---
id: KB-CS-023
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/use-cases-by-sector/vessel-and-crew-documentation
idioma: en
categoria: casos-por-sector
subcategoria: maritimo
audiencia: usuario
nivel: basico
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-CS-024, KB-CF-002]
citadoPor: [KB-CS-024, KB-IU-015]
enLaApp: https://app.codecontract.io/flota/vessels
---

# Vessel and crew documentation

_Certificates that expire at sea and crews that change every trip._

**Responde a:** vessel document control · expired ship certificates · fishing crew documentation · vessel registry imo certificates

A vessel accumulates more documentation than a construction site, with one uncomfortable difference: when something expires, the ship may be three days from port. The check cannot happen on arrival; it has to happen before sailing.

## The three levels, as with machinery but harder

| Level | What it covers | Expires |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The vessel | Registration, IMO, call sign, class and safety certificates | Yes, nearly all of it |
| Its equipment | Beacons, life-saving, firefighting, inspections | Yes, on different dates from each other |
| The crew | Certificates of competency, medicals, safety training | Yes, and it changes every trip |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The cross-check between vessel and crew is what decides whether it sails. A ship with every certificate current and one crew member with an expired medical has a problem, and it is the same problem as a missing ship certificate.

## Why the warning has to be long

Renewing a vessel certificate is not asking for a piece of paper: it can mean an inspection, a technical stop or coordinating with a classification society. Sixty days is tight; ninety is reasonable for anything depending on third parties.

> [!WARNING]
> Crews rotate, and whoever boards on Tuesday may not be who was on Friday's list. Control has to be per person and checkable before boarding, not a company roster.

## Frameworks cited

International conventions on maritime safety and on seafarer training and certification, registration and flag rules, and — in fishing — the specific obligations of fishing activity. Which certificates your vessel type and fishing ground require is confirmed by your maritime authority or your adviser.

> [!NOTE]
> One case per vessel, with its equipment and crew inside, lets the skipper check from a phone before casting off. It is the same pattern as site access control, somewhere getting it wrong costs more.

**Can I manage several vessels?**

Yes, one case each, identified by IMO.

**What about temporary crew?**

Same as permanent: a participant with their documents and expiries.

**Does it serve for a port inspection?**

It is exactly what gets shown, and from a phone.

## Ejemplos

**An owner with six vessels finds at an inspection that a crew member sailed with an expired medical.**

- One case per vessel, with crew as participants
- 90-day warnings on anything depending on third parties

→ The skipper checks from a phone before sailing, and it stops depending on someone in the office remembering.

**A vessel arrives in port and a crew certificate that expired at sea is missing.**

- Records expiries per person and per vessel
- Warns with the lead time each process needs
- Checks the status before the vessel sails

→ The vessel is not detained over a paper that could have been renewed three weeks earlier.

**The vessel's documentation is on paper on board.**

- Also keeps it accessible ashore

→ A soaked paper stops halting a port call.

**Part of the crew changes at the last port.**

- Checks per person before embarkation

→ The crew change is not found incomplete at inspection.

**An inspection asks about a certificate from two years ago.**

- Keeps the history with its date

→ You answer from the archive.

**Each vessel keeps its documentation its own way.**

- Uses the same file structure for all

→ The fleet is reviewed in one go.

**A certificate is renewed and nobody updates the file.**

- Records the renewal on receipt

→ The status reflects reality.

**Documentation reaches the owner weeks later.**

- Captures it at the moment and shares it

→ The owner sees the status without asking.