Description

A focused course, tailored for you

The Port Engineer's Marine Compliance Project Playbook

Run PSC closeouts, class surveys, MARPOL updates and dry-dock scope as one schedule a superintendent and charterer both sign.

The deficiency list arrives in port. The closeout is a project, not a task, and the schedule is what stands between the vessel and a detention.

$199 one-time

Tailored to your situation. Access within 24 hours. 30-day money-back.

Includes a hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access, generated for your specific situation.

Why this course

A Port State Control inspector boards at berth and leaves a deficiency list with the master. One finding is a 17-code, rectified before departure. Another is a 30-day code that has to be cleared at the next port with class attendance and evidence on file. The charterer's operations desk asks when the vessel can sail, the flag administration asks for proof of corrective action, and the classification society asks whether the next periodical survey can be combined. The port engineer running that closeout is doing project management on top of technical work. Procurement of spares with the right approval certificates, surveyor attendance window, evidence pack for the next PSC officer, and the parallel MARPOL, EEXI, BWMS and CII workstreams that were already on the plan. Without a schedule that lines them all up, one of three things happens: the vessel sails late, the next PSC re-inspects and finds the same item open, or the class survey gets postponed and the certificate window starts to close. The skill is sequencing the work so the closeout pack is ready before the next officer asks for it.

What you walk away with

Build a closeout schedule for a PSC deficiency list that lines up procurement, class attendance and the evidence pack before the vessel reaches the next port.
Write a dry-dock specification that survives a fixed-price yard bid and a class periodical survey in the same docking.
Run a MARPOL Annex VI, EEXI and CII workstream as a single project with one document register and one approvals log.
Produce an evidence pack that a PSC officer or a flag inspector reads in under thirty minutes and closes.
Run a BWMS commissioning or troubleshooting project against the IMO BWM Convention sampling regime without the vessel being held for re-sampling.

The 12 modules

Module 1. Reading a PSC deficiency list as a project charter

How to convert a Port State Control report into a work breakdown. Mapping each finding to its code (17, 30, detention), its corrective action deadline, the responsible party shore-side and on board, and the evidence the next inspector will look for. Worked examples on Paris MoU, Tokyo MoU and USCG inspections, with the differences in evidence expectations between regimes.

Module 2. Classification society liaison and survey scheduling

Working with IACS member societies (ABS, DNV, LR, BV, ClassNK, RINA, CCS) on periodical, intermediate, annual and occasional surveys. How to combine closeout items with a docking survey, how to request a survey extension or postponement, and how the class status reports and condition of class entries read by the next surveyor are built. Includes the surveyor attendance window and the documentation pack.

Module 3. Flag administration filings and corrective action records

What each flag state expects after a PSC detention or a serious deficiency. The corrective action report format, the timeline for flag confirmation, and the way detentions and 30-day items appear on the flag's safety record. Covers the major open registries (Panama, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Malta, Bahamas) and the differences in evidence and timing they accept.

Module 4. Procurement and spares with the right certification

How to procure spares, consumables, and contracted services so they survive a class or PSC review. Make-from certificates, type approval, material test reports, and the chain of custody for items that touch SOLAS or MARPOL equipment. The supplier shortlist, the requisition format, and the evidence that has to come back with the parts.

Module 5. Dry-dock specification writing and yard bidding

Building a dry-dock specification that yards can price as a fixed-price scope. Tank coatings, hull cleaning, propeller polishing, anode renewal, steel renewal, valve overhaul, generator overhaul, BWMS retrofit. How to write each work item so a yard cannot legitimately add extras, and how to structure the bid evaluation so the cheapest bid is not the most expensive outcome.

Module 6. MARPOL Annex VI: fuel sulphur, NOx and EEXI compliance

The fuel sulphur cap regime, the BDN and FONAR processes, NOx Tier requirements for engines, and the EEXI calculation and approval workflow. How a port engineer documents fuel changeover, samples retained, and the EEXI technical file. The interaction between EEXI and a shaft power limitation or engine power limitation device, and the survey evidence the class society needs.

Module 7. Ballast water management: BWMS operations and PSC sampling

Running a BWMS through commissioning, troubleshooting, and the IMO BWM Convention sampling regime that PSC inspectors apply at port. Indicative sampling, detailed sampling, the BWMS record book, and the contingency measures when the BWMS is inoperable. How to keep the vessel from being held for re-sampling and how to document a BWMS bypass or override correctly.

Module 8. CII rating workstream and DCS data quality

The Carbon Intensity Indicator rating, the Data Collection System, and the SEEMP Part III workflow. What a port engineer does when the vessel is trending toward a D or E rating, the operational levers available (speed, hull cleaning, weather routing, trim optimisation), and the corrective action plan format. How the rating interacts with charter party clauses and time charterer expectations.

Module 9. ISM, ISPS and MLC document control as project evidence

Treating the SMS, the SSP, and the MLC declarations as project evidence rather than paperwork. How non-conformities and observations from internal audits, class ISM audits, and PSC inspections get tracked and closed. The document register, the revision control log, and the way a PSC officer or an ISM auditor reads them. Includes MLC complaints handling and the seafarer employment agreement file.

Module 10. Charter party technical clauses and off-hire risk

How a closeout project interacts with the charter party. Off-hire clauses, performance warranty clauses, speed and consumption clauses, and the BIMCO clauses on emissions, sanctions and biofouling. How the port engineer's schedule decisions affect the owner's commercial position and how to document the technical events so the operations and commercial desks can defend a claim.

