This decision tree belongs to the vessel maintenance deferrals guide, which shows what a deferral record contains. Here the only question is who can say yes.
The decision tree: who can say yes to a deferral records discussion
Work through the questions in order. Each one can be answered by the technical director in conversation, without opening a record.
- Does the company want to discuss licensing at all?
- No: stop. Nothing else matters until an executive is interested.
- Yes, or "ask the MD": go to 2.
- Whose ships are these?
- Owned by the company or its group: go to 3.
- Managed for third-party owners: go to 4.
- A mix: run 3 for owned ships and 4 for managed ones, and list both groups in the introduction.
- Owned fleet. Introduce the managing director or CEO, with the technical director as the factual contact. Go to 5.
- Managed fleet. What does the ship management agreement say about ship records and data?
- Records or data belong to the owner: the owner's representative must be part of the discussion.
- Records belong to the manager: the manager's managing director can authorize for those records.
- Silent, unclear, or different agreements per owner: name both parties. The answer stays unknown until SourceX's rights review.
- Do the records include crew personal details, charterer information or class correspondence? If yes, legal or the contracts lead will need to review in SourceX's process. That does not block the introduction; it tells SourceX who else must sign off.
The tree ends with a short list of names, not a decision. The partner's job is to put the right people in the room.
Roles around a deferral record, and what each can confirm
| Role | What they can confirm | Can they authorize licensing? |
|---|---|---|
| Technical director (manager) | Systems, record classes, years of coverage, access deadlines | Rarely alone |
| Managing director or CEO (manager) | Whether the company wants to discuss licensing at all | Yes, for records the manager controls |
| Owner's representative | Whether the agreement gives the owner rights over ship records | Yes, for records the owner controls |
| Designated person ashore or quality manager | How deferrals and non-conformities are recorded in the safety management system | No; a source of facts |
| Fleet superintendent | Which approvals sit in email rather than the maintenance system | No |
| Legal or contracts lead | What the management agreement says about records at contract end | Advises; signs only if delegated |
The ISM Code is why the roles split this way. It defines "the Company" as the owner or any other organization, such as a manager or bareboat charterer, that has assumed responsibility for operating the ship, and it requires a designated person ashore with direct access to the highest level of management. Operating responsibility explains who keeps the records day to day. It does not settle who owns them.
When owner, manager or both must sign
The owner-manager split is the question to raise early. A ship manager may keep years of deferral history for ships it does not own, and the rights may sit with the owner, the manager or both.
BIMCO's SHIPMAN form is the standard ship management agreement, covering crew, technical and commercial management and insurance arrangements. Its 2024 edition added provisions on owners' access to ship data held in the managers' information system, on who owns that data, and on how it is handled when the agreement ends. Older agreements, bespoke contracts and in-house group arrangements may say something different or nothing at all.
| Agreement says | Who the introduction names | What SourceX checks |
|---|---|---|
| Ship data belongs to the owner | Owner's representative and the manager's MD | Owner consent for the manager's records of that ship |
| Manager keeps its own operational records | Manager's MD | Whether any owner-specific data is mixed in |
| Silent or unclear | Both | The full agreement, in rights review |
| Group-owned ships under an internal agreement | Group executive and manager's MD | Which entity holds the records |
Aviation has the same pattern between operators and lessors, covered in who owns aircraft maintenance records. The general rule for any company is in who needs authority to approve a data partnership.
What needs legal, owner or class sign-off
Some parts of a deferral chain carry other parties' interests even when the company clearly owns the main records.
- Crew details. Names and signatures on defect reports and sign-offs are personal data. They are handled during data preparation; the partner never asks about individuals.
- Class correspondence. Where a defect touches classification, the class society records conditions of class, and IACS keeps a procedure for suspending class when surveys or conditions of class go overdue. Survey reports involve the class society's own documents, which SourceX's review would treat separately.
- Charterer information. Some deferrals mention charter commitments or off-hire. Those references may be covered by charter party confidentiality.
None of these stops the first conversation. They tell SourceX which reviews to plan. The system map shows which system holds each of these records.
What stays unknown until SourceX's rights review
The partner can confirm, at metadata level: the record classes, the fleet size and years covered, whether ships are owned or managed, and who the decision-makers are. The company 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: how rights split under each management agreement, how crew names and ship identifiers are treated in preparation, buyer interest in this workflow, and any offer. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions, and the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application. Once the names are clear, the referral brief template gives the handoff format. The transportation industry page and maintenance data for AI training give wider context.
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.
When the tree ends with a named executive for the manager and, where needed, the owner, register as a partner, check the company on who qualifies and read the terms before you make the introduction.