Governance
Sources policy
What counts as authority here, and what does not.
The hierarchy
Every source cited on SurveyEra is graded. The grade appears next to the citation on the article page as L1 through L5.
| Level | Sources | May be used for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | International conventions and their regulators; EU and national maritime authorities | Stating a mandatory requirement |
| 2 | Recognised standards bodies: ISO, IACS, classification societies, GAFTA, FOSFA, BIMCO | Stating a standard or a contractual trade rule |
| 3 | P&I clubs, major marine insurers, recognised technical bodies | Loss-prevention guidance and recommended practice |
| 4 | Peer-reviewed and respected technical publications | Technical explanation, method, worked theory |
| 5 | Industry news and trade press | Reporting that something happened or was announced |
| 6 | Forums, social media, professional discussion groups | Topic discovery only. Never cited, never used to establish a technical or regulatory point. |
How the levels are applied
The rule is that the claim sets the level, not the convenience of the source. A statement that something is required needs a level 1 or 2 source for that specific requirement. A statement that something is good practice can rest on level 3. A technical explanation of how a calculation works can rest on level 4. A level 5 source can support "this was announced" but never "this is the rule".
Articles explaining a standard cannot be published at all unless they cite at least one level 1 or level 2 source. That is enforced mechanically, not by good intentions.
Why level 6 exists
Professional discussion tells us what surveyors are actually running into this month, and that is genuinely useful for deciding what to write about. It tells us nothing reliable about what the requirement is. So a forum thread can start an article and can never support one.
Access and paywalls
Some primary instruments are not freely available. Where a requirement rests on a source that cannot be linked publicly, the citation names the instrument and the specific provision precisely enough for a reader with access to verify it, rather than paraphrasing it loosely and hoping.
Retrieval dates
Every citation records the date the source was read. Maritime regulation changes; a source verified two years ago is not the same assurance as one verified last month, and the page should let you see the difference.