Module 11. Incident response, casualty investigation and root cause

When a deficiency is the tip of an incident. The casualty investigation workflow under the IMO Casualty Investigation Code, the flag state report, the class society report, and the owner's internal root cause analysis. How to run a 5-Why or fault-tree analysis on a marine incident, how to write the corrective action so it survives the next audit, and how to share findings across a fleet without leaking commercial detail.

Module 12. Closeout pack, fleet rollout, and continuous improvement

The final evidence pack the next PSC officer or class surveyor reads. The cover letter, the corrective action evidence index, the photographic record, the certificates, and the test reports. How to roll a single-vessel learning across a managed fleet, how to update the SMS and the technical circulars, and how to feed the next budget cycle with the data the docking and survey programme generated.

How this addresses your situation

Specific modules that map to what you said you are dealing with.

A PSC inspector leaves a deficiency list at berth with a 30-day code on a SOLAS item.

The vessel is two months from a special survey and the dry-dock scope is being negotiated with two yards.

The BWMS is throwing alarms and the next PSC port is known for detailed sampling.

The CII rating is trending to a D and the time charterer has asked for a corrective action plan.

What you get with this course

Twelve text-based course modules in the Art of Service learning environment.
Downloadable templates for the closeout schedule, the dry-dock specification, the evidence pack index, the corrective action report, and the BWMS contingency log.
Worked examples for a Paris MoU detention closeout, a USCG COC closeout, a class periodical survey and a planned dry-docking.
The hand-built implementation playbook tuned to your vessel mix, delivered alongside course access.
30-day satisfaction guarantee.

What you will have in hand by Day 1, Week 1, Month 1

Within 24 hours of purchase your account in the learning environment is provisioned and you can start module 1.

The hand-built implementation playbook tuned to your vessel mix is delivered alongside course access.

Modules can be worked in sequence or pulled individually when a specific deficiency, survey, or docking comes up.

Email support is available throughout for clarifications on a specific PSC code, class condition, or flag filing question.

Before and after

Before

A deficiency list arrives, the port engineer runs the closeout as a sequence of tasks, the charterer is told the vessel will sail late, the next PSC port re-inspects and finds the same item open, and the dry-dock scope has to be reopened to cover the work that should have been done in port.

After

A deficiency list arrives, it is converted to a project charter the same day, procurement, class attendance, flag filings and evidence capture run in parallel, the vessel sails on time with the closeout pack ready for the next port, and the dry-docking lines up cleanly with the survey programme.

What happens if you do not address this

A re-inspection in the next port with the same finding open. A detention that turns into a flag investigation and a commercial off-hire claim. A dry-dock that runs over scope and over budget because the deficiency closeouts were not folded into the docking specification. A CII rating that drops because the corrective action plan was never written. Every one of those is recoverable, but the cost of recovery is paid out of the vessel's earnings.

Who it is for

Port engineers, marine superintendents, and project managers working in ship management, owners' technical departments, or shipyards. Carries a portfolio of vessels or a single vessel through a full survey and inspection cycle, owns deficiency closeouts and dry-dock scope, and liaises with classification societies, flag administrations, charterers, and PSC regimes.

Who this is NOT for. Cadets and junior superintendents who have not yet led a deficiency closeout. Shore-based commercial operators who only touch voyage instructions. Naval architects whose work ends at design handover. Class society surveyors whose role is to inspect rather than to manage the closeout.

How it arrives

Text-based course in the Art of Service learning environment, plus downloadable templates and worked examples for every module, plus the hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access.

Time investment. Around 8 to 10 hours of reading and template work to cover the twelve modules. The implementation playbook is reference material used vessel by vessel as the work comes up.

Why $199 is the right number

A class society training course covers the survey regime from the surveyor's side, but does not teach the port engineer how to run a closeout as a project. A maritime college MSc in shipping covers the policy and the economics, but not the document register or the corrective action format a PSC officer reads. A general project management course teaches the discipline but knows nothing about MARPOL, BWMS, or class condition handling. This course is the port engineer's tool, written for the work as it actually arrives at berth.

FAQ

Is this course only for tanker or bulk operators?

No. The workflow applies to any vessel under SOLAS and MARPOL. Worked examples cover tanker, bulk, container, and offshore support vessels. The templates are vessel-type agnostic and the implementation playbook is tuned to your specific mix.

Does the course cover the USCG inspection regime specifically?

Yes. Module 1 contrasts Paris MoU, Tokyo MoU, and USCG inspection expectations, and module 3 covers the corrective action evidence format USCG and the major open registry flag states accept.

How current is the MARPOL and BWMS content?

The course is rewritten when an IMO MEPC session changes a regime. The current edition reflects the fuel sulphur cap regime, the EEXI and CII workflow, and the BWM Convention sampling regime as currently enforced.

Can the implementation playbook be tuned to a single vessel rather than a fleet?

Yes. The playbook is hand-built per buyer. Tell us the vessel name, the flag, the class society, and the trading pattern, and the playbook is written around that vessel's surveys, dockings, and trading area inspection regimes.

Is there a guarantee?

30 days. If the course and the playbook do not give you a closeout schedule you can apply to a real deficiency, the purchase is refunded.

30-day money-back guarantee. If after a week of working through the materials this is not what you needed, reply to the receipt email and a full refund is processed. No questions, no forms.

Within 24 hours your account in the learning environment is provisioned and the tailored implementation playbook is delivered alongside it.