Identify the item and its status
A useful crew-change note lets the receiving person locate the work and understand its current state. Identify the equipment or responsibility, the item reference, and what remains open. Separate completed work from work awaiting parts, approval, inspection, or clarification.
Record the source and time of the information. ‘Reported by the service technician’ and ‘observed during the walk-through’ describe different kinds of evidence. Keep that distinction when summarising the note.
Make ownership and evidence traceable
Give the next action an owner. ‘Engineering to follow up’ may be unclear when several people are involved; identify the assigned role or person and the contact needed for the follow-up. Record an agreed date without inventing a deadline that was never confirmed.
Reference attachments where the receiving crew can access them. The photograph should identify the relevant equipment or observation, and the supplier or service document should carry the same job reference. Note missing files as a gap rather than treating them as supplied evidence.
Review the remaining questions
During the overlap, ask the receiving person to explain what they will check or do first. If the note cannot support that answer, clarify the item or record an outstanding question. Retain the version reviewed at sign-off.
Use the crew handover checklist for the incoming-readiness review and the crew-change handover plan to organise preparation, overlap time, and follow-up.
One open job: turn a loose note into a useful record
Fictional example: the outgoing deck crew recorded ‘Hose fitting ordered; chase delivery.’ The incoming crew still needs to know which job, which supplier record, and who should follow it up. The table shows what to add without inventing a delivery date.
| Field | Example entry | Reason to include it |
|---|---|---|
| Job reference | D-021 — deck washdown hose coupling. | Connects this note to one job rather than a general stores enquiry. |
| Current status | Replacement coupling ordered. Delivery date not confirmed. | Separates an order placed from a delivery promised. |
| Source | Purchase reference D-021A in the deck job record. | Lets the next person find the order instead of searching messages. |
| Owner | Incoming bosun. | Names the role taking the next action. |
| Next action | Ask the chandlery to confirm delivery against D-021A. | Makes the follow-up specific. |
| Question still open | Will the delivery reach the vessel before departure? | Keeps the unknown visible instead of replacing it with ‘arriving soon’. |
The completed note
‘D-021 — deck washdown hose coupling. Replacement ordered under purchase reference D-021A; delivery date unconfirmed. Owner: incoming bosun. Next action: contact the chandlery to confirm whether delivery will reach the vessel before departure. Supporting order held in the deck job record.’
That is enough to continue the follow-up without pretending the job is complete. Use the crew handover checklist for the separate final review of duties, access, and outstanding questions.
About our handover guidance
PassLog publishes guides about recording and reviewing maritime handovers. Adapt the checklists to the vessel, assigned duties, and company procedures; they do not establish operating limits or certify compliance.
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