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SVC Marine
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SVC Marine goes on board to take delivery under the buyer’s mandate. Our team checks the agreed vessel condition, documents, inventories and bunkers, records outstanding items and prepares the handover record with the vessel’s representatives. Every open item leaves the ship as an owner-assigned action in the first repair and supply worklist.
Work packages
01
Delivery is the point at which the seller hands the vessel to the buyer under the MOA and the agreed delivery arrangements. In practice it is several transfers at once: the delivery protocol and transaction documents, physical control of the ship, certificates and technical records, inventories, spares, bunkers and lube oil, and the operating knowledge held by the outgoing master, chief engineer and crew.
SVC boards the vessel on the buyer’s side. Our superintendent records the visible condition, checks what is physically handed over, counts the agreed inventories, attends the ROB readings, lists the documents actually presented and writes down every matter left open. The buyer receives a dated field record of what was found, and questions are raised while the seller’s people are still on board.
A ship can be contractually delivered while manuals, spares, certificates or crew knowledge are still incomplete, and from that moment the gaps sit with the buyer. We make each one visible, attach it to a responsible party and carry it into the first worklist.
02
The streams run at the same time, but we record them separately: a buyer can hold title and still lack the records, equipment and knowledge to operate the ship.
SVC records which documents are presented, whether they are originals or copies and what is physically received on board. Legal sufficiency, authenticity and contractual acceptance are decided by the buyer’s lawyers and advisers.
We inspect and count what actually stays on board when the seller’s crew leaves.
A delivery is not complete for the operator until the incoming crew can run the ship safely. We record the transfer of that knowledge and the gaps left in it.
03
SVC reads the agreed MOA delivery requirements and builds the handover checklist around the vessel, documents and delivery window. We identify what must be ready, who must provide it and which open matters need the buyer’s decision before delivery.
The team prepares the onboard inspection, inventory checks and documentary handover with the vessel’s representatives. The buyer or its authorised representative approves contractual acceptance and signs within the agreed authority.
Before boarding we confirm in writing what SVC is appointed to do, who in the buyer’s team receives our reports and who holds authority to accept delivery. Ownership transfer, payment release, mortgage discharge, registration, class acceptance and insurance approval remain with the parties, their lawyers and banks, class, flag and insurers.
04
We work to a fixed sequence so that each check happens while there is still time to act on it. The dates move with the delivery notices; the order of work does not.
We fix the delivery place and date, the MOA terms that affect the field scope and the parties’ contacts, and plan the attendance team, new crew, class and flag actions, known repairs and the documents and inventories to check.
We check the delivery document checklist, class status and certificate validity, the crew joining schedule and port formalities, the bunker, stores and spare-parts requirement, repair-team readiness and the buyer’s reporting format.
We confirm boarding time and place, the seller’s and buyer’s representatives, the master and chief engineer, bunker survey, photograph permission, protocol timing, the open-item list and launch and agent arrangements.
On board we record vessel condition, the documents presented, inventory status, spares and loose equipment, bunkers and lube oil, defects and open items, the crew handover, the protocol status and the time physical control passes to the buyer.
We check new crew familiarisation, outstanding certificates, port clearance, critical stores and spares, machinery readiness, class or flag attendance, the immediate repair list and the departure plan.
Before sailing we review crew and documents, navigation and safety items, machinery, bunkers and provisions, class and flag status, insurer instructions, delivery-voyage repairs and first-cargo preparation.
05
We settle these items with the buyer before the attendance team boards.
06
We inspect the accessible vessel condition and check the agreed inventories, spares, loose equipment, manuals, drawings and maintenance records. Missing, damaged or disputed items are recorded against the relevant handover requirement.
The condition record covers what is visible and accessible during the attendance: exterior, deck, accessible cargo spaces, engine room, bridge and accommodation, visible damage, temporary repairs, active leaks or alarms, removed equipment and seller rectification items.
We place every item against what was known at the pre-purchase inspection stage. That comparison turns an observation into something the buyer can act on: a claim, a negotiation point or a post-delivery repair. A full re-inspection is a separate appointment.
No material visible change found within the delivery attendance scope.
New damage, deterioration, removal of equipment or a new operational problem.
The item was inaccessible, unavailable or outside the earlier inspection scope, and is now recorded for the first time.
We count deck and engine stores, critical and engine spares, tools, welding, safety, navigation and mooring equipment, cargo gear, manuals, keys, consumables, provisions and bonded stores, one status per line. Ownership, value and serviceability are confirmed separately where needed.
07
Document sets vary with the transaction, MOA, flag, registry and legal structure. We record what is presented, whether it is an original or a copy, the validity dates shown and what is missing against the agreed list. The buyer’s lawyers and bank decide legal sufficiency and title effect.
Reviewed by the buyer’s lawyers and bank.
Listed for class, flag and the new manager.
Listed for the buyer’s technical team.
Listed for the master and new manager.
08
Bunkers and lube oil are usually priced in the sale, so the buyer needs to keep four things apart: what was observed on board, how it was measured, how it is priced and what is contractually accepted.
SVC attends the soundings, records meter readings, checks bunker delivery notes, fuel grades and lube-oil quantities, photographs the readings and reports differences against the seller’s figures. A figure relied on for settlement comes from an agreed measurement method and, where required, an appointed bunker surveyor. Sampling is done only when separately agreed.
