Superyacht sea trials and delivery: what the Owner should see.

Testing follows a sequence, from single pieces of equipment to the whole yacht at sea. Each stage builds on the one before it, and a fault found at the factory is easier to correct than one found at sea. The names vary between yards and contracts; what matters is that each test is defined in the programme, whatever it is called.

For each test, from the factory to the sea, the Owner should be able to see:

• the written test programme;
• who attends, and in what role;
• the scope of the test and its acceptance criteria;
• the results, as measured and recorded;
• the exceptions, and the tests to be repeated;
• the final signature.

A test that was held but not documented leaves little to refer back to when a question arises in operation.

Sea trials are the tests carried out at sea before delivery, to show that the yacht and its systems perform as the contract requires. They are not a single day at sea. They combine four kinds of work, which are kept distinct in the programme and in the records.

When these four are mixed together, it becomes hard to say at the end which contractual tests were passed. Kept apart, they show the Owner what has been demonstrated and what is still open.

Before the yacht goes to sea, a short check on the Owner’s side shows whether the sea trials are ready to begin:

• the sea trials programme is written, agreed and issued;
• the harbour acceptance tests are complete, or their exceptions are listed;
• each test at sea has its scope and its acceptance criteria;
• the attendees and their roles are confirmed;
• the open issues from earlier tests are known, with the tests to be repeated;
• the Flag requirements are planned as a separate part of the programme;
• the way results will be recorded and signed is agreed.

Attendance is agreed in advance, test by test, and each attendee knows which tests they are there to witness and who signs the result. The yard runs the sea trials, and the suppliers’ engineers attend for their equipment. Class, and Flag where it requires, attend for their own purposes. The Owner’s Representative and the specialists named in the mandate attend for the Owner, with the captain and the Chief Engineer.

A written mandate defines scope, timing and attendance before work begins. For the sea trials, this means the Owner knows in advance who will be on board for the Owner, and for which tests.

For the Chief Engineer, the sea trials are the moment to see the systems working under load, with the yard and the suppliers on board.

In a new build, sea trials are part of the yard’s work under the build contract, and the contract sets out which costs fall to the yard and which to the Owner. Costs on the Owner’s side, such as the crew already in post or the specialists who attend for the Owner, belong in the Owner’s budget from the start. Where the contract leaves a doubt, the Owner’s lawyers advise. In a purchase, sea trials are arranged between the parties to the sale. What goes into a build budget.

A failed test, or a result outside the criteria, is recorded as an open issue. Each issue states the requirement and where it applies, the evidence and the corrective action, who is responsible and by when. It stays open until it has been rechecked or the test has been repeated.

Some issues can be closed after delivery; others affect acceptance itself. Which is which is decided by the Owner, on the evidence. The Owner’s Representative prepares that evidence and a recommendation, and the yard remains responsible for the correction.

An exception accepted by the Owner, such as a waiver of a test criterion, is recorded in writing with its reason, like any other decision. Open issues are reviewed at each coordination meeting until they are closed.

Delivery is the moment the Owner accepts the yacht from the yard. Before it, the Owner should have the results of the sea trials, the list of open issues with how each will be closed, the manuals, the spares and the record of crew training.

Acceptance is recorded in writing, with the open issues listed and the date by which each is to be closed. A remark made on board at the end of the sea trials is not an acceptance, in the same way that a meeting is not an approval.

The certificates and documents that the build contract requires are part of what the yard delivers. Remaining issues are listed in a handover package and tracked until they are closed, into the warranty period that follows. A Chief Engineer involved since the design review makes the warranty follow-up better informed once the yacht is in operation.

Yard, Class and Flag retain their own responsibilities, and the delivery date remains the yard’s. The Owner’s Representative prepares the evidence for acceptance; the decision to accept the yacht is the Owner’s. How ASYA works through a new build, and the stages of a new build from the contract to the warranty period.

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