Drydock Supervision

A drydocking is one of the biggest investments a ship owner makes in a vessel’s life, and one of the riskiest. In just a few weeks, hundreds of contractors carry out hot work, blasting, painting and heavy lifts in confined spaces, while costs, schedules and quality all have to be controlled at once. Without experienced supervision on site, work slips, safety standards drop and the final invoice grows.

EASK Marine Consultancy’s superintendents have managed and supervised numerous drydockings, including VLCCs at Dubai Drydocks, often stepping in when a company’s own superintendents were unable to attend. We protect your people, your vessel and your budget from the day the specification is written until the final invoice is settled.

Before the yard: planning and specification

A successful docking is won or lost before the ship arrives. We can support you with:

• Reviewing and developing the drydock specification, with clear priority on the work you consider critical
• Comparing yard quotations line by line so you can choose with confidence
• Planning class, flag and statutory surveys to coincide with the docking
• Agreeing a realistic schedule and budget, including owner’s supplies and service engineers
• Identifying long-lead items and risks before they cause delays

Where you prefer, all we need is a copy of the specification with your critical items highlighted, and we take it from there, working closely with the yard to make sure every job is delivered to the highest standard.

Safety first in the yard

Shipyards are among the most hazardous workplaces in the maritime industry. Our superintendents make safety the first item on every day’s agenda and hold everyone on site to the same high standard, including:

• Permit-to-work systems for hot work, working at height and enclosed space entry
• Gas-free certification and atmosphere testing before any tank or space is entered or hot work begins, following ISGOTT for tankers
• Fire watches, firefighting readiness and control of combustible materials
• Isolation and lock-out of machinery, electrical systems and pipelines
• Safe staging, scaffolding and lifting operations
• Clear coordination between ship’s crew, yard staff and contractors, with daily safety meetings
• Stopping any job that is unsafe until it can be done safely

It is the same principle we bring to every operation: do it safely or not at all, because there is always time to do it right.

Supervision and quality control

Our superintendents are on site throughout the docking, inspecting work as it happens rather than at the end, when it is too late to put right. We follow every major job, including:

• Hull blasting, coating and anti-fouling application
• Steel renewals and structural repairs
• Propeller, rudder, stern tube and seal work
• Sea chests, valves, anodes and underwater fittings
• Anchors, chain cables and mooring equipment
• Cargo and ballast tank coatings and repairs
• Main and auxiliary machinery overhauls

We attend class and flag surveys, witness tests and trials, and make sure every item is completed, documented and signed off before the vessel leaves the yard.

Commercial management and negotiation

Drydock costs can rise quickly through extras, variations and inflated quantities. Our superintendents manage the commercial side as closely as the technical side:

• Monitoring every variation and extra as it arises, and agreeing quantities on the spot
• Checking yard invoices line by line against the specification, the tariff and the work actually done
• Challenging overcharging, duplicated items and unjustified delays
• Protecting the schedule, to keep off-hire time to a minimum
• Leading final cost negotiations and settlements with the yard

We have extensive experience of final cost negotiations and settlements, and our negotiations regularly save our clients many thousands of dollars, often far more than the cost of our services.

Detailed reporting

You are kept informed at every stage. We send daily progress reports to your office during the docking, and on completion we submit a detailed final report covering the work carried out, photographs, survey results, a full cost summary, any outstanding items and recommendations for the next docking.

Why clients choose EASK Marine

• Superintendents with hands-on experience of VLCC dockings at Dubai Drydocks and beyond
• Safety-first supervision of every job in the yard
• Quality control throughout the docking, not just at the end
• Tough, experienced commercial negotiators who protect your budget
• A proven record of saving clients many thousands of dollars on final settlements
• Clear daily and final reporting, so you are always in control

For more information and to discuss your next drydocking, please contact us below.