Marine Survey in Nigeria

Marine Survey

Marine survey involves the conduction of inspections, surveys and examinations of marine vessels to evaluate, monitor to report on their condition and the condition of the products on them, including inspecting damage suffered by vessel and cargo, inspection of equipment meant for new vessels or vessels already in use to ensure that they meet standards and specifications.

Sometimes when a person wants to purchase a new or old vessel and they do not have in depth knowledge about ships or do not have the time to check it out themselves, they could hire a marine surveyor to conduct a check and report on the condition of the vessel; they check for defects or if the vessel needs maintenance, repairs or replacements, basically they check if the vessel is in good shape to hit the sea and if it will be a good investment for the buyer.

Marine surveyors are usually hired on a fee basis by clients and they maintain professional autonomy so they can give an unbiased assessment of a vessel. Marine survey is often associated with marine insurance, clients of marine insurers often hire independent marine surveyors to give evidence to support damage claims against the insurer. Insurance companies cannot make clients hire specific marine surveyors.

Marine Surveyor

This is a person hired by a customer to carry out inspections, surveys and examinations on a vessel to evaluate and report on their condition and the goods on them, they also inspect damage caused to both vessel and cargo; they also carry out inspection on equipment intended for new or existing vessels to ensure compliance with various standards or specifications. Marine surveyor’s jobs includes evaluating the general condition of the vessel’s structure, machinery, equipment and cargo; also inspecting materials on board and their condition.

The marine surveyor holds a very important position in the shipping industry and is held with high regard, as certifications and payment are only processed after a surveyor has given his satisfaction. They are usually highly qualified and technically sound and are selected after strict evaluation procedures  because the lives of countless crew members and condition of goods relies purely on their judgment, competence and integrity as they are the ones who decide if a ship is fit for sailing or not.

Types of Marine Surveyor

The shipping industry is a very diverse and vast one and it requires various types of marine survey that are carried out by specialists in their respective field of survey. Generally there are two main classes of surveyors: surveyors called in to identify problems before they occur, they assess a vessel before purchase or during routine checks, and they are called proactive surveyors. The other class is usually called in after an incident has happened, these are insurance, arbitration and claimant surveyors, they are called reactive surveyors.

Marine surveyors can be further divided into more specialized fields:

Government surveyor

They perform ship registration surveys, surveys of foreign-going ships and local draft, and enforce ship safety standards to ensure marine industrial safety. Government surveyors represent two main points of interest- a flag state representative, and a port state representative; flag state surveyors report to the government the vessel is registered with while port state surveyors report to the government of the territory a vessel has entered. Port state surveyors can stop a vessel that have defects that may have adverse effects on life and environment from sailing, flag state surveyors set the conditions a vessel must meet in other to be registered and this registration can be suspended of withdrawn when the a vessel does not comply.

Cargo surveyor

Cargo surveyors are normally hired by a Cargo Owner, charterer or organization transporting cargo in bulk, especially grain cargo. They perform a draft survey to determine the actual cargo loaded on board, ensure that the cargo nis loaded and unloaded in the appropriate manner according to law and loadable limits. In case of expensive and high-value goods, the surveyor may be required to personally oversee the loading and unloading operations.

Cargo surveyors are responsible for all cargo related operations and inspections.

Classification surveyor

Classification surveyors inspect vessels ensure that its components and machinery are built and maintained according to the standards required for their class. Classification surveyors often represent a classification society as well as act as an inspector on behalf of the flag state of the ship. They ensure that the vessel complies with the classification society’s rules for construction and outfitting, and is maintained fit to start trading. They also make sure that it satisfies the clear set of guidelines issued by the flag state. After completion of any survey, the classification surveyor makes recommendations to the classification society and/or the flag state whether the vessel has a clean bill of health, or it has various defects must be corrected within a given time.

Independent surveyor

These are marine surveyors that operate individually and are not affiliated to any organizations. They perform a wide range of tasks including examining ship cargo, onboard conditions, investigating accidents at sea, preparing accident reports for insurance purposes, and conducting draft surveys to assess loss. They are usually hired to run private third party assessment on vessels during construction or after accidents.

Yacht and small craft surveyor

These are marine surveyors whose specialty is the inspection of smaller vessels most often used for pleasure boating. Yacht and small craft survey has many unique aspects that are different from traditional forms of marine survey because pleasure boating is a relatively new practice.

They check the various equipment and machinery onboard. Since the most of these vessels are usually for personal use, the owners hire surveyors directly to inspect their vessel. Some of these surveyors work under organizations but the vast majority of these surveyors are independent surveyors.

Ullage Survey

This is the assessment of oil, gas and petrochemical products; inspection and approval of ship tanks to ensure good conditions for loading cargo, verification of the quantity of liquid cargo on board a ship by measuring it in a vacuum. They also perform other tasks like Cargo Contamination Surveys, Supervision of loading/discharging.

Calibration of Tanks / Meters

Calibration is the process by which measurement systems are certified to the international standards. The process may be carried out with various methods: optical, strapping, metering depending on factors like type, design, site and preferences. The process of calibration can be carried out in a short time frame and the process includes:

• Assessment of tank/meter type(s) to be calibrated and product(s) it is to be used for.

• Assessment of tank/meter location/condition during calibration.

• Confirmation of suitability for calibration.

• Assessment of appropriate preferred methods to be used in calibration.

• Agreement of methodology, dates and conditions for calibrations to be carried out.

• Selection/allocation of equipment and personnel and scheduling.

• Mobilization to site/Calibrations/Return from site.

• Calibration calculations and table preparation.

• Verification processes and validation.

• Issuance of calibrations.

Vessel Condition Survey

This is a thorough survey of a vessel to report the condition- the extent and nature of defects found.

The report include the Description of Vessel and its main particulars gotten from plans and documents on board or supplied by the vessels Master.

The areas surveyed include:

The bridge navigation and communication equipment’s used, the vessel’s accommodation.

The ship’s hull which includes the plates, draught marks, type of rudder and propeller and bow thruster.

The State of the main deck areas which constitutes of the deck plating, railings, mast house structures, air vents etc.

The State of the cargo tanks, ballast tanks, chain lockers, deck store rooms.

The Safety and fire-fighting equipment’s

Then an honest report is prepared to describe the vessel’s condition from the inspection.

In HENDIAC NIGERIA LIMITED we are Involved in inspections, Marine survey and examinations of marine vessels to evaluate, monitor to report on their condition and the condition of the products on them, including inspecting damage suffered by vessel and cargo, inspection of equipment meant for new vessels or vessels already in use to ensure that they meet standards and specifications.