The HVPQ, the Harmonised Vessel Particulars Questionnaire, is OCIMF's standard dataset of a vessel's technical particulars: construction, dimensions, outfitting, equipment and certification. The operator maintains it in OCIMF's system so that charterers, vetting departments and inspection programmes all work from one agreed description of the ship instead of asking for the same details separately. In SIRE 2.0 it does a second job: the compiler reads it when building the vessel's CVIQ.
The word harmonised is the point. Before the HVPQ, every oil major requested vessel particulars in its own format, and operators answered the same questions repeatedly with drifting answers. One questionnaire, maintained once and shared with all programme recipients, replaced that.
How it shows up in practice
The HVPQ holds what OCIMF calls permanent and infrequently changing information, and the second category is where trouble starts. A ship is retrofitted, a piece of equipment is replaced, a certificate is reissued, and the office forgets to touch the HVPQ. Now the dataset and the ship disagree. In SIRE 2.0 that mismatch is not cosmetic: the compiler selects questions based on the declared particulars, so a wrong entry can put questions on the inspector's tablet that do not fit the vessel, and the inspector will record what is found. The same stale record reaches charterers directly, since vetting teams screen against the HVPQ before they ever commission an inspection; how charterer vetting uses this data is its own subject. The compilation mechanics are laid out in the CVIQ explained.
What it means for operators
Treat the HVPQ as a live document with an owner, not a form filled at delivery. Most operators assign it to the technical superintendent and review it on a schedule, plus after every modification, dry docking or certificate change. The companion document with a faster clock is the PIQ, completed before each inspection; together they decide what the inspection looks like before anyone steps on board, and keeping both accurate is among the cheapest vetting work there is. A current, truthful dataset also means fewer surprises to explain later, which is where Fleetward's SIRE 2.0 workflow connects shipboard evidence to what the office has declared.