Yard selection, contract negotiation, daily in-person progress oversight, and post-docking assessment. Most drydock overruns are not accidents — they are the result of a scope that was not fixed firmly enough before work started. We fix the scope first.
The work that prevents a drydock from overrunning happens before the vessel arrives. Yard selection based on your specific vessel type and scope. Tender preparation that creates genuine competition between yards. Contract negotiation that locks the scope firmly enough that additional work items need written approval and a separate price.
Once the vessel is in dry dock, we are in the yard daily. Progress against the agreed scope. Verification that class-required work is completed to the surveyor's satisfaction before the vessel is undocked. Identification of any scope additions before they are charged — not after. Daily written reports back to the owner.
Post-docking, we do a final assessment of condition and sign-off documentation before departure. Where follow-up items exist, they are listed with responsibility allocated and timelines confirmed.
Yard selection & tender — based on vessel type, scope, and owner's timeline
Scope preparation — class items separated from owner's work
Contract negotiation — fixed scope, agreed price, variation control
Daily in-person oversight — superintendent present at yard throughout
Daily written progress report — to owner and class surveyor
Variation control — all additional work approved in writing before proceeding
Class coordination — survey attendance, condition close-out, certificate issue
Invoice verification — yard invoices checked against agreed scope before payment
Post-docking assessment — final condition report with open items
We prepare a detailed drydock specification document. Class-required items, owner-initiated work, and recommended items are listed separately with estimated costs.
Tender to 3–5 yards. Evaluation on price, availability, track record on similar vessels, and geographic convenience. Recommendation with supporting data.
Superintendent at yard every day. Progress tracked against the approved specification. All additional items captured and approved in writing before work proceeds.
Class survey completed and certificate issued. Invoice verified against contracted scope. Post-docking condition report issued. Vessel undocked and departed.
The most expensive drydock additions are the ones that were never in the specification. We define the scope precisely enough that anything added requires a separate written order.
Yards present additional work items as urgent class requirements. We know which items are class-mandated and which are recommendations. The difference can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Dry dock delays cost off-hire. We track progress daily against the agreed completion date and flag delays before they compound, not after the undocking date has already passed.
Yard invoices are checked line by line against the agreed scope and approved variations. Work that was not approved does not get paid — which requires the variation control to have been done correctly upstream.
We have worked with yards in Singapore, China, Turkey, UAE, and India. We know which yards perform and which yards need tighter contract language.
Survey coordination is handled by our team. We know when the surveyor needs to attend, what documentation is required, and what condition the work needs to be in before survey attendance is requested.
We've sat on both sides of a drydock — as the engineer signing off the work, and now as the manager controlling the budget. That's the difference between a superintendent who reviews a quotation and one who knows which line items are padding.
A typical yard repair list often includes line items that are yard-preference, not class-requirement or safety-requirement. We separate the two before the contract is signed, with daily progress checked in person — not signed off remotely — so your vessel comes back on time and on budget.
Tell us the vessel, scope, and timeline. We can step in at specification stage, tender stage, or at the yard — whichever is most useful given where you are now.
Discuss your drydock →