Audits & inspections
Audits and inspections that find what the next auditor will find
Fastnet carries out internal audits, vessel inspections and readiness reviews for owners, operators, charterers and investors. The work is performed by a Nautical Institute qualified Lead Auditor in the ISM Code, the ISPS Code and MLC.
An audit that finds nothing is not a good audit. It is a wasted one, and it leaves the findings to be raised by somebody whose opinion costs you more.
When we can help
You may have an external audit, a flag inspection or a client assurance visit coming. You may have findings that were closed on paper and have come back.
You may be chartering a vessel, taking one into management, or investing in an operator, and need an independent view before you commit.
What the assignment can include
- Internal audit against the ISM Code, the ISPS Code and MLC 2006
- Pre-external audit readiness review, against what the external auditor will actually examine
- Gap analysis against flag, class, statutory and client requirements
- eCMID-format vessel inspection
- Management system review where the audit finds the system rather than the practice is at fault
- Corrective action development, and verification that the correction worked
- Mobilisation review against the contract requirements before the vessel enters service
- Client or owner representation during third-party audit and inspection
How an audit is run
Fastnet audits the system against the way the work is actually done, not against the way the manual says it is done.
Findings are written so the reader can tell what was seen, which requirement it breaches, and what has to change. Each one is graded by consequence and traced to its evidence.
Where access, time or information was insufficient to reach a conclusion, the report says so plainly rather than implying an examination that did not happen.
What you receive
- An audit report stating the scope, the method, what was examined and what was not
- Findings graded by consequence, each traceable to the requirement it breaches
- A corrective action register with owners and dates
- Verification that closed findings are actually closed
- A readiness position ahead of the external audit
What is not included
Audits performed by Fastnet are internal or second party and advisory in nature. Fastnet is not an accredited certification body, does not issue certification to any management system standard, and does not act for a classification society or flag Administration. Fastnet does not close findings on your behalf; it verifies that you have.
Common questions
Can you audit before the external audit?
That is usually the most useful time. An internal audit and readiness review identifies gaps in implementation and in the supporting evidence while there is still time to correct them.
Can you use our reporting format?
Yes. We work within an agreed client format, provided the findings, the evidence and the follow-up remain traceable.
Will the report be used against us?
An internal audit report is your document. It is addressed to you, it is confidential, and it exists so that you find the problem before somebody else does.
Can you support a vessel mobilisation?
Yes. A mobilisation review assesses the contract requirements, the documentation and the operational arrangements, and identifies what must be done before the vessel enters service.
Arrange the assessment
Tell us what has to be examined.
Tell us the vessels or offices involved and where they are, the standards that apply, your last audit position and any open findings, whether attendance on board is required, and the date of the external audit you are preparing for.