Standard shipyard format for repair budget calculations of vessels at dock and relationship between the work scope and the repair period

Abstract

Shipyards are facilities where ships are built, repaired, and maintained. The reasons for repairs can be accidents or obligatory maintenance. Shipowners prefer shipyards that are near to the trading areas in order to avoid transportation costs. However, the selection of a shipyard can also be affected due to the quotes of faraway shipyards. It is well known that realistic repair budgets and repair timelines are considered as key elements in the selection of shipyards, but due to the inconsistencies in the repair reports, different formats, and lack of information, these budgets and timelines usually result in overruns and delays. After all, ship-owners try to maximize profit during a ship's life cycle, but repair processes in shipyards constitute one of the biggest costs and losses. The repair budgets of ships are prepared based on the developed repair reports by the ship's superintendent. These reports include details about works such as steel renewal, mechanical fixes, and docking activities. They can be used as a gross indication of the total repair cost. The estimates of the budget, however, depend on the repair period, dimensions of the ship, type, and tonnage, in addition to the superintendent report. However, due to the vagueness or incompleteness of the specifications, the precise pricing of repairs is by no means easy for the marketing departments of shipyards. Shipyards usually present their offers in their own formats and comparisons among several bids become difficult for the shipowners. The lack of a specification standard frequently leads to many of errors, ineffective communication, disputes and increased costs for shipowners. Ship repair periods are one of the most important parameters in a shipyard offer. Repair times vary depending on the work to be done on the ships and the shipyard's busyness. Explaining the relationship between repair work and repair times can help in making predictions about future ship repairs. Providing a correct repair time will not affect negatively the shipyard's future plans, will not increase the cost in the budget and will make the offer more attractive and realistic. A literature survey of various methods for ship repair budget estimation was carried to identify gaps in current techniques for budget estimation. Common factors for such techniques are that they require consistent information about the ship type, dimensions and type of repairs required. However, not enough research has been carried out in standardizing the specifications and procedures for repair and budgeting. Furthermore, most of the analysed approaches have a bias towards the shipowners or shipyards and thus, a major reason for that universally applicable solutions are difficult to develop. Serious challenges include the non-standard practices and unexpected repair requirements. Lack or inconsistency in the data within the repair reports leads to delay, disputes, and increased costs in the repair process. The inconsistency in bids due to different interpretations of the repair specification may lead to shipowners choosing inappropriate shipyards. Unexpected repair requirements discovered during the shipyard period result in increased costs and extended timelines of repairs. In addition, a uniform approach to the repair specifications is discussed. These standard specifications would enable shipyards to make precise bids supported by detailed and consistent repair lists, while shipowners could evaluate the bids equitably and effectively. Key components of repair specifications are the details of ships such as length, gross tonnage, thorough descriptions of repairs, time schedules, and accompanying technical drawings. They would allow shipyards to provide a more accurate estimation of the repair costs, and shipowners to evaluate the most adequate shipyard based on more accurate information from the bids, as well as ensuring that the extent of repair works is precisely defined, accurately priced, and consistently considered.