RightShip is set to more than double the number of vetting items it uses in yet another upgrade of its ship-assessment system, which has gone through several major changes over recent years.
The ship-vetting agency said that from 30 June this year, it will increase the number of items it uses to assess ships from 20 to 50. The company said charterers could apply the new vetting items before they are officially launched by RightShip.
The outfit said the move would “remove grey areas and explain more about the standard of where an owner needs their ships to be to be eligible for recommendation”.
The move also comes in part to reflect an increase in human rights and seafarers’ welfare concerns.
Chief executive Steen Brodsgaard Lund said: “We have seen an increased focus on social welfare for a vessel’s crew during 2020. In response, we’ve added in clear expectations regarding human rights, which were not part of the last version.
“ This ensures that all charterers now take social welfare and the rights of our seafarers into consideration every time they select a vessel for a voyage.”
Among the changes, RightShip has added sections for flag, classification society, engineering and human rights.
Maritime Labour Convention 2006 compliance will also be put in place as vetting consideration for bulkers. There will also be a comprehensive review of incidents and port state control and operator performance. Binary failings have been identified where a single failing will lead to recommendation being withdrawn.
“All vessels will be reviewed and receive an “acceptable” recommendation when they get a positive outcome from this criteria review,” RightShip said. "This delivers more scrutiny and less room for confusion regarding safety, sustainability and social welfare practices."
RightShip’s vetting system has gone through several major changes over recent years. In 2017, it went through a full digital upgrade after it was relaunched as Qi.
Under Qi, ships were assessed through complex algorithms to determine the probability of a casualty or safety incident occurring.
But by May 2020, it changed again and a new system called Safety Score, which rated ships on a scale of one to five based on 20 different safety criteria was announced. Now it has more than doubled the number of vetting items it will use to assess ships.
RightShip is shipping’s leading ship safety and environmental vetting agency, vetting 40,000 ships per year on behalf of charterers.
