Sometimes a vessel doesn't run a competition, it wants you. A Direct Request is a scoped job sent straight to your organization, with no competing bids. You quote it with the same fast tools as any bid, agree, and schedule the work. Here's the whole flow, plus how outside companies can respond by secure link.
Quote a Direct Request a vessel sent to you.
An approved service-provider organization. (Outside companies can also receive one by secure link, no account needed.)
About 8 minutes.
Reflects Direct Request, live August 2026.
When a vessel sends your organization a Direct Request, it lands in your dashboard and you're notified. Open it to read the full scope, requirements, and contact, the same detail as a tender, but yours alone, with no competing bids.
A received Direct Request in the service-provider dashboard.
It's the same quote form as a bid. Upload your quote PDF and the AI reads it, pulling your priced lines and totals so the numbers come from your own document; or import an estimate straight from QuickBooks. Prefer to type it in? Enter labour, parts, freight, tax, and charges by hand. MBN recomputes the total for you.
The Direct Request quote form: upload a PDF for the AI to read, or import from QuickBooks.
If the vessel asked for insurance, a license, or warranty, attach the documents, or let the AI detect them in what you already uploaded. It's advisory: if anything is unclear you fill it in yourself, and nothing blocks you from sending.
Attaching requirement documents on a Direct Request quote.
Your quote saves as a private draft while you build it; the vessel never sees drafts. When it's ready, send it, and the request moves to Quoted with the vessel notified.
Saving a draft and sending the Direct Request quote.
If the scope shifts or you want to sharpen your price, send a revised version. Every version is kept on the record, and you and the vessel share one governed thread throughout.
Sending a revised version of a Direct Request quote.
The vessel accepts your quote or passes, and you're notified either way. On acceptance, a Maritime Service Agreement is created for you both to sign, and you agree the service date right on the thread: one side proposes a date and time, the other confirms, and it exports to your calendar (Google, Outlook, or .ics).
Scheduling the service date after a Direct Request is accepted.
A vessel can send a Direct Request to a company that hasn't joined. If that's you, you'll get a secure email link to view the request, quote it (AI document-reading and all), message on the thread, and, if you're chosen, sign the Maritime Service Agreement, with no account, and you can join MBN whenever you're ready.
The guest secure-link view of a Direct Request.
With the Maritime Service Agreement signed and the date set, the job is ready to run. Post-award execution (workrooms) arrives for Direct Requests in MBN's next phase, around January 2027.
Log in to see your Direct Requests. New to MBN? Request free access first.