09
Our team checks the documents received, class and certificate status, survey items and the manuals the new operating team needs. We record outstanding documents and the party responsible for providing them.
SVC plans the agreed crew transition and familiarisation: machinery status, defects, maintenance history, operating instructions and the work that the incoming crew needs to complete. Port formalities and clearance are checked with the appointed agent.
A new crew may take the ship hours before departure. We record known defects, operating limits, alarm history, pending maintenance, unusual arrangements and critical procedures, and list the gaps. The master, officers and manager hold formal operational control.
10
Digital records and accounts often leave with the seller’s manager rather than the ship, so we put them on the handover list from the start.
Passwords, banking information, software access and personal data move only through a secure method approved by the buyer. SVC does not receive, hold or pass on credentials unless the buyer authorises it in writing and approves the method.
11
The change of owner triggers class, flag, insurance and safety-management actions that must line up with the delivery date. SVC attends the vessel for these local actions, checks their status on board and reports what is complete and what is outstanding. Issue, acceptance and legal effect remain with the class society, flag administration, registry, insurers and the appointed professional parties.
12
An unresolved item does not close because the delivery protocol has been signed. Every open matter goes into an open-item register with an owner and a required action, and the register stays live until each line is closed with a photograph, document, report, class record or service certificate.
In the first 24 to 72 hours we sort the register into what must close before sailing (safety, statutory, class, port clearance and essential machinery), what can close on the delivery voyage within the operating plan, and what belongs in the planned drydock scope (yard access, underwater work, heavy steel renewal or major survey).
13
The delivery pack is SVC’s buyer-side field record. It gives the buyer and its advisers the facts from the ship; it is not a certificate of delivery and has no contractual effect of its own. Each entry carries a status such as received, observed on board, not presented, pending legal review, post-delivery action or closed.
14
The exposures we meet most often are missing original documents or manuals, removed equipment and missing spares, disputed ROB figures, delayed or under-briefed crew, pending surveys or interim certificates, and new defects that hold up port clearance. No attendance removes every risk; ours makes each one visible while the seller is still on board.
15
When the purchase needs immediate repairs, SVC turns the open-item list into an agreed work scope. Our superintendent inspects yard progress; our repair teams carry out commissioned onboard work and our supply teams deliver the ordered spares and stores.
Many second-hand ships are bought with known defects or upcoming surveys already priced in. We build the first work package from the delivery record: steel and pipe repair, machinery and electrical work, LSA, FFE and radio service, spares, class recommendations, underwater inspection and name and port marking. Our teams carry out afloat repair work, our superintendent attends the yard under drydock supervision, our ship chandlers deliver stores, provisions and spares, and our crew change team handles sign-on and sign-off at Vietnamese ports. Where the buyer wants one party on board for the whole period, SVC acts as owner’s representative.
Delivery is the last step of the purchase chain that starts with vessel sourcing, pre-purchase inspection and the ship sale and purchase negotiation.
Send the delivery location and date, agreed MOA requirements, available documents and known defects to [email protected]. See ship sale and purchase, drydock supervision and completed vessel transactions.
Completed transaction work, including a container vessel sale with drydock and DNV class renewal, is shown on Recent Transactions. The first worklist after delivery draws on our steel repair and hot work, marine spare parts, technical superintendent, bunker survey and port captain, crew change and ship management work.
16
The earlier we receive these particulars, the more of the timeline above we can complete before boarding.
17
It is the stage at which the seller transfers the vessel to the buyer under the MOA. It covers the documents, physical control of the ship, inventories, spares, bunkers, lube oil, records and the crew handover.
Yes. Under a written mandate from the buyer, SVC boards the vessel, records the handover items, checks documents and inventories and reports open matters to the buyer in a dated field record.
Only when the buyer gives SVC clear written authority, approved by the buyer and its advisers. Without it, the buyer or its appointed signatory signs.
No. SVC records which documents are presented and physically received, and whether they are originals or copies. Legal sufficiency, authenticity and contractual acceptance are reviewed by the buyer’s lawyers and advisers.
Yes. We attend the soundings, record readings and supply records and report differences. A quantity used for settlement comes from an agreed measurement method and, where required, a properly appointed bunker survey.
Yes. We count the items on board against the agreed inventory or handover list and give each line a status. Serviceability, ownership and contractual compliance are confirmed separately where the buyer needs them.
Yes. We attend the transfer between the seller’s and the buyer’s crews, record what is briefed on the bridge, in the engine room and on deck, and report missing information or readiness gaps.
Yes, when appointed. SVC handles local crew-change arrangements at Vietnamese ports, subject to immigration, visa, port, agent and vessel requirements.
Yes, against the vessel’s requisition and subject to local availability, customs and port procedures. We can supply dedicated Halal provision packages for Muslim crews.
Yes. We turn the delivery defect list into an agreed work scope and, when appointed, carry out afloat repairs, supply spare parts, attend class surveys and plan the drydock in Vietnam.
No. It is a focused record of visible condition and material changes at delivery. A full re-inspection is a separate scope that the buyer can appoint us for.
We record it, photograph it where appropriate, give it a status and report it to the buyer and its advisers immediately, while the seller is still on board.
We consider regional attendance case by case, depending on location, timing, access and the mandate. Send the delivery place and window to [email protected].
Please provide your company details and the vessel requirement or work scope. Acceptance is subject to verification and confirmation by SVC Marine.