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PALBON-SuitesComplete ERP Solution

Vessels, ports and nominations

Vessels and ports are vetted masters. A Vessel Nomination names the ship for a trade within its laycan, checks it against the charter-party limits, and records the clean-vessel acceptance (with the surveyor's Certificate of Hold Cleanliness) before the voyage begins.

1. Who nominates

The trade's Incoterm decides:

Terms Who charters and nominates Freight Laytime settled with
FOB, FOBT, FAS, FCA (F-terms) The buyer charters the vessel. You receive the buyer's nomination and pass it to your supplier. Not yours The supplier (load port) and the buyer (discharge port)
CFR, CIF, CPT, CIP, D-terms You charter the vessel and nominate it to your buyer. Yours: advance and balance to the shipowner The supplier, the buyer and the shipowner

A new nomination's Nominated By is set from the Incoterm (Buyer on F-terms, Us on C- and D-terms); change it if your deal differs.

2. Vessels

Master Data › Shipping › Vessel (/palbon-trade-finance/vessels).

Section Fields
Identity IMO Number (seven digits, the last a check digit: an invalid number is refused), Vessel Name, Vessel Type, Size Class, Flag, Port of Registry, MMSI (nine digits), Call Sign (3 to 9 letters or digits)
Particulars Year Built (age worked out), Deadweight (MT), gross and net tonnage, length overall, beam, summer draft, holds, hatches, gear
Ownership and Compliance Registered Owner, Operator (Supplier), Technical Manager, Classification Society, P&I Club, ISM Compliant

Vetting workflow: Send for Vetting (Logistics Coordinator) → Approve (Shipping Manager, not the requester) or Return for Changes; an approved vessel can be Blocked (Shipping Manager, Trade Risk Manager) and Unblocked. Screen vessels against sanctions lists too (see Counterparty risk and compliance).

By voice: Open vessel Ocean Pride, Where is MV Ocean Pride?

3. Ports

Master Data › Shipping › Port (/palbon-trade-finance/ports): Port Name, UN/LOCODE (country code plus three characters; must belong to the country), Country, Function (Load and Discharge, Load, Discharge, Transshipment), Anchorage / Transshipment Area, Time Zone (a valid name such as Asia/Jakarta), Latitude / Longitude (draw the port on the fleet map), draft, length and deadweight limits, working hours and holidays. Same vetting workflow as vessels.

4. Nominate a vessel

Shipping › Vessels › Vessel Nomination, New.

  1. Title (for example Ocean Pride for T.0101), Trade, Vessel, Voyage (if one exists), Nominated By, Nomination Date.
  2. Cargo and Laycan: Load Port, Laycan From / To, ETA Load Port, Cargo Quantity (MT), Tolerance (+/-), Maximum Vessel Age (years) from the charter party.
  3. Save. The app runs the charter-party checks and fills Charter-Party Checks:
    • Vessel Age, Flag, Deadweight, ISM Compliant, P&I Club, Class from the vessel;
    • Check Result: All charter-party checks passed, or each problem: older than the limit, not ISM compliant, no P&I club recorded, deadweight below the cargo with tolerance;
    • Checks Passed.
  4. On F-terms, pass the nomination to the supplier for acceptance and fill Passed to Supplier On.
  5. Click Request Acceptance (state Pending Acceptance).

5. Clean-vessel acceptance

Before loading, the surveyor inspects the holds and issues the Certificate of Hold Cleanliness.

  1. Record it as a Trade Document (type Certificate of Hold Cleanliness).
  2. On the nomination, fill Clean-Vessel Acceptance: Holds Inspected (date and time), Previous Cargo (for example Corn in bulk), Cleaning Method, Hold Cleanliness Certificate (the document).
  3. The Shipping Manager (not the person who requested acceptance) decides:
Action When Result
Accept Clean Vessel All checks passed Accepted
Accept Despite Checks A check failed but the vessel is accepted anyway (say why in the comment) Accepted
Reject Vessel Holds not clean or the vessel unsuitable; fill Rejection Reason Rejected: nominate another vessel

6. What acceptance starts

  • With the rule Create the voyage when a nomination is accepted switched on, the accepted nomination opens the voyage with its vessel, trade, ports and laycan, in state Accepted.
  • If the nomination already names a voyage, accepting it makes its vessel the voyage's vessel.

Shipping › Reports › Laycan Schedule lists the voyages by laycan with their vessel and state.