The Role of the H &M Surveyor - how the benefits are determined

Upon appointment by H& M underwriters, the marine surveyor needs to immediately

contact the casualty ships agent, in order to determine the location where the damaged
vessel is to be surveyed. He then arranges to board the vessel as soon as possible; in
order to conduct the survey before any changes are made to that immediately following
the casualty. Upon attendance onboard the insured vessel, the marine surveyor should
see the master and make known his reason for attending on board. He will then examine
the vessels statutory and classification certificates and ascertain the circumstances
leading up to the damage sustained by the vessel; obtaining copies of the log entries for
the casualty, if this is possible. The survey of the damage is then conducted together
with the appropriate officer, as directed by the master of the vessel.
I now list what the marine surveyor needs to do for the specific surveys of the 7 main
casualties which usually result in claims against H&M underwriters.
Collisions
1. All the damage sustained in the collision incident needs to be recorded. Previous
damage should also be recorded, as any repair to these items would be for
shipowners account.
2. Photographs of the damage should be taken to supplement the surveyors
description of the damage.
3. A without prejudice survey should be carried out on the other vessel /s involved
in the collision incident. Upon boarding the vessel/s, the marine surveyor must
seek the permission of the Master/s to conduct the WP survey/s. However, he
should not try to obtain any information about the collision incident from the
master/s or the ship officers. The WP surveys should be carried out with the
representatives of the particular vessel/s, who would indicate the particular
damage arising from the collision incident. It is important to record the location
and parameters of the damage, so that the surveyor would be in a position to
verify the repairs and costs when the repair invoice is presented for his comment.
This could be the only opportunity for the surveyor to sight the damage sustained
by the other vessel/s involved in the collision incident. Thus the survey should be
carefully carried out and photographs taken to appropriately supplement the
damage surveyed. The marine surveyor should then follow- up with the repairs
on the insured vessel; as recommended by the classification surveyor to reinstate
her to pre-collision condition and determine the fair and reasonable cost to do so
and comment whether drydocking is necessary to carry out the damage repairs;
also the time taken, with a breakdown for drydock repairs and afloat repairs.
4. In some cases, the marine surveyor may be required to conduct a Speed & Angle
of blow survey, in order to assist the insured vessels P& I Club and H&M
Underwiters to establish the degree of liability of the vessels involved in the
collision incident. This is for the purpose of settlement between the parties
involved in the collision, after the vessel/s have been reinstated to operational
condition.

Groundings
Groundings usually occur at remote locations and the marine surveyor should seek
instructions from the H&M underwriters as to whether to attend at the grounding
location or await the refloating of the vessel and transfer to the shipyard for repair. In
some cases, the insured vessels P&I Club would appoint a marine surveyor to oversee
the refloating of the vessel; survey by the H&M surveyor at the grounding location is
then not necessary. In some cases, it is in the H&M underwriters interests to instruct the
marine surveyor to attend onboard the vessel at the grounding location; in order to
ensure that the efforts to refloat the vessel are appropriateand following safe practices
and that the refloating costs are being controlled. Not having a surveyor to oversee and
safeguard the interests of all parties could be a disadvantage.
1. Upon attendance onboard the vessel, the surveyor needs to obtain as much
information about the grounding incident and sight entries in the deck and engine
room long books, as applicable; obtaining copies of the relevant pages, if it is
possible
2. Upon drydocking of the vessel, a bottom survey should be carried out with the
attending classification surveyor; to record all damage sustained in the grounding
incident. Internal damage should be recorded by entering the tanks/
compartments in way of the bottom damage, after the tanks/compartments have
been certified as being safe for entry. The repair specifications, as recommended
by the classification surveyor is then given to the repairers, specifying the
measurements of the plating and internal structure to be cropped out and
renewed. The positions of the grounding damage should be carefully recorded,
especially if there is pre-grounding damage existing on the bottom hull and side
hulls below the light waterline.
3. Photographs of the grounding damage should be taken both externally and
internally, in order to supplement the surveyors description of the grounding
damage,.
4. After the grounding repairs have been completed and certified by the
classification surveyor, the surveyor should review the repair invoice, in order to
ascertain that the repair costs are fair and reasonable and consistent with the
grounding damage. The surveyor should also be able to verify that the time spent
by the vessel in drydock and lying afloat alongside the shipyard berth is
consistent with the repair carried out to reinstate the vessel to pre-grounding
condition. Any repairs to pre-grounding existing damage should be for
shipowners account.
5. Refloating damage which can be positively identified, should be recorded
separately and the repair cost should be separated from the grounding damage
repair cost.
6. During the final survey prior to the vessel being put back into operation, the H&M
underwriters surveyor should verify with the classification surveyor that the
vessel is free of any condition connected with the grounding incident and that the
underwater hull and appendages have been reinstated to classed status. This is
for the on-going H&M insurance coverage of the vessel.

