Technical Information
Browser / System Requirements
Vessel-Check runs through your web-browser, so you don’t need to install any specific software. You can access it from any device which has a compatible web browser such as PC, Mac or IPad or other tablet devices.
Vessel-Check has been tested for Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Safari browsers. Some users have experienced issues using Vessel-Check with Internet Explorer and for this reason, it is not recommended.
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Vessel-Check Architecture
At a high level, Vessel-Check's architecture has followed the 3factor-app pattern. Vessel-Check data is stored in an Azure Managed PostgresSQL Database with access to the Vessel-Check JAMStack web application being managed and controlled by Hasura's GraphQL Engine.
The Vessel-Check SaaS system runs in Microsoft's Azure Cloud environment and provides Vessel-Check with all the operational, performance, reliability and security benefits that come with hosting in Azure.
Vessel Access and Vessel Information Architecture
See our section, Register Vessel for a detailed guide on how to access a vessel.
Importantly, the first request to register a vessel on the Vessel-Check portal will be checked and confirmed by Vessel-Check. Once approved the requesting User will be granted UserAdmin authority for the vessel. A vessel UserAdmin manages User access to the vessel through the Vessel Particulars tab. User’s can have the following roles;
UserAdmin (ability to manage User access to the vessel),
User (access and edit a vessel profile), and
Pending (unable to access the vessel profile).
If a User requests access to a vessel registered on Vessel-Check the vessel UserAdmin(s) will see the request on the Vessel-Check Fleet page. When the vessel is selected by the UserAdmin, the User’s can be managed on the Vessel Particulars tab. The vessel UserAdmin can change the role to;
Admin (to manage User’s for the vessel and access and edit a vessel profile),
User (access and edit a vessel profile), or
Pending (no access to the vessel profile)
Once a vessel’s profile is created by an authorised User, her profile and associated information is permanently retained in the database. Each new port nomination (AIS or manual) for ports monitored by Vessel-Check initiates a risk calculation. This nomination and associated data is “sand-boxed” as a unique auditable data set and is permanently retained in the database. Users with approved access to the vessel or port nomination can access this historical information.
User Access and Company Information Architecture
When a User registers for an account, he/she selects or creates a Company (organisation).
If the Company has no registered Users, the new User will be assigned the UserAdmin rights for the Company and has responsibility for the Company’s User management – Approving User access, Revoking User access and changing User Status (UserAdmin, User, Guest). A User has no User management authority. A Guest can only view information.
If the Company has a registered User, there will be at least one UserAdmin for the Company. On the request from a new User, all of the Company’s UserAdmin’s will be emailed, notifying them of the User access request. Through the Vessel-Check portal, any UserAdmin can approve the access and assign/change the User Status (UserAdmin, User, Guest). The new approved User will be sent an email with a link to setup their password.
Any UserAdmin can manage the Users and UserAdmin’s for a Company, including the Status (Approved, Pending or Revoked) and the Role (UserAdmin, Admin or Guest).
If a User Status is Revoked, the User will receive an email notification and will no longer be able to login into Vessel-Check. The User can either contact a Company UserAdmin requesting a change to the status or create a new registration with new Company details.
User accounts and vessel access are managed by the UserAdmin as per the notes above. Vessel-Check only gets involved in access to vessel’s or Company’s at the request of an authorised representative. Supporting evidence is required and retained on file.
Redundancy Provisions & Backups
File System
All files uploaded to the system, such as Certificates, Management Plans, Documents and Photos are copied to a secondary file system in real-time.
The entire file system is also saved as a “snapshot” each day and the last 7 days snapshots are stored. This enables us to recover from both immediate data-loss (hard drive corruption etc) and accidental deletion (ie: someone deletes a whole bunch of documents, they can be restored from a snapshot if reported within 7 days).
Databases
All databases are backed up to a snapshot each day and the last 35 days of snapshots are stored.
Security
All communication with the Vessel-Check system is encrypted and authenticated using TLS 1.2.