Project quality plan
Prepared before mobilisation. It states the scope, the reporting cycle, the delegated authority of the site team and the hold and witness points the owner wants attended.
Newbuilding supervision
What the owner's site team actually does.
A shipbuilding contract is only as good as the people who check it is being honoured. This page sets out how Seahorse MEC supervises a newbuilding from the first steel plate to the delivery protocol, and what you receive along the way.
Our undertaking
We give the owner an independent, competent and honest account of what is being built, in time for the owner to act on it.
Independent means our findings are not adjusted to suit the yard, the programme or anyone's preference. Competent means the person who signs the inspection record witnessed the work and understood it. Timely means a finding reaches you while it can still be corrected cheaply, which in practice means within 24 hours of detection.
Every supervisor works to the same written system, the Seahorse Technical Circulars and Forms Library, so the record you receive from a hull supervisor in Xiamen reads the same as one from an electrical supervisor in Yangzhou.
What you receive
- A weekly site report and a monthly management report, with immediate notification of anything serious.
- Inspection records for every formal inspection and test, signed by the person who attended.
- Non-conformity reports raised within 24 hours and tracked to verified closure.
- Live registers: plan approval, drawing comments, vendor documents, punch list, variations and issues.
- A weekly meeting with the yard and the classification surveyor, minuted.
- A complete project archive, built as the ship is built, not assembled at the end.
Before the first steel is cut
Most of the trouble on a newbuilding is decided before anyone lifts a plate. We use the period between contract and steel cutting to set the ground rules.
Inspection and test plan
The yard drafts it, we comment, and both parties sign. From then on it is the agreed list of formal inspections. Everything else is covered by daily patrol inspections.
Plan and vendor approval
Yard drawings and maker documents are reviewed against the specification, class rules and flag requirements. Comments go out on a standard approval letter and sit in a register until closed. Nothing is treated as approved on a verbal statement.
Makers list
Each vendor on the makers list is analysed against the technical specification before approval, so that a cheaper substitute does not appear later as a fait accompli.
Site set-up
Filing structure, registers, office, HSE risk assessment and the yard's emergency arrangements are all in place on day one. Every new team member completes a familiarisation and safety induction before working unaccompanied.
The team
A Project Manager leads hull, mechanical, electrical and paint supervisors, supported by a technical secretary who keeps the registers and correspondence current. Team size is matched to the number of hulls and the build stage.
Through the build
Inspections are carried out against the specification, the approved drawings, class rules and the applicable standard, which for shipbuilding tolerances is IACS Recommendation 47. The stages below follow the order in which a ship is built in a Chinese yard.
Steel material and processing
Plates and sections are checked on arrival against their mill certificates, and inspected for thickness tolerance, lamination and surface condition before processing. Marking, cutting and forming are checked for dimensional and angular accuracy and, for hot forming, heating temperature.
Sub-assembly and block construction
Blocks are checked for geometry, edge accuracy, alignment of internal structure, flatness of panels and stiffeners, the level of the main engine seating and the correctness of pre-outfitting against the working drawings. Blocks are blasted and painted only after inspection.
Welding
Welder qualifications, consumables, joint preparation and approved welding procedures are verified before work starts. Seams are inspected visually and by NDE (radiography and ultrasonic) to the class-approved plan, with attention to weld size, integrity of all-round welds and control of distortion.
Erection and hull closing
At erection we witness marking on the slipway or in the dock, the position of the reference block, frame spacing at block junctions, keel straightness, shaft centreline alignment, the closing of temporary openings and the principal dimensions of the hull. Loadline and draught marks are checked before painting.
Tightness testing
Tanks and compartments are tested by air, hydrostatic or hose test as specified. We attend for weld cleaning, test pressure, procedure and duration, and inspect for deformation and leakage before sign-off.
Piping
Pipe material is checked against certificates on arrival. Bending, cleaning, pressure testing, galvanising and painting are inspected in the pipe shop before installation, and each system is pressure tested and flushed on board to the specified cleanliness before commissioning.
Coatings
Surface preparation, environmental conditions, stripe coats and dry film thickness are inspected at each stage from shop primer to final coat, working with the paint maker's representative. Ballast tanks and cargo tanks receive particular attention, since coating failures are the most expensive to put right after delivery.
Hull outfitting
Steering gear, windlass and mooring equipment, lifeboats and davits, accommodation ladders, cargo gear and pumps, weathertight closing appliances, air conditioning, fire fighting and tank sounding systems are inspected for installation accuracy and function tested against the maker's manual and the specification.
Machinery installation
Shaft alignment is witnessed, with attention to the readiness of the surrounding structure and the conditions under which the sighting is done. Propeller fitting, main engine seating, chocking, lateral bracing and auxiliary machinery installation are inspected for clearances, bolt tightness, axial clearance and freedom of rotation.
Electrical installation
Cable supports, penetrations and equipment seats are checked for type approval, watertight and fire integrity, and welding and painting. Cable laying is inspected for routing, protection, earthing, terminations and the separation of essential circuits such as steering gear and emergency power.
Commissioning, mooring trials and sea trials
Factory acceptance tests agreed with the owner are attended and the results filed. Mooring trials and sea trials are run to programmes approved by class and the owner, with an inclining experiment or deadweight check completed before the ship sails. Our supervisors attend every test, and the punch list from trials is managed to closure.
Completion and delivery
We check the delivery inventory of spares, stores and navigation equipment, the correct fixing of IMO signs, loadline and draught marks and safety notices, the as-built drawings, certificates and test records, and the delivery and acceptance documentation. Where requested, we represent the owner at delivery and execute the acceptance documents on their behalf.
When something is wrong
A non-conformity is any departure from the contract, specification, approved drawings, class rules or applicable standard. It is raised in writing within 24 hours of detection, classified, and tracked until the supervisor who raised it verifies the closure. An unverified closure is not a closure.
| Level | Description | Action | Escalation | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minor departure, no effect on safety, performance or class | Corrected on site and recorded on the punch list | Project Manager | 48 hours |
| 2 | Requires yard rework or a documented correction | Non-conformity report raised, correction requested and tracked to closure | Project Manager and owner | 7 days |
| 3 | Affects vessel safety, performance or contractual compliance | Formal report; corrective action plan required from the yard | Technical Director and owner | 14 days |
| 4 | May cause delay, class refusal or regulatory non-compliance, or an unsafe condition | Activity stopped; meeting with yard and class the same day | Chief Executive, owner and class | Same day, then daily until closed |
After delivery
The archive we hand over at delivery is the owner's evidence for the guarantee period. If a warranty claim or any other claim against the yard or its subcontractors is disputed, we can support the owner with the records, the people who made them and, where needed, attendance at the yard.
Scope to suit the project
The full site team described here suits a series of vessels. For a single hull, a resale, or an owner who already has a superintendent on site, we can provide individual discipline supervisors, plan approval only, or attendance at trials and delivery. Tell us about the project and we will propose a scope and a team.