Vessel Technical Due Diligence Checklist for Acquisitions

A vessel technical due diligence checklist should begin with the transaction question: what does the buyer need the vessel to do, when, under which flag, at what cost and with what level of reliability?

The document review should include title, class records, flag certificates, statutory compliance, insurance history, incident records, maintenance plans, dry-dock reports, machinery service records, defect logs, modification records, stability information, manuals, drawings and spare-parts lists.

The physical inspection should cover hull and structure, coatings, tanks, bilges, propulsion, generators, electrical distribution, batteries where relevant, fuel systems, steering, hydraulics, fire systems, lifesaving appliances, navigation equipment, communications, hotel loads, HVAC and corrosion or water-ingress evidence.

The operational review should test crewing assumptions, supplier support, spares availability, known reliability issues, software and control-system access, special tools, warranty status and any gap between how the vessel is advertised and how it is actually operated.

The final checklist item is decision quality. Every finding should be tagged by severity, cost, timing and deal impact. A long list of observations is less useful than a shorter list that tells the buyer what must happen before completion and what can wait.