Hand-over notes

Hand-over notes are the written record an off-going officer leaves for the on-coming relief, covering the state of the equipment, outstanding defects, planned maintenance status, certificate and survey due dates, ongoing port or cargo matters, and any open safety items. The ISM Code expects documented procedures so a relief can take over duties safely, and the practice supports the requirement that each officer be familiar with the ship before assuming responsibility. For the master, the notes accompany the formal handover of command and the night-order and standing-order regime. Vetting inspectors and internal auditors review handover notes to confirm continuity of knowledge across crew changes, and a missing or perfunctory handover is a common observation.