Survey work that holds up when someone disputes it.
We attend vessels, write what we saw, and stand behind the report. Most of our instructions come from owners, charterers and their insurers; a fair number come from the lawyers who read a previous report and were not convinced by it.
Halderson Marine has been instructed on condition, damage and pre-purchase work since 2009. The practice is deliberately small — four surveyors, all of whom have sailed — and every report is signed by the surveyor who attended, not by an office.
What we are usually asked to do
Condition & valuation
Full condition survey with photographic record, plus a market view where the instruction calls for one.
Damage & casualty
Attendance following contact, grounding, cargo shift or machinery failure. Cause, extent, and a repair specification that yards can price.
On- and off-hire
Bunker and condition surveys at delivery and redelivery, at the load port or at anchorage, at short notice.
Pre-purchase
Inspection afloat or in dock, class and certificate review, and a plain list of what the buyer is taking on.
Recent instruction types
| General cargo, 4,800 dwt | Off-hire condition and bunker survey, two ports, 48 hours' notice. |
|---|---|
| Coastal tanker | Contact damage to the port shoulder; extent, repair specification and attendance at the yard for the steel renewal. |
| Workboat, 26 m | Pre-purchase inspection in dock, including shaft and rudder clearances. |
| Dry bulk, part cargo | Draught survey and hold condition on behalf of the receiver. |
We do not carry out repairs, broker vessels or represent yards. The only thing we sell is the survey, which is the point of instructing an independent.
Hull survey, repair berth.
Attendance at short notice
Damage work rarely arrives at a convenient hour. One surveyor is on call at all times, and for ports inside our usual area we aim to be on board within twelve hours of instruction.
For anything outside that area we will say so at the outset and, where it helps, name a correspondent we have worked with rather than take the job and subcontract it quietly.