RightShip inspections and RISQ 3.2: what dry bulk managers need to know

What is a RightShip inspection?

A RightShip inspection assesses the quality of a ship and checks that the crew are familiar with, and comply with, safety and statutory requirements, industry recommendations and good practice. The result reflects the actual condition and standard of operation of the ship on the day.

RightShip groups the ships it inspects into four categories:

1. bulk carriers carrying solid bulk cargoes other than grain;
2. bulk carriers carrying grain;
3. general cargo ships carrying general and/or container cargoes;
4. container ships carrying container cargoes.

The inspection feeds RightShip's vetting platform, which charterers use to assess ships before fixing them. RightShip makes a recommendation; the charterer still decides whether to fix the ship.

When does a ship need a RightShip inspection?

Under the age trigger, a ship needs a valid RightShip inspection to pass a RightShip vetting nomination once it reaches a set age. RightShip announced in December 2024 that it would bring the trigger down from 14 years in four phases, and has since revised the dates twice.

On 26 May 2026 RightShip changed Phase 4 to 10.5 years from 20 January 2027, after industry feedback that a 10-year trigger could clash with a ship's second special survey dry docking. Age is counted from the date of delivery and shown on the RightShip platform to one decimal place.

A ship at or above the age without a valid inspection is downgraded to a Safety Score of 2 out of 5 under the hybrid rule. The drop happens when the ship reaches the age, or on the implementation date if it is already older. RightShip has also said that ships under 8,000 DWT in these categories will need a similar inspection. For a practical plan for ships reaching the trigger, see our article RightShip inspection at 10.5 years.

How does the inspection relate to the RightShip Safety Score?

The Safety Score is RightShip's 1 to 5 rating of a ship's risk, used in vetting. Where no rule is triggered against the ship, a model calculates a score from 3 to 5 using several sub-scores:

Scores of 1 and 2 come from rules, such as a ship over the age trigger without a valid inspection. For ships with a low score, RightShip carries out extra checks before its recommendation, and a valid RightShip inspection is one of the ways to show that a ship is in good order. So the inspection does not set the score directly, but missing one can pull it down, and a good one supports the ship in vetting.

What is RISQ 3.2?

RISQ 3.2 is the November 2025 revision of the RightShip Inspection Ship Questionnaire. RightShip says the revision:

• makes more than 150 adjustments across the questionnaire;
• consolidates or removes 30 questions;
• should reduce inspection time by about 2 hours;
• was developed with 22 maritime associations and more than 240 unique inputs from owners, managers, inspectors and technical experts.

The questionnaire has 17 sections, from general information, certification and navigation to the ISM system, pollution prevention, cargo operations, hatch covers, mooring, machinery spaces and the health and welfare of seafarers. Some sections apply only to certain ships, such as alternative fuels, heavy lift ships, gantry cranes, ice operations and ship-to-ship transfers.

Annex A of RISQ 3.2 lists the main changes. Examples that affect preparation:

• Training: a new section on enhanced training requirements. Where an IMO model course exists, related training must follow it; otherwise it must be developed with subject matter experts, with a syllabus, objectives and an assessment.
• Ship handling (2.6): Masters with less than 36 months in rank, or newly promoted, on large ships (over 270 metres LOA or 140,000 DWT) should complete ship handling training aligned with STCW Code B-V/a.
• Officer matrix (2.13): a finding if the matrix does not reflect the officers on board, with an allowance for changes in the previous seven days.
• ECDIS (2.14 and 3.1): more emphasis on familiarisation, including actions for single or multiple ECDIS failures.
• BNWAS (3.12): managers must have a procedure for when and how the BNWAS is used, safeguards against unauthorised deactivation and regular testing.
• DryBMS (new questions): whether the manager subscribes to the Dry Bulk Centre of Excellence and has completed a DryBMS self-assessment. RightShip states that these answers are not recorded as findings and do not affect the outcome. See our DryBMS guide.

How does a RISQ inspection judge evidence?

Each question is answered Yes, No, Not applicable or Not viewed. A "No" must have a finding that explains the reason, and the inspector must not suggest how to fix it. RISQ 3.2 is explicit that the word of ship staff alone is not sufficient evidence, and that a crew member's familiarity with a task, and their ability to demonstrate it, counts as objective evidence.

This is why ships with a sound safety management system can still collect findings: the inspector checks whether the crew can show what the procedure requires. The same principle drives OCIMF's SIRE 2.0 for tankers; see our SIRE 2.0 guide.

What types of RightShip inspection are there?

These are RISQ targets for net inspection time, excluding interruptions such as meals or PSC visits. RightShip's own 2025 figures show real inspections took longer: it reported an average of 11.5 hours on board for hybrid inspections and 14.1 hours for standard ones. Preparation makes the difference.

What happens after a RightShip inspection?

1. Closing meeting. The Master receives the list of findings. The inspector gives no advice on fixes and no verbal indication of the result.
2. Report. The inspector sends the findings to RightShip straight away and the full report within 72 hours of leaving the ship.
3. Close-out within 15 days. The manager must send a meaningful root cause analysis, with corrective and long-term preventive actions, for each finding within 15 days of the inspection. If no satisfactory response is received within 15 days, the inspection is invalid.
4. Outcome and validity. RightShip sets validity from a matrix based on the severity of findings, the number of findings and the quality of the close-out. The outcome can be 12, 9, 6 or 3 months' validity, or unacceptable.

Findings are rated low, medium or high risk. Since 17 June 2026, RightShip no longer gives "show-stopper" findings an automatic impact on Safety Scores and inspection outcomes. In the navigation and machinery space sections, every four low or medium findings may count as one high-risk finding.

The close-out is where RightShip judges the office. A good one describes the finding accurately, finds the management system cause rather than blaming a person, states what was fixed on board and what will stop it recurring across the fleet, and attaches evidence.

Where do RightShip inspections find the most high-risk issues?

RightShip reported 4,985 inspections from January to 12 November 2025, with 93% marked acceptable and an average of 20.1 findings per inspection, down from 23.1 in 2024. The questions with the most high-risk findings were:

Most of these depend on records and crew demonstration as much as on hardware. For enclosed spaces, see our enclosed space entry guide.

How should you prepare a ship for a RightShip inspection?

1. List the fleet by delivery date and mark when each dry bulk and general cargo ship reaches 10.5 years. Check each ship's age on the platform, not from the build year.
2. Book early, around the dry dock. RightShip lets you change the date and port later on the platform.
3. Run an internal pre-inspection against RISQ 3.2 a few months ahead, with crew demonstrations and interviews, not just a document check.
4. Close the high-risk areas first: enclosed space entry records and training, lifeboat servicing and familiarity, hatch cover maintenance, machinery upkeep, pilot ladder records, mooring line certificates and winch brake tests.
5. Check the training records against the RISQ 3.2 enhanced training requirements, including IMO model courses where they exist.
6. Update the officer matrix and the manager's documents; for a hybrid inspection, upload everything at least 72 hours before boarding.
7. Prepare the office for the 15-day close-out. Agree who writes each root cause analysis before the inspector boards.
8. Trend findings across the fleet, so a finding on one ship leads to a check on the others.

Records that are easy to show help. RightShip has approved two of our Marine X7 modules: DigiMoor X7 for mooring lines and Work-Ship for rest hours. Inspect X7 is our offline audit and inspection app for internal pre-inspections.

Synergetic has carried out more than 550 onboard sailing audits and pre-vetting inspections, and 28 SIRE 2.0 and RightShip gap analyses with onboard training.

Related