We are seafarers at heart. We have all worked at sea for 20 years in senior positions. We have improved on this with further formal education and training in engineering and ship design for example. Most importantly we have a grounding in insurance claims and claims handling and we know how casualties occur and how the policies of insurance respond.

We understand shipping and marine insurance. We know that major casualties rarely arise from a single event. They generally start small and then escalate due to various contributory factors.

In our view, losses rarely result solely from the condition of a vessel. Yes, there can be isolated structural failures losses are more often connected to the way in which the vessel is manned, operated, managed and maintained.

It was on this basis that the Technical Appraisal was formed. The Technical Appraisal is a loss prevention exercise intended for small and medium sized fleets. It looks as the way in which the vessels are managed, operated, manned and maintained. It combines a review of the shore based management with surveys of some of the fleet. It ensures that what the management are trying to achieve is reflected on board. It remains one of our most popular surveys and it has a proven track record in reducing losses, increasing reliability and improving the loss record.

For smaller companies we might look at just one or two vessels using the Risk Assessment Survey format.

For larger fleets we have a Loss Prevention Study which takes the exercise to the next level. We spend a lot more time with the management looking at the shore based activities more detail and we spend more time on the vessels, often sailing on board.

Over the last 15 years we have had the pleasure of working with some impressive clients and we are pleased to say that our track record of reducing losses by improving management supervision, increasing machinery reliability, increasing knowledge and awareness of those on board and ashore, speaks for itself.

There are three ways in which we currently work. Shipowners will approach us outside of their insurance programme to assist them in their efforts to improve safety, reliability and performance throughout the fleet.

Insurance brokers will approach us as part of their client’s fleet insurance programme where they feel their client would benefit from some external comments and advice from an independent source. The “Inserve treatment” as some prefer to call it.

Insurers will ask us to survey ships or visit a shipping company as part of their policy conditions where they feel some improvements can be made.

In each case the process is similar. We see what has happened in the past, we look at the current situation with the fleet and we anticipate the improvements that can be made in the future.

We are not checklist surveyors. We start each job with a blank sheet of paper. Each job is different and we build the risk profile as we go along. Our risk reduction recommendations are always made with some degree of common sense and cost effectiveness in mind.

Hull and machinery insurers are relying on some degree of standardisation when it comes to future surveys, basing their requirements on the Joint Hull Committee A, B, C and D survey wordings. This is fine and we are happy to meet their needs. We possibly diverge somewhat from these wordings because we continue to be risk based in our approach.

Crankshafts and fires remain the highest areas of risk in terms of frequency of loss and quantum. We take the view that all such incidents can be prevented and we spend a lot of time concentrating on these areas. Which indeed is the purpose of the risk based exercise, there is no point spending a lot of time looking at structural condition unless the vessel is of a nature whereby there is a real risk of structural failure.

Machinery reliability is not improving in our industry and we need to be alert to this. Higher combustion loads, smaller engines, greater power to weight ratios all combine to have an effect on reliability. The managers and crew need to be particularly alert to certain key areas.

Fires are not going away either. Improved fire fighting resources is a good thing but more needs to be done with fire prevention, particularly flammable liquids reaching hot surfaces, electrical issues, fires while under repair etc.