This timeline belongs to the vessel maintenance deferrals guide, which explains why a deferral chain is worth keeping. This page answers the timing question: in a handover, which pieces go dark first, and who decides whether they are kept?
Transition timeline: when each deferral record stops being readable
Illustrative. A fictional 180-person ship manager runs fourteen vessels. One owner moves four of them to another manager. The notice period, dates and system terms below are invented; real ones come from the management agreement and the software contracts.
| Day | Event | What becomes hard to read | What carries on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Owner gives notice under the management agreement | Nothing yet; inventory starts | All systems readable |
| 45 | Incoming manager receives equipment lists and open jobs | Closed deferral chains are not in the transfer set | Open deferrals, running hours |
| 90 | Contract ends; vessels leave the outgoing manager's fleet | Superintendent approvals for those vessels, as staff move on | Onboard logs stay with the ship |
| 120 | Outgoing planned maintenance license for the four vessels lapses | Closed jobs, deferral requests, closing work orders | Nothing for these vessels in the old system |
| Later | Mailbox cleanup under the manager's email policy | Remaining approval threads | Only what was archived on purpose |
The order is the point. Approvals go first, because they live with people rather than systems. Closed jobs go next, when the license or server access for the transferred vessels ends. Onboard records are the least exposed, because they travel with the ship.
Which records move with the ship and which stay behind
| Record class | Usually held by | In a handover it usually | Readable until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open jobs, open deferrals, running hours | Planned maintenance system | Moves to the incoming manager | Carries on |
| Equipment list and codes | Planned maintenance system | Moves, often renumbered by the new system | Old codes readable until license ends |
| Closed deferral requests and closing work orders | Planned maintenance system | Stays with the outgoing manager | License end for those vessels |
| Shore approvals and conditions | Superintendent email | Stays, scattered across mailboxes | Staff changes or mailbox cleanup |
| Non-conformity reports and corrective actions | Manager's document control | Stays; belongs to the manager's safety management system | Manager's own retention schedule |
| Service reports and parts requisitions | Purchasing, document control | Stays, filed under the outgoing manager's references | Manager's own retention schedule |
| Engine log, Oil Record Book | On board | Stays with the vessel | Carries on |
The renumbering row matters more than it looks. If the incoming manager issues new equipment codes, the old history cannot be joined to the new one without a cross-reference. The system map explains which keys carry a chain and which break at a cutover.
Retention periods that already apply on board and ashore
Some records carry their own rules, which helps set expectations. U.S. regulations require the Oil Record Book to be kept on board, readily available for inspection, for at least three years. That is a record of oil handling, not maintenance decisions, but it shows the general pattern: what is kept on board is regulated and stays with the ship.
Shore-side deferral history has fewer fixed rules. The ISM Code makes "the Company" responsible for the safety management system, and its definition covers an owner or a manager that has taken on responsibility for operating the ship. When that responsibility moves, the day-to-day keeping of records moves with it. IMO guidance adds that corrective action for a non-conformity should not normally exceed three months, so a non-conformity raised shortly before a handover may close under the incoming manager while its history stays with the outgoing one.
Contracts may set rules too. BIMCO's SHIPMAN 2024 added provisions on owners' access to and ownership of vessel data held in the managers' information system, including how that data is handled when the agreement ends. Older or bespoke agreements may say nothing, which is exactly when the inventory matters.
Five facts to collect before the handover date
All five are metadata. None requires opening a record.
- Record classes. Inspection findings, defect reports, deferral or postponement requests, approvals, service reports, parts requisitions, closing work orders.
- Time coverage. The oldest closed deferral anyone can open today, per vessel.
- System owners. Which planned maintenance system, which document control or email archive, and who administers each.
- The real access deadline. The date the outgoing manager's license, server or mailbox access ends for the transferred ships, with its source. A documented date is the only urgency worth naming.
- Authority. Whose agreement governs the records, and who signs for each party.
Land-based fleets face a similar problem when a maintenance system is replaced; the CMMS migration guide covers export checks for those systems. A handover of service operations follows the same logic, as the support transition plan shows in another setting.
Who decides what the outgoing manager keeps
Keeping or archiving the closed history is a decision for the parties with authority, not the partner.
| Record set | Who decides whether it is archived | What they check |
|---|---|---|
| Manager's own safety management records | Manager's managing director, with the designated person ashore | Manager's retention policy |
| Maintenance history for the transferred vessels | Manager and owner, under the agreement | What the agreement says on records at contract end |
| Superintendent mailboxes | Manager's IT and legal | Email policy, personal data |
| Onboard records | Owner and incoming manager | Flag and regulatory requirements |
Do not suggest that anyone keeps or copies records they are not authorized to keep. The point of the inventory is that the right people can decide before the date passes. Who should be introduced is set out in who can license these records; aviation has a comparable split, covered in who owns aircraft maintenance records.
The company itself needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English. Unknown until SourceX reviews it: the rights split for transferred vessels, how crew details would be handled, buyer interest and any offer. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
If a ship manager has a documented handover date and years of closed deferrals in the outgoing system, register as a partner, confirm the company on who qualifies and read the terms before you introduce the managing director.