Machinery & Equipment Damage

Machinery& Equipment damage surveys are the most complex of the H&M insurance
surveys and require an experienced marine engineer surveyor, who is fully
knowledgeable about machinery and equipment and their workings; as it is necessary to
determine the cause of the damage that has been sustained in any one incident and the
extent of the damage resulting thereby.
1. Upon attendance onboard the vessel, the surveyor needs to meet up with the
chief engineer, in order to obtain information surrounding the machinery or
equipment damage, before proceeding to inspect the damage and record what is
visible. In most cases, it may be necessary to disassemble the machinery before
the full extent of damage can be determined and several inspections may be
necessary before the full scope of repairs is decided upon. At this stage, the
classification surveyor should recommend the repair specification to meet
classification requirements.
2. The engineer surveyor should conduct a careful inspection of the damaged
components, in order to determine the cause of damage. Close up photographs of
abrasion marks, wear marks, heat discolouration, melting and deformation should
be taken and where necessary, accurate measurements of components made, in
order to determine their actual condition prior to the damage incident. In some
cases, samples of lubricating oil and/or coolant may have to be taken and sent
for analysis. Sometimes, a fractured component may have to be inspected by a
metallurgist, to determine the cause of failure. The attendance of a
knowledgeable and experienced engineer surveyor is advantageous in achieving
expeditious and satisfactory reinstatement of the vessel to fully operational
condition.
3. Reinstatement of the machinery and/or equipment also requires close liaison with
the owner s superintendent and classification surveyor; in order to ensure that
there will be no recurrence of the damage incident. Careful inspection of the
associated components should also be made and if they require replacement or
repair, the owners superintendent should be advised to take the necessary
action.
4. When the repair invoice is issued, the surveyor should ensure that the charges
are fair and reasonable and that the time taken to carry out the work is
consistent with the damage sustained. The surveyors verification and agreement
of the reinstatement costs is an important factor in a claim process.
Fires
Fires onboard ships pose particular problems to surveyors, especially fires in machinery
compartments, where seawater is used to extinguish the fire. The surveyor should be
appointed as early as possible and should board the vessel as soon as it is safe to do so;
in order to advise the owners superintendent to commence cleaning and carrying out
corrosion prevention of the machinery and equipment not directly affected by the fire,
but by the seawater used in the fire extinguishing operations.
1. Upon attendance on-board the vessel, the surveyor should meet the master and
officers to obtain a brief on the circumstances surrounding the fire occurrence and
immediately inspect the fire affected section to determine what should be done as
soon as possible to mitigate the damage. Photographs should be taken at this

