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Dry-dock planning: Why the cost is shaped long before the vessel reaches the yard   A vessel may spend only a few weeks in dry dock, but the cost and quality of the project are strongly influenced by decisions made months -  and sometimes years - before it arrives.   Maintenance history, outstanding defects, inspection findings, repair specifications, purchasing lead times, and budget assumptions all feed into the outcome. When that information is incomplete or divided between systems and spreadsheets, uncertainty enters the project before the first yard quotation has been received. The yard invoice is also only part of the commercial cost. Additional time out of service can mean lost earnings, disrupted schedules or a delayed return to operation, so weak preparation may cost twice: once through the additional work it creates and again through the time it adds to the project. Effective dry-dock management therefore begins long before the docking date.

One voyage, two reporting years: where do the emissions belong?   This year, that line matters more than usual. The end of December closes the first UK ETS scheme year for maritime. It also closes the first EU ETS reporting year for which shipping companies will surrender allowances covering 100% of their eligible emissions, with methane and nitrous oxide now included alongside carbon dioxide.   It is also the final day before qualifying offshore ships of 5,000 GT and above enter the two schemes from January 2027. climate.ec.europa.eu At sea, midnight on New Year’s Eve may pass without anything operationally significant changing. The same cargo remains onboard, the engines continue running, and the vessel proceeds towards the same destination. On shore, that single voyage may now sit across two emissions-reporting years, two accounting periods and two sets of management reports. The regulatory principle is clear. Under the EU Monitoring, Reporting a