A Maritime CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management System) is software purpose-built for managing planned maintenance, work orders, spare parts, certificate tracking, and compliance documentation on ships, offshore vessels, and other marine assets. It is the digital backbone of a vessel's maintenance operation — connecting crew on board with superintendents and management ashore.
Unlike generic CMMS platforms used in manufacturing or facilities management, a Maritime CMMS is designed around the specific demands of vessel operations: running hours-based maintenance triggers, class society survey requirements, ship-to-shore data synchronisation, ISM Code compliance, and certificate management for statutory and class certificates.
A vessel at sea cannot call a technician. Every piece of equipment that fails must be repaired with the parts and skills available on board. This fundamental reality makes preventive maintenance — and the software that manages it — critical to safe, reliable vessel operations.
The commercial case is equally compelling. Unplanned breakdowns cause off-hire days that cost operators thousands of euros per day in lost revenue. Poor maintenance records result in port state control detentions, failed vetting inspections, and lost charter contracts. A well-implemented Maritime CMMS addresses all of these risks proactively.
Generic CMMS platforms cover the basics — work orders, asset registers, preventive maintenance scheduling — but they are not designed for maritime operations. A purpose-built Maritime CMMS includes capabilities that generic platforms cannot provide:
Jobs are scheduled by calendar interval, running hours, or a combination of both. When a threshold approaches, the system automatically generates a work order. For a main engine, this might mean an inspection every 8,000 running hours. For a fire extinguisher, an annual certification check. The system ensures nothing is missed — across every vessel in the fleet.
Work orders capture every detail of a maintenance job: what needs to be done, who is responsible, what parts are required, and any safety considerations. On completion, the crew member records what was done, parts consumed, and any observations. This creates an auditable, timestamped maintenance history that satisfies ISM Code, class society, and port state control requirements.
A Maritime CMMS tracks every certificate on board — class certificates, statutory certificates (SOLAS, MARPOL), safety equipment certificates, and crew endorsements. Expiry alerts give shore management advance notice of approaching renewals, preventing the costly consequences of an expired certificate discovered during a PSC inspection.
The system links maintenance jobs to the specific parts they require. When stock falls below minimum threshold, a purchase requisition is automatically generated. For vessels operating remotely — fish farm service vessels, offshore positions, or SAR bases — having the right spare parts available when maintenance is due is critical.
Shore management sees real-time maintenance status across the entire fleet: overdue jobs, upcoming major service intervals, certificate expiry dates, and maintenance KPIs. This enables proactive decisions — scheduling drydock before a critical component fails, or identifying a vessel that consistently struggles with a specific system.
The ISM Code (SOLAS Chapter IX) requires every commercial vessel to have a documented Safety Management System that includes procedures for maintenance of the ship and its equipment. A Maritime CMMS provides the documentation framework for ISM Code compliance: scheduled maintenance records, work order completion history, non-conformity reports, and certificate management.
Class societies — including DNV, Lloyd's Register, Bureau Veritas, and ClassNK — accept a properly implemented PMS as the basis for Continuous Machinery Survey (CMS) programmes. This allows operators to spread machinery surveys across the five-year class cycle rather than completing them all at drydock, reducing costs and vessel downtime significantly.
Premaster is a purpose-built Maritime CMMS used by operators across Norway and internationally, serving vessels in fish farming, fisheries, offshore support, passenger transport, coast guard and SAR, and oil and offshore service.
It covers the full scope of maritime maintenance management: planned maintenance by date and running hours, work order management, certificate tracking with automatic alerts, spare parts inventory, and fleet-wide reporting for shore management. Both crew and shore management work from the same system, ensuring consistent data and eliminating the gaps that come from disconnected spreadsheets and paper records.
Premaster is built for operators of all sizes — from the single fishing vessel in Ålesund to the multi-vessel aquaculture operator with farms across multiple locations.
Related: Planned Maintenance System for Vessels · ISM Code Compliance Software · Certificate Management for Vessels · Running Hours Based Maintenance
Learn more about Premaster or contact us to discuss how it fits your fleet.
