Shining a light on abandonment
Since November 2017 RightShip has maintained several lists. We keep tabs on those entities that were involved with, or had knowledge of, an abandonment but did not help resolve the issue. The RightShip Platform records the following when any vessel is abandoned:
All vessels and companies associated with the abandonment are viewable within either the vessel or company lists on the Platform.
With an open abandonment the vessel's Safety Score is downgraded to 1 and there is a notification for both the vessels and companies that they are or have been associated with an abandonment.
This means that a vessel or company associated with an abandonment case cannot be recommended by RightShip for any voyage until the case is resolved.
Due diligence matters
If you are a charterer, ports and terminals manager, or financier, you may find it difficult to discern who in the supply chain is responsible for the abandonment of seafarers, using the RightShip Platform and due diligence services helps you to know. From the information provided by the International Transport Workers Federation - including the vessel name, IMO number, and abandonment dates, RightShip combines this data with operational performance and incident figures from our databases.
Platform subscribers can:
View the Document of Compliance (DoC) company, the ship’s Technical Manager, Commercial Manager, Commercial Operator, Registered Owner, and Beneficial Owner.
Track the Beneficial Owners and Commercial Operators and draw connections between the origins of a fleet and abandoned vessels.
5 RightShip tools that drive change
- RightShip undertakes vessel vetting on your behalf so you can work with the best ships for your cargo. Top world exporters, mining companies, agricultural haulage, and maritime industry leaders give out their contracts only after our careful vetting superintendents recommend a vessel.
- If a case is registered on the ILO website, we place a binary Safety Score rule over the vessel, owner and management company. The rule can be lifted only when the case is resolved, and a clear action plan to prevent another case occurrence has been reviewed. The case also needs to be closed on the ILO website. When a case of open abandonment is registered against a vessel, that Safety Score is downgraded to 1 and notifications under company lists on our platform tool are flagged against the vessel and any known associated companies.
- If you are involved in the transportation of dry commodities, look for the RightShip Dry Bulk Inspections Badge on each bulk vessel’s page in the Platform, which ensures that a physical check of the vessel, best practices and crewing conditions on board has passed to our standards. RightShip speaks to the crew during vessel inspections, looks through training certificates and welfare documents, and interrogates areas of doubt and misrepresentation.
- Check if a DoC holder or vessel has a RightShip Crew Welfare Self Assessment Badge. Successful completion showcases a company’s commitment to social welfare best practices.
- Download the Crew Welfare Code of Conduct. Section 8 contains a focused area targeted for charterers looking to review their own practices. It is an aspirational best practice document that allows owners and managers to access experience built up across the industry and determine whether to attain a Basic, Intermediate or Excellent level across a host of relevant activities. Vessel owners and charterers can even use the document to jointly agree on priority focus areas relative to how they, together, may want to express due care for the seafarers.