Condition Assessment Program (CAP) Surveys

A Condition Assessment Program (CAP) is the recognized method for a ship owner to demonstrate the quality and suitability of an asset for charter. Cargo owners and many of the largest charterers either require or prefer a CAP 1 or CAP 2 rating for all older vessels fixed to carry their cargo. The commercial opportunities for an older tanker, gas carrier, bulk carrier, containership or even an offshore support vessel (OSV) without a satisfactory CAP rating may be severely limited.

CAP provides a charterer with a technical evaluation of the physical condition and maintenance of a vessel above the requirements for class. The program includes a detailed survey of the structure’s gauging as well as extensive testing of the vessel’s machinery, equipment and cargo systems. This information combined with a strength and fatigue engineering analysis leads to a numeric rating being assigned to the vessel.

If you are a ship owner and you want to maintain your older vessel/s so that you can attract the best charters and therefore the best income, you need to have someone with experience to guide you through a CAP Survey, or even better still get us to do a full survey for you, in advance of the Classification Society so that you can plan your refit and repair budget.

CAP is a voluntary program, initially developed by the oil industry, to assess the continued fitness of older ships to carry their cargo safely. A CAP survey and gauging usually takes about 10 days and can be progressed while the vessel is on passage in ballast.

Broadeach Marine has extensive experience in helping owners prepare for CAP surveys.  In accordance with the recognised CAP rating criteria, we survey the full vessel and produce an extensive report for Hull, Outfitting and Machinery using the following scoring criteria.

Hull Structure: