation formats, and clearer criteria for risk identification provide operators with more actionable insights and reduce variability across inspectors and regions. This creates a more level playing field and supports more effective risk management across fleets.SIRE 2.0 is fundamentally well aligned to recognise and differentiate highperforming operators. The model highlights good practice, and companies that invest in training, competence assurance, and continuous improvement are well positioned to demonstrate their performance under the updated framework.That said, the programme introduces greater complexity. The inspection process is more detailed, requires deeper crew engagement, and places higher expectations on both shipboard and shore-based teams. The volume of data entry, documentation, and evidence generation remains significant, and the administrative burden has not yet reached a fully stable or sustainable balance. While this is partly inherent in a more rigorous, evidence-based system, further development of integration tools, digital interfaces, and optimised data-exchange mechanisms will be important for improving efficiency without diluting safety.Looking ahead, enhanced digital integration, particularly through API-based data exchange, offers a clear opportunity to streamline workflows and reduce administrative effort, helping to offset some of the additional demands introduced by the new regime. We continue to channel structured feedback through industry forums, including vetting committees and SIRE focus groups, to ensure that genuinely onerous requirements for compliant operators are addressed constructively.In summary, SIRE 2.0 is moving the industry in the right direction. It delivers meaningful improvements in safety insight, inspection quality, and transparency, while providing a more accurate, risk-aligned assessment of tanker operations. With continued refinement and a focus on administrative simplification, the framework is well positioned to fully realise its intended benefits for both operators and charterers.What message would you like to convey to governments and regulatory bodies regarding the strategic role of shipping in ensuring global energy security, economic stability, and a realistic transition to a low-carbon future?Shipping is the infrastructure that underpins the global economy. Around 80% of world trade moves by sea, and the tanker sector is what keeps the lights on %u2014 quite literally %u2014 across much of the world. When the Strait of Hormuz comes under pressure, that is not an abstract geopolitical event; it is a direct threat to the energy security of importing nations across Asia and beyond. INTERTANKO wants to see %u2014 and is publicly calling for %u2014 governments to coordinate their responses to ensure the safety and welfare of seafarers in the region.What we need from governments is a recognition of that strategic reality, and a regulatory approach that reflects it. We need longterm solutions that are coherent, global, and workable. We need investment in infrastructure to enable the energy transition: bunkering networks, certification systems, and fuel supply chains. And we need the seafarers who make all of this possible to be treated with the seriousness their role demands %u2014 as key workers, as professionals operating under increasing pressure, as people whose welfare is never a secondary consideration.The tanker industry is playing its part in the transition to a lowcarbon future. Our members are investing, trialling new technologies, and navigating the transitional pathways. But we need a level playing field, a single global framework from the IMO, and governments that understand that shipping is part of the solution.Shipping is the infrastructure on which the global economy runs. Around 80% of world trade moves by sea, and the tanker sector is what keeps the lights on %u2014 quite literally %u2014across much of the world. When the Strait of Hormuz comes under pressure, that is not an abstract geopolitical event; it is a direct threat to the energy security of importing nations across Asia and beyond.Representation of tanker shipowners52 NX