Get the Idwal Grade for all Vessels

Idwal is the global leader in independent sale and purchase inspections and a trusted partner for fleet condition monitoring. Since 2019, we have inspected 18% of the global commercial fleet of bulkers, tankers and containers, including half of all vessels sold in 2024. Each vessel receives an Idwal Grade, an industry-recognized indicator of vessel condition that is programmatically generated from data captured during on-board inspections.

For vessels we haven't physically inspected, we leverage our extensive dataset to train machine learning models that estimate vessel condition based on key indicators such as vessel type, age, manager, classification society, flag, design, and country of build.

At the highest level, this allows an Idwal Grade to be displayed for any vessel within the platform, providing an immediate and clear indication of likely condition. The standard plan displays Estimated Idwal Grades only, while the premium plan incorporates actual inspection data and provides Inspected Idwal Grades (when the Idwal customer who commissioned the inspection has agreed to share).

Inspected Idwal Grades are the final output of an Idwal Inspection, which is a standardized, technology-driven ship inspection designed to provide a clear, consistent, and objective assessment of vessel condition, safety, and operational standards. Conducted by experienced marine surveyors worldwide, Idwal follows a rigorous methodology, ensuring accuracy and transparency in reporting.

The Inspected Idwal Grade is a unique, data-driven rating system that quantifies the overall condition of a vessel based on key inspection criteria. Using a standardized scoring model with over 500 individual data points, the Idwal Grade provides an objective and comparable measure of a ship's condition, taking into account structural integrity, machinery performance, operational safety, and maintenance standards. This grading system enables shipowners, investors, and financial institutions to benchmark vessels against industry standards, make informed commercial decisions, and track asset performance over time.

Idwal's database of over 12,000 vessel inspections provides statistically significant market intelligence on vessel conditions. Using this extensive dataset, we've developed a sophisticated machine learning model that analyzes key vessel characteristics—including type, age, management, classification society, flag, design, and country of build—to generate accurate condition grade estimates. By combining comparative analytics with our proprietary inspection data and grading methodology, we offer a uniquely precise prediction of vessel condition when physical inspection results aren't available. See Estimated Idwal Grades for more information.

The estimated grade serves as a leading indicator of likely vessel condition. While not 100% precise, estimated grades are on average within 3 points when compared to inspected vessels. Put another way, over 90% of all estimated grades fall within 10% of the inspected grade, and approximately half achieve within 3% accuracy. A detailed accuracy report is available upon request.

The primary difference between the two plans is that Premium enhances accuracy by incorporating Inspected Idwal Grades from onboard inspections. If an inspection occurred within the past 18 months and the grade has been shared, it will be displayed as an Inspected Grade with the inspection date. For inspections older than 18 months, the system reverts to an Estimated Grade but still utilises the inspection data to improve accuracy.

Premium also includes a high-level market comparison of the vessel and, if applicable to the platform, indicates whether the vessel has been "marked for sale".

If you are an existing Idwal customer, your account manager will be happy to assist you. Otherwise, please complete the following form, and an Idwal representative will contact you shortly.

Idwal customers who commission a seller's inspection can opt to mark their vessel as "for sale," making it visible as such within applicable platforms. These vessels will also include a distribution link that potential buyers can use to access the inspection report. Access rules are configurable by the seller, ranging from free distribution to paid access with permission.

As discussed above, while the estimated grade is typically within 3 points of the actual condition, exceptions and occasional outliers do occur, which is why nothing replaces a physical inspection. When an inspection has taken place, the estimated grade will be replaced with the inspected grade provided: a) the company that commissioned the inspection has agreed to share the grade (and the inspection was conducted within the past 18 months), and b) you have a premium plan that allows access to inspected grades.

During an Idwal on-board inspection process, the commissioning party has the opportunity to raise concerns about the accuracy of the findings. If a discrepancy is discovered, the findings will be adjusted accordingly, which may result in a recalculated grade. By the time the inspection report has been issued and the commissioning party has shared the grade, the grade has been validated as accurate at the point of inspection. It cannot be changed after this point.

The estimated grade model uses a combination of static input features (e.g. ship type, design, country of build, etc), dynamic features (e.g. manager, flag state, PSC, etc) and continuous (e.g. age, proximity to special survey, etc). This data is licensed from a leading maritime information provider. Any feature corrections must be made directly with this third-party source, which will then automatically update within Idwal's model.

The machine learning model undergoes continuous refinement, with new features being regularly explored and the system retrained using the latest inspection data. This ongoing development improves accuracy over time, with enhancements applied universally across all vessels when new model versions are released.

It's important to understand that the Estimated Grade represents a prediction rather than a definitive assessment. While Idwal's model has proven robust and delivers highly accurate insights overall, it remains a statistical model with inherent limitations. To address any discrepancies, clients can either request corrections to underlying data through our third-party provider or commission Idwal to conduct an onboard inspection for the most accurate vessel assessment.

If you are an existing Idwal customer, simply contact your account manager or log in to the Idwal Platform to get started. If you are not an existing Idwal customer, please reach out to your closest regional office, and an Idwal representative will guide you through the process.