February 29, 2008 - Intercargo in the News - Rightship vetting

INTERCARGO MEMBERS IN LINE FOR RIGHTSHIP BONUS POINTS

Article from Lloyd’s List dated 28 February 2008 by David Osler and Nigel Lowry

© Informa UK Limited. Reproduced with permission.

Vessel’s operated by Intercargo members will be awarded bonus points under the RightShip vetting system, in a move that should help them command firmer rates.

The deal follows a visit by the dry bulk shipping trade association secretary-general Roger Holt to RightShip’s Melbourne headquarters earlier this month.

The two sides examined recent data on bulk carrier safety and performance, including their respective in-house benchmarks, and decided that synergies existed between the two systems.

In particular, it was found that port state control detention and deficiency records for Intercargo ships beat industry averages.

From March 1 that will be recognised through the award of additional quality bonus points on RightShip’s online ship vetting information system.

The potential impact could be enough to lift the rating of a vessel by one star in RightShip’s five-star rating system.

RightShip’s chief executive Warwick Norman said : “In recognising this additional bonus system for Intercargo entered ships which we will keep under review and operate on a ship-by-ship basis, we demonstrate our commitment to improving standards in the dry bulk sector.

“The quality bonus points system is similar to our current system for recognising the best performing flag states, and is among measures we are taking to reward good performance as well as punishing poor performance in our rigorous vetting system.”

Mr Holt added that he was pleased that RightShip was using its developed quantitative analysis tools to benchmark the bulk carrier sector.

“Clearly the message about standards has been given a major boost by this recognition”, he argued. “This is a major development which we are very pleased to accept on behalf of Intercargo members.”

RightShip’s vetting system has well over 1,000 users in more than 95 client organisations, based in some 60 countries. During 2007, it vetted 17,237 ship nominations. This represented some 1.6bn dwt of cargo, including a high proportion of all iron ore and coal shipped globally.

RightShip also inspected 1,327 ships worldwide. According to RightShip, some 763 vessels it deemed “high risk” were not chartered as a result.

RightShip, an independent system launched by its major charterer-shareholders BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Cargill. Last year introduced a requirement for a Condition Assessment Programme for capesize bulkers at 25 years old.

A review is planned for the end of 2008 to consider extending the CAP requirements to capesizes of 20 years old as well as introducing them for 25-year-old panamaxes.

The news emerged at a recent seminar held in conjunction with Lloyd’s Register in Greece, which drew delegates from more than 60 Greek owners and operators.

“It is a possibility,” confirmed RightShip’s European Manager David Peel, but he underlined that more extensive CAP requirements would only be sanctioned if the move was warranted by an analysis of results from last year and 2008.

“We want to set the bar high,” Mr Peel commented. He said, however, that while adopting CAP requirements could be seen as getting tougher, it could “also be seen as a way to free up [older] tonnage for availability.”

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