Pre-Contract Vessel Check

You’ve been offered a job. The salary is great, onboarding is tomorrow. Before you agree, spend 15 minutes on reconnaissance. Open-source intelligence (OSINT) allows you to learn almost everything about the vessel without leaving your couch.

Here’s how to check that you’re not boarding a ghost ship or a floating prison.

Tools

1. Where is the vessel right now? (AIS)

Visit MarineTraffic or VesselFinder. Enter the name or IMO.

What to look for:

• If you’re told "boarding in Rotterdam," but the vessel on the tracker is in Singapore and not moving — that’s a lie.
• If the vessel has been in port for a month — it might be under arrest or undergoing repairs.
• If AIS has been off for a long time ("No signal"), that’s a very bad sign.

2. IMO number

IMO — this is the vessel’s passport. The name can be changed, the flag can change too, the IMO stays forever. Fraudsters often take the real ship name but invent a fake IMO (or vice versa).

• The number always has 7 digits.
• Check it on Equasis (free registration required) or simply in Google.

3. Equasis — the vessel’s dossier

Equasis is a database where you can see the background. There you can learn:

• Who the real owner is.
• How many times the vessel was detained (PSC detention).
• Which classification society.

If the vessel has been detained in every second port for unpaid wages or technical issues — you will see it.

Case Study

Suppose you’re being offered to join ELEEN SOFIA (IMO: 9407512).

1. Check the tracker. The vessel is in the Indian Ocean. If you’re offered boarding in Brazil tomorrow — that doesn’t add up.
2. Go to Equasis.
   • Year built: 2008.
   • Owner: offshore entity registered in the Marshall Islands.
   • Manager: Bulgarian company.
3. Check the history.
   • 2022: detained in the USA.
   • 2024: detained in Australia (unpaid wages).
   • ITF has already listed it on the blacklist.

Conclusion: The job offer may be real, but the vessel is problematic. You risk being unpaid or without air conditioning in the tropics.

Red Flags 🚩

• Inconsistencies. The contract lists one flag, MarineTraffic shows another.
• Name changes. The vessel changes its name every six months. This is a classic scheme to evade debts.
• Flag. If the vessel sails under a “black” flag (countries with lax safety requirements), the risk is higher.
• Absence from databases. If the vessel is not listed in any registry, it does not exist.

Additional

• Check the ITF blacklist.
• Google search "Vessel name + crew problems" or "arrest".

It’s better to spend an evening googling than to fight for wages in court for months in a foreign country.