FERN RuleFinder (regulatory intelligence tool)

A structured digital subscription platform enabling users to locate applicable international maritime regulations within seconds through advanced search and analysis tools. Built from a real maritime need.

FERN helps users find and understand relevant maritime requirements. It supports regulatory research while preserving the connection to official source material. 

"regulatory intelligence tool and not a PDF distributor" 

FERN RuleFinder started with a simple question: why should finding the right maritime rule take so long?

Maritime professionals work with a large number of conventions, codes, regulations, amendments and related documents. The information exists, but finding the exact provision can take time especially when a decision must be made during an inspection, an audit, maintenance work or daily ship operations.

This problem is familiar to officers at sea, superintendents ashore, inspectors, auditors, students and maritime researchers.

FERN was created to make that process easier.

Accessible by design

FERN RuleFinder was designed not only for large maritime organisations, but also for the individual professionals who work with maritime regulations every day.

Masters, officers, engineers, superintendents, auditors, inspectors, educators, students and independent maritime specialists may all need reliable regulatory research tools. However, an individual professional does not always have access to the same software budget as a large company.

For that reason, FERN is offered at a deliberately accessible price.

Users can begin with Free access and later activate only the regulatory modules relevant to their work. This modular approach avoids forcing individuals or smaller organisations to purchase a large and expensive package when they may need only one area of maritime regulation.

The price is not low because less work or professional care has gone into the platform. It is kept accessible because FERN was created with a broader purpose: to make useful maritime regulatory technology available to the majority of professionals who need it, regardless of whether they work for a large organisation, a smaller company or independently.

From a practical problem to a working tool

The idea grew from real maritime experience.

In everyday work, a person often knows that a requirement exists but may not remember the exact convention, chapter or regulation. A simple operational question can lead to several documents, cross references and amendments.

FERN RuleFinder is being developed to help users move from a practical question to the most relevant regulatory source more quickly.

It is not intended to replace official publications, competent authorities or professional judgment. Its purpose is to support the user by helping to locate the relevant rule, review its context and understand how the available evidence relates to the question.

Built for the maritime community

FERN is intended for:

• seafarers, officers and engineers;

• masters and shore-based superintendents;

• inspectors, auditors and safety professionals;

• maritime companies and smaller operators;

• lecturers, students and researchers;

• anyone who regularly works with maritime regulations.

An experienced superintendent may use FERN to review a compliance question. A shipboard officer may use it while preparing for an inspection. A student may use it to understand how conventions, chapters and regulations are connected.

The same tool should remain useful at different levels of maritime experience.

FERN for maritime education and research

FERN is also being developed for maritime education, training and research.

Maritime schools, academies, universities, vocational institutions and research organisations can use FERN to give students, lecturers and researchers structured access to selected international maritime regulations.

The platform can support teaching, practical exercises, regulatory research and the preparation of future maritime professionals across a wide range of fields, including navigation, marine engineering, safety, maritime law, environmental protection, port operations and logistics.

Academic institutions may arrange access for groups, courses or complete study programmes. Students whose institution does not yet participate may apply separately for verified Individual Student Access.

Academic users work within the existing professional FERN environment. The programme provides a different subscription and eligibility pathway rather than a separate or reduced search system.

FERN’s aim is not to extend indefinite Free use, but to make professional regulatory tools realistically accessible to education and to the future professionals who will use maritime rules in practice.

Why we keep FERN affordable

FERN is deliberately offered at an accessible price.

Many professional regulatory tools are designed mainly for large organisations. Individual seafarers, students, educators, independent professionals and smaller maritime companies may not have the same budget.

We do not believe that useful maritime knowledge tools should be available only to the largest companies.

FERN therefore follows a simple approach:

• users can begin with Free access;

• professionals can select only the modules they need;

• there is no need to purchase a large package immediately;

• access can grow together with the user’s work and responsibilities.

The lower price does not mean less work is invested in the platform. It reflects the reason FERN was created: to make structured maritime regulatory research available to more people.

Our aim is to build a sustainable professional service without creating an unnecessary financial barrier.

Your subscription supports research and knowledge

Revenue generated through FERN RuleFinder goes directly to PITIP-MITIM and helps fund the platform’s continued development, research and educational work, and the wider sharing of professional knowledge.

By choosing FERN, users gain access to a practical professional tool while also supporting the institution’s broader research and educational mission.

Why choose FERN RuleFinder?

FERN is designed around real maritime questions rather than simple document browsing. Instead of functioning only as a digital library, FERN is designed to help users move from a practical question to the most relevant regulatory provision, supporting source context, applicability review and evidence-based decision-making. Users can begin with Free access and later activate only the maritime modules required for their work.

Innovation with a practical purpose

FERN combines structured maritime content, professional search methods and modern software development. However, technology is not the main purpose. The purpose is to help a person reach the right source, understand the available evidence and make a better informed decision.

FERN is being developed around six practical values:

Intelligent search. Evidence selection. Applicability. Explanation. Citations. Decision support.

The platform will continue to develop through professional testing, practical maritime experience and feedback from its users.

Why we are building it

We are building FERN because maritime rules are important, but working with them should be clearer and more efficient.

We are building it for the people who use those rules in real situations.

And we are keeping it accessible because safer and better informed maritime work should not depend only on the size of an organisation’s software budget.

FERN RuleFinder — Find the rule. Understand the evidence. Support the decision.