RightShip Requirements for Dry Bulk Vessels: What Revision 4.0 Changes

RightShip requirements for dry bulk vessels are set out in its Vessel Vetting Baseline Criteria, and the dry bulk edition has been reissued as Revision 4.0, dated 1 October 2026. The document is RightShip’s recommended minimum baseline for vetting dry bulk and general cargo vessels. Vetting customers can tailor it, and the tailored version becomes their final vetting rules, so it describes what RightShip itself looks for and not every charterer’s final position.

This article summarises the RightShip requirements in Revision 4.0, what its own revisions log lists as changed, and the dates that matter. RightShip revises the criteria periodically, so the current document, available from RightShip’s help centre, should be read in full before anything is relied on.

How the Baseline Criteria Treat the Safety Score

There is no RightShip minimum Safety Score. Any vessel can be vetted with a score between 1/5 and 5/5, and can be positively recommended if the agreed vetting customer requirements are met. A lower score may bring additional checks, including a RightShip Inspection. A vessel with a 0/5 or 1/5 score is unlikely to be positively recommended until the reason for the score has been investigated and resolved to RightShip’s satisfaction, and a vessel with an N/A score may fall outside normal vetting and need extra information and checks.

The document separates conditions that always lead to an Unacceptable recommendation, such as a vessel banned by a Port State Control authority or an open abandonment of seafarers case, from conditions that may do so. For the second group it says an Unacceptable result will usually come from an accumulation of factors, such as recurring safety management system failures, repeated detentions or consistently poor close-outs, and not from one item in isolation.

What Changed in the RightShip Requirements for Revision 4.0

The revisions log in the document lists these changes for Revision 4.0:

• scope widened to include general cargo vessels, with the vetting policy clarified for 1/5 and N/A Safety Scores;
• a new criterion for vessels with unknown attributes or incomplete ownership information;
• the Port State Control section comprehensively revised, with stronger detention, performance, high-risk deficiency and close-out requirements;
• incident criteria restructured to treat Category A and B incidents, Category C and D incidents and recurring incidents separately;
• the RightShip Inspection age trigger updated to reflect a revised implementation programme;
• the flag, class and regulatory compliance section expanded, including vessel status, disclosure obligations and misrepresentation;
• abandonment of seafarers, sanctions and ownership transparency criteria strengthened and extended to associated entities;
• structures, machinery and operations criteria expanded on overloading, vessel condition, modifications, maintenance systems and operational procedures;
• the Management of Change / Vessel Take Over Process (MoC/VTOP) deadline reduced from three months to one month, with the exemption criteria widened to include an acceptable RightShip Inspection; and
• the information-only criterion on DryBMS self-assessment replaced by one on registration with the Dry Bulk Centre of Excellence (DBCE).

RightShip Requirements on Vessel Age and Inspections

Age carries the dates that matter most. The criteria set RightShip Inspection age triggers at vessels aged 11 years and above from 1 July 2026, and vessels aged 10.5 years and above from 20 January 2027. A vessel without a valid RightShip Inspection when one is required because of age or performance concerns is Unacceptable until a valid inspection has been completed and found acceptable, or RightShip is otherwise satisfied that the requirement no longer applies. Among the conditions that always lead to an Unacceptable recommendation is a vessel that exceeds the age trigger and has no valid inspection, or evidence that one has been completed or is scheduled.

Other age and inspection rules:

• a vessel over 30 years old is Unacceptable, with case-by-case exceptions for specific trading areas such as the Great Lakes, agreed with the vetting customer;
• a bulk carrier over 90,000 DWT and 25 years old or over is acceptable only where RightShip is satisfied the Condition Assessment Program (CAP) requirement is met: a RightShip-assigned CAP rating of 2/5 up to 30 years of age, or 2/3 up to 28 years where the 2/3 scale applies;
• a vessel whose most recent RightShip Inspection was assessed as Unacceptable stays Unacceptable until RightShip is satisfied the findings have been addressed, and a further inspection will normally be required; and
• a vessel whose last inspection gave a validity of three months or less is subject to review and may be Unacceptable, depending on the reason.

Port State Control Detentions and Close-Out

Three or more detentions in 24 months make a vessel Unacceptable until each has been reviewed and closed out, the root causes addressed and the corrective and preventative measures shown to be effective. Two detentions in 24 months, or one in 12 months, put the vessel into review, and a RightShip Inspection will normally or may be required depending on severity, deficiency profile and close-out quality. PSC deficiencies that present a high-risk condition, or point to unresolved structural, machinery, operational or safety-critical problems, make a vessel Unacceptable until they are corrected. A vessel that has evaded or departed in breach of a detention order is also Unacceptable.

Two points deserve attention in the RightShip requirements on close-out. Deficiencies recorded in the last 12 months must be reviewed to RightShip’s satisfaction, and the review typically looks at the close-out submission: the deficiency details, an explanation, root cause analysis, corrective actions, preventative measures and supporting evidence. The document also defines an “open” status as one where RightShip has not yet received, assessed and closed the operator’s PSC close-out submission or incident investigation report with its root cause analysis and corrective and preventative measures. A vessel with no PSC records in the last 24 months is subject to review too, and normally needs an acceptable RightShip Inspection from the last 24 months or other recent independent assurance. The quality of root cause analysis is covered in Your Incident Form Asks for a Cause. That Question Is the Problem. The wider vetting picture is in How the Vetting System Actually Works, and the 2025 detention figures from the main port State control regimes are in PSC Detentions 2025: Paris, Tokyo, USCG and AMSA Compared.