juncture to record the aftermath of the fire and attention should be given as soon
as possible to cleaning the seawater affected machinery and equipment and
applying corrosion prevention chemicals to arrest the corrosion process. Failure to
act quickly could result in the damage to components being aggravated to such
extent that replacement may be necessary during the reinstatement of the vessel
to pre-fire operational condition.
2. The cause of the fire, especially if it occurs in shipyard or in port should be
determined; as H&M underwriters may be able to obtain recovery from other
parties, if it can be positively proved that the fire was caused by them. Evidence
depicting the cause of the fire should be carefully photographed for future
reference. In some cases, fire experts could be called in to determine with some
degree of certainty the cause of the fire.
3. Reinstatement of the vessel to pre-fire condition should be closely monitored by
the surveyor; so that the approval of the fire repair accounts can be made by him
when the vessel returns to operation.
Flooding of compartments
Flooding in machinery and equipment compartments, due to ingress of seawater through
damaged or corroded hull plating or undetected leakage of sea water pipes can
sometimes result in expensive repairs or replacements; especially with electrical
equipment and cabling. Here again, in view of the corrosive nature of seawater, the
corrosion prevention resources should be in place and ready for immediate use before
the flooded compartment is de-watered.
1. The surveyor upon being briefed about the circumstances surrounding the
flooding incident, should advise the owners superintendent to obtain corrosion
prevention facilities and put them in place before the compartment is de-watered.
However, if the incident had occurred whilst the vessel was still at sea and the
compartment had already been de-watered, then measures must be taken
immediately to arrest any corrosion that has already taken place. Flooding has a
devastating effect on the electrical systems and all electrical cabling, which has
been submerged, although protected by conduits would require checking for
insulation properties. Long lengths of cabling may sometimes have to be
renewed, due to water seeping into the cable through the cable connections.
2. All affected machinery and equipment would then require careful checking and
restoration to operational condition before they are tested; as incorrectly repaired
and faulty components could have adverse consequences when the machinery
and equipment are restarted after the repairs have been completed.
3. Photographs should be taken before dewatering of the compartment commences;
in order to assist in the proper checking process before cleaning and
reinstatement commences. In cases where the compartment has already been
de-watered, watermarks could indicate the level of flooding in the compartment.
4. The surveyor would have to closely monitor the cleaning, corrosion prevention
measures and reinstatement of the machinery and equipment to operating
condition; with a view to approving the invoices for all the services rendered to
reinstate the vessel to operational condition and to enable H&M underwriters to
deal with the claim.

Heavy weather damage

Over the last 20 years of so, heavy weather damage claims against H&M underwriters
have considerably lessened, as the significantly improved communications and
navigation equipment installed on board oceangoing ships has enabled them to head
away from a storm or take avoiding action by slowing down until the storm has passed.
1. The surveyor attending onboard a vessel which has sustained heavy weather
damage, should sight the deck log entries, in order to determine the weather and
sea conditions encountered by the vessel. The damage sustained during the
period of heavy weather is then quickly inspected and photographed and
discussion held with owners superintendent, to decide on the list of repairs and
supply of replacement parts/equipment that have to be carried out on an urgent
basis; to enable the vessel to continue her voyage to destination port. Where
repairs can be deferred to a convenient time, a separate list of the recommended
repairs is made up, to be dealt with at a later date.
2. Prompt replacement of equipment/parts often calls for airfreighting them directly
from manufacturers. When approving the reinstatement invoices, the surveyor
should be able to comment on the increase in transportation costs brought about
by the airfreighting all the equipment and parts from manufacturers; as this is
done for the benefit of the vessels owners and the extra cost should correctly be
for their account.
Sinkings
I have left this to the last, as in most cases, where the vessel sinks in deep water and
the cost of salvaging and reinstating her to pre-sinking condition exceeds the insured
value of the vessel, underwriters would choose to appoint investigators with maritime
and legal backgrounds; in order to determine the liability aspect without sighting the
vessel. Where the owners choose to raise the vessel and reinstate her to operational
condition, the surveyor should be appointed promptly and should be involved with the
salvage operations, dewatering, cleaning, reinstatement of the machinery and
equipment to operational condition and repair of the damage which had caused the
sinking of the vessel.
1. The survey after the vessel is re-floated, cleaned and corrosion prevention
measures carried out is a long process; comprising checking and replacing
electrical cabling and equipment which is not economically repairable and
thorough overhaul of all machinery and equipment. On completion of all
reinstatement work, each item of machinery and equipment would have to be
tested and made operational.
2. The salvage accounts, cleaning, corrosion prevention and reinstatement invoices
should be scrutinised and approved by the surveyor to facilitate the claim
settlement process.
In some cases, the salvage and reinstatement costs may well exceed the insured value
of the vessel, but the owners of the vessel may choose this course of action because of
the vessel is custom-built and they would have difficulty replacing the vessel quickly for
their particular operation. In such cases, the vessels owners would probably have to
bear the additional costs.