| Passenger Safety Certification |
A valid Passenger Ship Safety Certificate should cover the vessel’s approved route, passenger capacity, machinery, fire protection, life-saving appliances, and radio equipment under the applicable SOLAS requirements. |
Current Passenger Ship Safety Certificate, approved plans, certificate validity dates, flag-state endorsements, and records of outstanding recommendations. |
Accept only when the certificate is current, route-specific, and consistent with the vessel’s actual layout and passenger capacity. |
Low when verified |
| Safety Management System |
The vessel should operate under the International Safety Management Code with a valid Safety Management Certificate. The operating company should hold a corresponding Document of Compliance for the vessel type. |
Safety Management Certificate, company Document of Compliance, internal audit reports, non-conformity records, emergency drill logs, and corrective-action evidence. |
Require no overdue major non-conformities and evidence that corrective actions were closed and verified. |
Medium if records are incomplete |
| Security Compliance |
A passenger ferry engaged on international voyages generally requires an International Ship Security Certificate under the ISPS Code, supported by an approved ship security plan. |
International Ship Security Certificate, security-plan approval, drills and exercises, access-control logs, and security-equipment maintenance records. |
The certificate, approved security plan, and physical access arrangements must match the intended operation. |
Medium |
| Load Line and Watertight Integrity |
The vessel must have a valid International Load Line Certificate where applicable. Watertight doors, hatches, ramps, shell doors, seals, and bilge systems must function as designed. |
Load Line Certificate, latest load-line survey, watertight-door test reports, ramp inspection records, seal-condition photographs, and bilge-pump test results. |
Reject or require repair before delivery if any critical shell opening, watertight door, or ramp cannot be demonstrated operational. |
High if defects exist |
| Stability and Passenger Capacity |
The approved stability information must cover full-load, partial-load, vehicle-deck, crowding, and damage-stability conditions applicable to the ferry’s service. |
Approved stability booklet, loading computer approval, inclining-test report, lightweight survey, passenger-capacity approval, and loading-limit procedures. |
The intended passenger, vehicle, fuel, and cargo loads must remain within the approved stability limits. |
High if data is missing |
| Fire Protection |
Fire detection, alarms, fixed fire-extinguishing systems, fire pumps, emergency fire pumps, hydrants, fire doors, escape routes, and fire-control plans must comply with the applicable SOLAS fire-safety requirements. |
Fire-control plan, fixed-system service certificates, fire-door inspection records, fire-pump flow tests, detector test logs, and evacuation-route inspection. |
All critical systems should be tested under load, with no blocked escape routes or defective fire doors. |
High if systems are untested |
| Life-Saving Appliances |
Life-saving appliances must provide the approved capacity for all persons onboard, including passengers and crew. Lifeboats, rescue boats, life rafts, launching appliances, lifejackets, and immersion-protection equipment require current servicing. |
LSA inventory, capacity plan, annual and five-year service records, launching-appliance inspection, hydrostatic-release-unit records, and drill reports. |
Do not close the purchase if capacity, service dates, or launching arrangements cannot be verified. |
High if overdue |
| Hull and Structural Condition |
Ultrasonic thickness measurements should be compared with the approved minimum scantlings. Areas of corrosion, deformation, cracking, buckling, or wasted plating require engineering assessment. |
Recent thickness-measurement report, dry-dock report, hull survey, weld inspection results, repair history, and photographs of the shell, decks, ramps, and vehicle spaces. |
Accept only when measured thicknesses meet approved limits or documented repairs have been accepted by the responsible authority or class organization. |
Medium to high |
| Machinery and Propulsion |
Main engines, gearboxes, shafts, propellers, steering gear, generators, fuel systems, and cooling systems should pass operational testing at normal and emergency conditions. |
Engine-hour records, overhaul history, oil-analysis results, vibration reports, shaft-alignment records, sea-trial data, generator-load tests, and steering-gear tests. |
Require a witnessed sea trial and written correction plan for abnormal vibration, overheating, leakage, smoke, or unstable operating parameters. |
Medium |
| Electrical and Emergency Power |
Emergency lighting, emergency switchboards, batteries, alarms, navigation equipment, communication systems, and backup power must operate during simulated loss of main power. |
Electrical inspection report, insulation-resistance tests, battery-capacity tests, emergency-generator test, alarm logs, navigation-equipment service records, and blackout-test results. |
The vessel should complete a documented blackout test without loss of essential safety functions. |
Medium |
| Pollution Prevention |
Applicable MARPOL certificates and equipment should cover oil pollution, sewage, garbage, air emissions, and fuel management for the vessel’s intended route. |
International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate, sewage and garbage records, oil-record book, fuel-changeover procedures where applicable, and waste-disposal receipts. |
No unexplained discharge, missing record, bypass arrangement, or overdue pollution-prevention service should remain open. |
Medium |
| Class or Statutory Survey Status |
Where the vessel is classed, its class status should be active with no overdue annual, intermediate, special, dry-dock, or machinery surveys. Statutory certificates must also be synchronized with survey dates. |
Class status report, survey cycle, conditions of class, recommendations, memoranda, statutory certificates, and list of overdue items. |
Reject an undisclosed overdue survey or unresolved condition affecting hull, machinery, stability, fire safety, or lifesaving systems. |
High if overdue |
| Port-State-Control History |
Review at least the previous five years of inspections, deficiencies, detentions, repeated findings, and corrective actions. Repeated deficiencies are more significant than isolated minor findings. |
Port-state-control inspection reports, detention records, deficiency close-out evidence, flag-state correspondence, and evidence of recurring-defect analysis. |
Require a documented explanation and verified close-out for every detention, serious deficiency, or repeated safety finding. |
Medium to high |
| Accident and Casualty History |
Investigate collisions, groundings, fires, flooding, structural failures, machinery failures, passenger injuries, pollution events, and major repairs. |
Casualty reports, insurance claims summary, repair invoices, class-approved repair drawings, damage surveys, and independent technical assessments. |
Do not rely on verbal declarations; require documentary proof that repairs restored the vessel to an approved condition. |
High if undocumented |
| Construction and Modification Records |
Confirm original build standards, construction material, welding procedures, major machinery installations, conversions, passenger-space changes, and vehicle-ramp modifications. |
Builder’s certificate, construction drawings, material certificates, welding and non-destructive-testing records, modification approvals, and as-built plans. |
Every safety-critical modification should be reflected in approved drawings, certificates, and the current stability information. |
Medium |
| Sea Trial and Independent Inspection |
A pre-purchase inspection should include dry-dock or underwater examination where appropriate, machinery testing, steering tests, emergency drills, ramp operation, noise and vibration checks, and a witnessed sea trial. |
Independent surveyor’s report, sea-trial protocol, test results, defect list, photographs, repair quotations, and final acceptance certificate. |
Make final payment conditional on closing safety-critical defects and receiving updated certificates. |
Low after independent verification |