Incidents

A vessel involved in two or more Category A incidents in 24 months is Unacceptable unless clear and proven non-fault is established. One Category A or B incident in 24 months, or a Category C or D incident in 12 months, puts the vessel into review: the incident must be investigated, with root cause analysis, corrective actions and preventative measures, and closed out to RightShip’s satisfaction. A post-incident RightShip Inspection will normally be required depending on severity, fault and close-out quality. Recurring incidents over 24 months that point to a common root cause, or to repeated failure of the safety management system, are reviewed whatever their category.

Class, Flag and Statutory Status

This section carries the criterion most likely to catch a manager by surprise: any vessel with overdue class or statutory conditions, certificates, surveys or other mandatory requirements is Unacceptable until the overdue item has been remedied or accepted by the class society, flag State or issuing authority, and RightShip is satisfied the reason has been reviewed and resolved. Current, in-date class or statutory conditions and memoranda that may affect safe operation or trading ability are subject to review. A certificate carried on an extension is a different matter from one that has gone overdue, but an extension used outside its conditions can be treated as invalid, as A Statutory Certificate Extension Is Not Permission to Keep Trading explains.

The same section covers a vessel de-classed or with class suspended in the last 24 months, a vessel whose class and flag status cannot be verified, failure to notify flag State or class of incidents, damage, defects or unauthorised repairs, and vessels flying a flag fraudulently. Flag risk is tied to the Paris and Tokyo MoU lists: a Very High Risk flag is Unacceptable, a Blacklist flag combined with a Low or Very Low performing class society is Unacceptable, and a Targeted, Medium to High or High Risk flag is acceptable only with a valid RightShip Inspection. Deliberately contravening international standards, or deliberately giving RightShip false, misleading or incomplete information, are both Unacceptable, with wider company review possible.

Human Rights, Sanctions and Ownership

A vessel flagged to a State that has not ratified the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, and that cannot show an equivalent level of compliance, is Unacceptable. So are vessels associated with human rights abuses, poor living and working standards, or a current ILO abandonment of seafarers case, including through an owning, managing or operating entity. Revision 4.0 widens the sanctions criterion to the vessel, flag, registered and beneficial owners, DOC company, technical and commercial managers and operators, listing OFAC, USCG, AMSA, DFAT, the EU, the UK, the UN and Port State Control authorities among the recognised sources. Where ownership, control or management details cannot be verified, the vessel is subject to review and stays Unacceptable if RightShip still cannot verify them or finds sanctions exposure or deliberate non-disclosure.

Structures, Machinery and Operations

Two criteria in this section go straight to the safety management system. A vessel found, reported or credibly suspected to have no effective Planned Maintenance System, or one that is not being used to control safety-critical, statutory, machinery, structural, cargo or operational maintenance, is Unacceptable. So is a vessel with no effective key shipboard operational procedures or instructions, or procedures that are not implemented for safety-critical, statutory, cargo, machinery or navigational operations. In both cases supporting evidence and a satisfactory RightShip Inspection will normally be required before a positive recommendation. The same section deals with poor material condition, overloading beyond approved limits, recent substantial alteration or repair, and re-assessment of scantlings to avoid steel renewals. What a usable SMS looks like is covered in Ship Safety Management System: A Practical Guide to Keeping the SMS Usable.

P&I, Environment and Management of Change

A vessel above 8,000 DWT must be entered with an International Group P&I club. At 8,000 DWT and below, a reputable non-International Group club acceptable to RightShip is also accepted. The environmental criterion refers to the RightShip GHG Rating.

New build deliveries, and vessels that change DOC company, must complete and submit a RightShip MoC/VTOP questionnaire within one month of delivery or change. For a change of DOC company there are two exemptions: the new DOC company holds a valid RightShip DryBMS Verification Assessment showing at least Advanced level in DryBMS Subject Area 26, or the vessel has completed an acceptable RightShip Inspection under the new DOC company. The DryBMS framework is explained in TMSA Compliance: A Practical Guide to All 13 Elements, and Where DryBMS Fits.

Three criteria are information only and have no current impact on vetting outcomes: a current Crew Welfare Self Assessment, details of EEDI, EEXI or CII and energy saving measures, and DOC company registration with the DBCE. RightShip notes that vetting customers may include them in their own bespoke criteria.

What a Manager Can Test Against the Criteria

The RightShip requirements lend themselves to a simple check of each vessel in the fleet:

• which vessels are already 11 years or older, which will be 10.5 years or older from 20 January 2027, and whether each has a valid RightShip Inspection or one scheduled;
• whether every PSC deficiency and incident of the last 12 to 24 months has a close-out submission that RightShip has received and closed;
• whether any class condition, certificate, survey or statutory requirement is overdue, and whether the Class Survey Status Report is current;
• whether the vessel’s attributes in the RightShip platform (flag, class, P&I, DOC company and ownership) are complete and correct;
• whether the Planned Maintenance System and the key shipboard procedures are demonstrably in use; and
• whether a MoC/VTOP questionnaire is due within one month of a delivery or change of DOC company.

What a RightShip Inspection itself tests is covered in What a RightShip RISQ Inspection Actually Tests. Charterers’ own vetting rules sit on top of these criteria, so the baseline is the minimum to understand and not the full picture.

Sources

Everything above is taken from the RightShip document, including its revisions log. It is a summary, not a substitute for the document.

• RightShip, Dry Bulk Vessel Vetting Baseline Criteria, Revision 4.0, 1 October 2026
• RightShip help centre, RightShip’s Vessel Vetting Criteria

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