Bulk Carrier Compliance: RightShip, RISQ 3.2 & DryBMS

Co-founder Capt. Sachin Sikka has sea experience on bulk carriers, and our auditors are Master Mariners who know what a hold inspection before loading, a long port stay and a stevedore-damaged ladder look like in real life.

What bulk carrier operators have to comply with

RightShip: Safety Score and inspections

Many dry bulk charterers screen vessels through the RightShip platform, where a ship's Safety Score sits alongside her inspection history and other information about her and her operator. A poor or missing inspection can close doors that a good ship should have open.

RISQ 3.2

The RightShip Inspection Ship Questionnaire is the standard RightShip inspectors work to, and it is freely available. RISQ 3.2 carries a revision date of 1 November 2025. RightShip says it reflects more than 240 inputs from 22 maritime associations, makes more than 150 adjustments, removes or combines 30 questions and should cut about two hours from an inspection. The updates touch training, navigation, ISM processes, machinery spaces, pollution prevention, cargo management and mooring. Mooring sits in Section 10.

The RightShip inspection age trigger

RightShip is lowering the age at which an acceptable RightShip inspection is required:

From 1 April 2026: vessels aged 12 years and over.
From 1 July 2026: vessels aged 11 years and over.
From 1 January 2027: vessels aged 10 years and over.

If your fleet has ships turning ten in the next year, they need a plan for their first RightShip inspection now.

DryBMS

The Dry Bulk Management Standard (DryBMS) is a management standard written for dry bulk operators. It was developed by INTERCARGO and RightShip with the industry and launched in 2020, and since 2024 it has been administered by the Dry Bulk Centre of Excellence (DBCE). The self-assessment covers 30 subject areas grouped under Performance, People, Plant and Process, scored at four levels: basic, intermediate, advanced and excellence. A level you cannot prove with records is a level you do not have.

Cargo, hold and structural rules

The IMSBC Code governs how solid bulk cargoes are declared, loaded and carried, including cargoes that may liquefy.
MARPOL Annex V controls when cargo residues and hold wash water may be discharged. Whether the shipper classes the cargo as harmful to the marine environment changes the answer, and every discharge belongs in the Garbage Record Book.
SOLAS chapter XII and the Enhanced Survey Programme set additional structural and survey requirements for bulk carriers.
Electronic inclinometers are required on new bulk carriers of 3,000 gross tonnage and above built from 1 January 2026, under SOLAS regulation V/19.2.12.

Mooring and port rules

SOLAS regulation II-1/3-8 has required all ships to inspect and maintain mooring equipment, including lines, since 1 January 2024. Several ports in Australia, South America and elsewhere apply rules stricter than SOLAS and MEG4, and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) inspects many bulk carriers loading in Australian ports.

Hours of rest in port

Bulk carriers spend long periods alongside with continuous cargo watches, hold cleaning between cargoes and draft surveys. MLC 2006 and STCW rest limits still apply, and RightShip inspectors check the records against what happened on board.

How Synergetic helps bulk carrier operators

Services

Pre-vetting inspections and sailing audits: a Master Mariner inspects the ship against RISQ 3.2 and company procedures before the real inspection, questions the crew the way an inspector would, and closes gaps on board where possible.
DryBMS gap assessment: every subject area tested against objective evidence, evidence packs and KPI dashboards built, and a mock office audit before you rely on your score.
SMS revamp: manuals rewritten as plain, task-based procedures, with every ISM Code, RISQ and DryBMS requirement traced to the procedure that meets it.
MEG4 mooring gap analysis and engineering assessment, including residual strength testing and line parting investigations.
Vessel condition and pre-purchase inspection: know the real condition of a second-hand bulk carrier before you buy or charter her.
Remote VDR analysis, incident investigation and PMS database creation.

Marine X7 modules that fit bulk carriers

DigiMoor X7: mooring line management with ClassNK type approval that lists RightShip RISQ Section 10 among its standards, plus a ports database for mooring compatibility before the ship arrives.
DMS X7: your SMS mapped to RISQ 3.2 and DryBMS, so procedures and standards stay linked through every revision.
HSEQ X7 and Inspect X7: your own inspections run offline with photos, and every RISQ, PSC and internal finding turned into fleet focus areas for DryBMS.
PMS X7: ClassNK approved planned maintenance, so the maintenance and defect records behind deck and engine equipment are believable.
Work-Ship: work and rest hours software approved by ClassNK and IRClass, and a RightShip Zero Harm Innovation Partner for crew wellbeing.
Certificate X7: ship and crew certificates and surveys tracked with alerts before anything falls due.
Clean X7: hold cleaning management, planned from your company's cleaning matrix, with progress photographs for every hold and the time, supplies and cost visible ashore. It helps you show MARPOL Annex V and RISQ discipline on every cargo change.

Each module runs on its own. See the full Marine X7 suite and our approvals and certifications.

Why dry bulk operators work with us

28 SIRE 2.0 and RightShip gap analyses with onboard training.
16 TMSA 3 and DryBMS office preparations and mock inspections.
550+ onboard sailing audits and pre-vetting inspections.
DigiMoor X7 and Work-Ship are both in RightShip's Zero Harm Innovation Partners Program.

Frequently asked questions

When does my bulk carrier need a RightShip inspection?

It depends on her age and the date. RightShip requires an acceptable inspection for vessels aged 12 and over from 1 April 2026, 11 and over from 1 July 2026, and 10 and over from 1 January 2027. Younger ships may still be inspected at a charterer's or owner's request.

What changed in RISQ 3.2?

RISQ 3.2, revised 1 November 2025, makes more than 150 adjustments and removes or combines 30 questions, which RightShip expects to save about two hours per inspection. Changes cover training, navigation, ISM processes, machinery spaces, pollution prevention, cargo management and mooring, with more weight on demonstrated crew competence and evidence.

Is DryBMS mandatory?

No regulation requires it, but charterers and RightShip use it to benchmark dry bulk operators, so in practice it shapes commercial access. The self-assessment covers 30 subject areas at four levels. A score backed by records, trends and people who can explain them is worth far more than a high score you cannot prove.

How does Clean X7 help with hold cleaning compliance?

Clean X7 plans each cleaning from your company's hold cleaning matrix, records progress with photographs for every hold, and shows time, supplies and cost ashore. That gives you a consistent method across the fleet and a record to support Annex V entries, hold inspections and RISQ questions.

Can you inspect a bulk carrier before we buy or charter her?

Yes. Our vessel condition and pre-purchase inspection surveys hull, machinery, cargo spaces, safety and navigation systems, tests class, PSC and maintenance records against what the surveyor sees, and grades every defect by severity with cost context. You know the real ship before the price is agreed.

Sources

Vessel typeContainer ships and car carriersPSC, flag, cargo safety and mooring for container ships and car carriers.Case studyDigiMoor X7: mooring off spreadsheetsHow a fleet operator met SOLAS 2024 and MEG4 and cut its annual rope spend.CompanyApprovals and certificationsClassNK, IRClass and RightShip recognition for our software.

Compliance and software for bulk carriers