Everything You Need To Know About ISGOTT

Posted by Harry Voges on September 11th, 2018

For personnel directly involved in oil tanker and terminal operations, ISGOTT holds an utmost importance for a number of reasons. ISGOTT, short for International Safety Guide for Oil and Terminal, is a definitive guide to assist professionals posted on oil tankers and terminal operations. This guides them about the safe carriage and handling of crude oil and other petroleum products on tankers and at the terminals.

First published in 1978, ISGOTT amalgamated the contents of the famous ‘International Oil Tanker and Terminal Safety Guide’, which was published by the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), and the ‘Tanker Safety Guide (Petroleum)’, which was published by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). Before publishing the fifth edition of ISGOTT, the content has again been thoroughly reviewed and cross-checked by the ICS and OCIMF, in coordination with the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) to make sure that it doesn’t fail to show the current best practices and legislation.

By taking into account the recent amendments in recommended operating procedures, specifically those encouraged by the introduction of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code, ISGOTT makes these changes compulsory to follow for tankers from July 1st, 1998. Furthermore, this guides also takes into account the latest thinking on a wide range of issues such as the generation of static electricity and stray currents, lines and emergency towing-off pennants, the use of mobile telephones and pagers, the toxicity and the toxic impact of benzene and hydrogen sulfide, and the introduction of the rules stating the International Safety Management (ISM) Code as well as the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code.

The Guide is basically divided into four sections:
• General Information
• Tanker Information
• Terminal Information
• Management of the Tanker and Terminal Interface

The Guide offers operational inform personnel about the certain aspects of the tanker and terminal operations and how they should be managed.

When publishing the guide, attention has been given to make sure that though the guidance given in previous editions was accurate and relevant, it has not been modified or deleted when moving to the new format.

Even today, ISGOTT continues to offer the best technical advice on the tanker and terminal operations. All operators are required to ensure that the information in this Guide is not only read but also followed during operations.

According to the general industry recommendation, a copy of ISGOTT is to be kept and used onboard each and every tanker and terminal so that there is a systematic approach to carry out operations.

Author’s Bio: The author is a blogger and this article is about ISGOTT