About DryBMS

A Framework to go beyond compliance

The aim of the DryBMS is to help create excellence in safety, security, environmental performance, and social welfare – both onboard vessels and ashore.

Developed by ship owners, managers and leading experts, the DryBMS provides a range of management standards against which Document of Compliance (DoC) holders can self-assess their organisational processes and practices.

Users of the DryBMS will embark on a journey to help drive their independent organisations and the industry to improve operational excellence, develop industry best practice and achieve new safety and operational standards.

Created by the industry and for the industry the DryBMS provides detailed guidance across four key categories:

  • Performance
  • People
  • Plant
  • Process

Each category has four levels of attainment:

  • Basic
  • Intermediate
  • Advanced
  • Excellence

Why we need it

In the last decade, there have been over 2,000 bulk carrier incidents in which more than 200 seafarers have lost their lives. This evidences that regulation alone is insufficient to drive the highest standards in the dry bulk industry.

DBCE aims to help drive a reduction in these incidents by helping ship managers improve how they manage vessels.

International Safety Management (ISM) Code and other regulatory requirements, provide a compulsory base level of vessel and management requirements.

Such compulsory requirements demand only that they are complied with. They do not require, prescribe, or give indication of, additional best operational practices that differentiate the quality and content of management and operations.

DryBMS is not intended to replace such regulatory requirements, instead DryBMS will build upon these minimum industry standards and provide a systematic approach to encourage ship operators to move from minimum compliance – to operational excellence using continual improvement methodology.

DryBMS provides a graduated framework of industry best practices that exceed the basic regulatory and statutory requirements.

Benefits of a
shared standard

  • Relevant to the whole dry bulk shipping industry worldwide
  • Creates a common industry standard that goes beyond compliance
  • Regularly evaluated and updated to drive continuous improvement

DBCE today

DBCE was founded by INTERCARGO and RightShip to administer and govern the DryBMS framework in the industry.

The DBCE works collaboratively with DBCE subscribers and industry organisations to facilitate the use of the DryBMS framework, identify trends and focus areas, develop and promote industry best practices and raise standards to achieve a unified approach to dry bulk safety.

The DBCE Secretariat act as the gatekeepers of a secure controlled portal where Document of Compliance (DoC) holders can complete and upload self-assessments using the DryBMS Portal.

The portal provides a controlled environment for other stakeholders such as charterers, insurers and traders to make requests direct to respective DoC holders to access their self-assessments and verified self-assessments.

In addition, DBCE facilitates and oversee a standardised self-assessment audit verification process where DoC holders can have their self assessments verified by DBCE accredited auditors. This voluntary process provides assurance to the management of DoC companies and at the DoC holders discretion, to their industry customers, that their self assessments have been independently verified.

DBCE maintains a pool of DBCE accredited auditors and a corresponding programme of accreditation to ensure consistency in verification audits.

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