Let us show you our way
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
General cargo ship maintenance software is a CMMS platform configured for the maintenance requirements of general cargo vessels — ships designed to carry breakbulk cargo, steel products, forest products, machinery, project cargo and other non-liquid, non-bulk commodities. It manages planned maintenance schedules for propulsion and auxiliary systems, cargo handling equipment maintenance, class survey compliance, corrective work order management and spare parts inventory in a single connected system used by the vessel crew and monitored from the shore management office.
General cargo vessels are among the most technically complex vessel types to maintain, primarily because of the cargo handling systems that define their commercial purpose. Unlike bulk carriers or tankers, which have relatively uniform equipment profiles, general cargo ships are equipped with a wide variety of cranes, winches, derricks, cargo hold equipment and sometimes special systems such as tweendecks, heavy-lift booms or ro-ro ramps. Each of these systems requires a maintenance programme, and failures in cargo handling equipment have immediate commercial consequences that equipment failures in less cargo-critical systems do not.
The maintenance of cranes and cargo handling gear is often the highest-risk area of technical management for a general cargo vessel. Cargo cranes are subject to statutory inspection requirements — annual thorough examinations under ILO Convention requirements and flag state regulations, with load tests at defined intervals — as well as manufacturer-recommended planned maintenance for hydraulic systems, wire ropes, sheaves and slewing mechanisms. A maintenance software system that integrates the statutory inspection schedule with the manufacturer’s preventive maintenance programme for cargo handling equipment gives the Technical Superintendent a single, coherent view of crane compliance.
Wire rope inspection and replacement is a safety-critical maintenance item for cargo cranes. Classification society rules and manufacturer guidelines define maximum service lives and discard criteria for wire ropes on cargo handling equipment. A maintenance system that tracks wire rope replacement history, flags replacement intervals and records inspection findings creates the documented wire rope management record that class surveyors and port state control officers look for.
Cargo hold maintenance on a general cargo vessel covers hatch cover seals and cleating, bilge systems, cargo hold lighting, hold cleaning records and the structural condition of frames and inner bottom plating. For vessels carrying moisture-sensitive cargo such as steel coils or forest products, hatch cover integrity is a P&I and commercial priority: a wet damage claim arising from inadequate hatch cover maintenance can exceed the annual maintenance budget. A maintenance system that schedules and records regular hatch cover inspections, hose tests and seal replacements provides the documented maintenance record that supports cargo claims defence.
General cargo vessels operate under the IACS Harmonised Survey System with annual, intermediate and special surveys, plus continuous survey options for machinery. Load line surveys, safety equipment surveys and cargo gear surveys add to the survey cycle. Vessels engaged in trades with specific cargo conventions — such as the IMSBC Code for solid bulk cargoes or the CSC (Container Safety Convention) for container-capable vessels — have additional documentation requirements. General cargo ship maintenance software should track all of these survey obligations in a single register with ahead-of-time alerts.
STAR Suite™ provides general cargo vessel operators with a maintenance platform that covers propulsion and auxiliary maintenance, cargo handling equipment inspection and preventive maintenance, class survey tracking and spare parts management in a single integrated system. The platform supports both on-board use by vessel engineers and shore monitoring by Technical Superintendents.
Cargo vessel fleet management software — the fleet-level management platform above individual vessel maintenance systems.
Multipurpose vessel CMMS — CMMS for multipurpose vessels with more complex cargo handling configurations.
Freight vessel certificate management — managing statutory and class certificates across cargo vessel fleets.