FAQsAnswering all your Maritime Questions
FAQsAnswering all your Maritime Questions
General questions
Maritime Services International is one of the few truly independent marine survey and consultancy companies remaining in the UK. We have a reputation for responsiveness, ability and cost effectiveness in overcoming problems. The quality of our work remains long after the cost is forgotten.
We have just over 100 surveyor associates in 37 countries worldwide. Having such an extensive network helps to keep costs down by reducing the amount of air travel required to attend a survey particularly in the more remote areas of the world.
The best answer is to call and discuss your concerns. That way we can help you identify what it is that would suit you best.
Surveying questions
You need to find someone with whom you are comfortable to work. On receiving an enquiry a good surveyor will take the time to find out what it is you want to achieve and should subsequently keep you informed at every stage of the survey process. Being a excellent marine surveyor is as much about the soft skills of communication as it is technical skills.
How long is a piece of string? It all depends upon what you wish to achieve from the survey. The surveyor should take the time to discuss your requirements, identify the required outcomes and then give an indication, based on experience, of how long it will take to undertake the brief.
Like all physical objects that have been used or indeed even new not everything always works as it should.
When buying or selling a vessel it helps to know what is wrong with the vessel in order to assist the sales process. With a genuine willing buyer and willing seller, when defects are identified the cost impact can be assessed and normally a compromise on price achieved.
When investigating a claim having an independent expert on hand to assist with the gathering of evidence and records assists in protecting individual parties’ respective legal positions.
Surveys are based on time and the more complex the survey the longer it will take. Your surveyor should discuss this with you and both the scope of work, cost and deliverables should be confirmed in writing before work starts. Sometimes where speed is of the essence it can be necessary to mobilise a surveyor immediately and sort the details out later.
Consulting questions
The main difference between a surveyor and a consultant is that a surveyor works with fact whereas you are paying the consultant for their expertise and opinion.
The main reasons are either because they have a level of knowledge, experience and expertise that you need to take advantage of or because you need someone to independently assist in the process of due diligence.
Once again this is how long is a piece of string? When working as an expert consultant providing expert witness reports and testimony the consultant has to review all relevant documents carefully so as not to miss anything and then prepare a report with equal care being mindful of the constraints of independence placed on the expert by the courts.
Surveys are based on time and the more complex the survey the longer it will take. Your surveyor should discuss this with you and both the scope of work, cost and deliverables should be confirmed in writing before work starts. Sometimes where speed is of the essence it can be necessary to mobilise a surveyor immediately and sort the details out later.
Risk Management questions
Risk Management is where the experience of professionals in different areas of the marine industry come together to pool their knowledge of good or best practice and then use this as a yardstick to evaluate all types of marine operations to identify areas where the risks might need further consideration to improve the risk profile.
The answer to this very much depends upon whether or not you believe in the process of due diligence. No one person can know everything but drawing experience from multiple disciplines both from within and without the marine industry bring a perspective that sometimes can be a better way.
Essentially this is a two-stage process. The first stage is an in-depth question and answer session with the senior personnel either on board or ashore followed by a review of the physical vessel or operation which confirms the consistency of what is believed to be happening to that which is actually happening. The aim of a risk management assessment is to prevent accidents and incidents before they occur and to put in place systems to mitigate the effects of issues when they do occur.
To some extent this depends upon the complexity and size of the operation being considered and the depth to which the review of risk is to be evaluated. Both scope, deliverables and cost should be agreed in advance.
Investigation questions
Marine investigations take place after things go wrong. At this point there are always different parties involved and each party is looking to blame the other in order to seek some sort of financial redress. Instructing your own independent investigator helps capture, organise and preserve relevant information so that you know and understand the strength of your legal position.
This is another question that relates to the length of a piece of string. The more complex the incident the longer the investigation will take. What is certain though is that the investigation and knowledge you gain from it will be worth every penny spent.
Essentially this is the process of collecting physical, documentary and human evidence and pulling all the strands together to evaluate and reach a conclusion as to the cause, nature and extent of the incident.
Investigations are based on time and like with surveys the more complex the investigation the longer it will take. Investigations tend to run in periods of frantic activity and periods of calm. What is vital is to commission an investigator representing your interests as soon as possible and have boots on the ground as quickly as you can.
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