In today’s dry bulk market, maintaining accurate, accessible vessel documentation is critical to staying ahead of vetting demands and maintaining marine assurance.

During Riviera’s Bulk Carrier Webinar Week, Veson’s Senior Product Manager Tor-Arne Berger joined fellow industry experts to explore how digital solutions like Q88 Dry are helping owner-operators and technical managers streamline document management. Centralizing documents to a single source of truth can automate time-consuming processes and simplify sharing vessel information with their counterparts—ultimately saving time, reducing costs, and enhancing operational efficiency.  

Here are the key takeaways from the event:

1. Market volatility is driving the need for smarter operational decisions.

In the session, Bulk Carrier Operational Excellence in Uncertain Markets, Berger and fellow panelists discussed freight rate volatility and actionable strategies for adapting to these market changes with ease.

When asked how operators can maintain performance amid today’s evolving market and uncertainties, Berger stressed the importance of digital tools in responding faster and more strategically do these external pressures:

“I would focus on what you can control, to some degree—your relationships with charterers and brokers, the quality of your fleet, your costs—and look to software systems and financial instruments to create predictability where possible.”

While uncertainty remains a fixture of the dry bulk landscape, access to accurate and actionable insights can help operators maintain a competitive edge—especially when it comes to streamlining visibility and collaboration between counterparts.

2. Centralizing documents on a single source of truth is improving vetting and enabling greater efficiency.

Dry bulk is following in the footsteps of the tanker market when it comes to vetting, and the trend is clear: creating a single source of truth is driving better outcomes. During the session, Vetting & Marine Assurance in the Bulk Carrier Market, Berger discussed how Q88 Dry’s centralized question library and architecture empowers shipowners to manage submissions with confidence and consistency.

“Regulatory pressure is likely to increase, and getting ahead of that will benefit the industry—especially when done collaboratively.”

While manually inputting documents takes a large amount of time and effort, especially for shipowners with larger fleets, relying on a central platform can help ensure owners, technical managers, and counterparties are all up-to-date with the latest information—ensuring their fleets are well maintained.

“A single source of truth on a shareable commercial platform creates tangible savings and efficiencies while also promoting your vessels suitability,” Berger emphasized.  “I think that the industry will benefit from voluntarily adopting the [Baltic99] questionnaire as its standard and working to make a fresh copy from the owner a key input into the vetting process.”

With a growing number of requests now initiated by third parties, having a reliable digital backbone helps stakeholders avoid delays and maintain data integrity.

3. Scalable technology is leveling the playing field.

Across both sessions, one consistent theme emerged: digitalization is no longer just for the largest players. As Berger shared in response to a question about data integration challenges, smaller companies often have a surprising advantage: agility.

“Smaller companies have many benefits, for example with respect to being nimble and having simplified decision making processes. They often also have less resources to switch operational systems, making this a bigger lift,” Berger added. “Thanks to modern, cloud-based systems, the barriers to switching systems have been reduced.” Q88 Dry and Veson’s full suite of solutions are built to scale. With robust APIs and intuitive workflows, these tools are enabling organizations of all sizes to gain control over their operations—without the need for large in-house IT teams or lengthy implementations.

Looking Ahead

From enhancing vetting transparency to weathering market turbulence, the path forward for bulk operators is paved with data visibility. As the industry continues to evolve, building operational resilience through digital tools will be key. At Veson, we’re committed to helping dry bulk stakeholders adapt with confidence.

Want to learn more? Get in touch to learn how Q88 Dry’s centralized documentation can enhance collaboration—leading to maximized efficiency and profitability.

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