Technical information

RightShip assesses all vessels against our RightShip vetting criteria, which represents our minimum requirements for good operational practices. From June 2021, RightShip’s vetting criteria has been expanded from 20 to 50 items, in line with the launch of our Platform and Safety Score.  

The existing criteria includes, but is not limited to: 

• Incident review, performance and resolution
• PSC performance review, performance and resolution – inclusive of targeting activity and bans
• Certification and compliance status
• Class records (conditions, status)
• DOC performance (ISM)
• Prior RightShip history and database
• Physical validation (RightShip Inspections)
• Special vetting criteria (customer-specific rules and checks)

General additions to the new criteria are as follows:   

• The new criteria extends beyond the previous standard from 20 assessment items to 50 items, including new sections for flag and class, ship structures, mechanics, and human rights.   
• A comprehensive review of incidents, PSC performance and operator performance in more detail.    
• Clearer binary failings. If a vet fails on one of these hurdles, the vessel cannot be recommended at all.    
• The new criteria removes the grey areas and explains more about the standard of where an owner needs their ships to be in order to be eligible for recommendation   
• Where appropriate, customers can add more stringent safety or additional geographical criteria on top of RightShip’s standard. However, the new criteria provides greater clarity around the specific items that cover safety, the environment, human rights, operational excellence with the aim of having a unified standard for the industry.  

We acknowledge that each customer may have their own special vetting criteria, which is applied on top of the RightShip standard. Additional vetting criteria is based on customer risk appetite and can be designed around a specific location or risk factors for that trade. A vessel which does not meet the RightShip standard will not be eligible for an ‘acceptable’ recommendation from RightShip, regardless of the vessel’s performance against additional customer vetting criteria.

You can download and review the Dry Bulk and Petroleum, Gas and Chemical vessel vetting standards against the risk profile of your organisation, and your specific customer criteria currently in place.

When a new customer signs up for vessel vetting, our vetting superintendents will provide in depth information about RightShip’s vetting standard and discuss any additional bespoke vetting criteria if required.