A Marine Surveyor conducts inspections, surveys, or examinations of marine vessels to assess, monitor and report on their condition and the products on them, as well as inspects damage caused to both vessels and cargo.
At INS Claims, we are fortunate enough to have Ben Balhera, who is a seasoned Marine Surveyor and Zach Koch, who is an apprentice.
Ben has been a claims adjuster for over 20 years, 13 of which he specialized in the Marine Surveyor line of business.
Zach has been an Independent Adjuster for two years and has gained considerable marine surveying knowledge during that time.
Additional information on their experiences can be reviewed with the following link: https://www.insclaimsservices.com/marine-surveyors.
Since the onset of Covid-19, many of the overseas businesses slowed or cancelled production. Now that restrictions are easing in relation to Covid-19, many more cargo ships arriving at the Vancouver port.
Due to a shortage of employees such as truck drivers and warehouse workers to unload and process the cargo at various points along the way, many more claims being presented due to spoilage.
As of this writing this post, there is a cargo ship in the Vancouver Harbor that has reportedly lost 100 containers overboard and had a subsequent fire on deck.
There is no doubt, numerous Marine Surveyors will be required to examine the millions of dollars of cargo when the vessel has finally docked.
Because of the current situation, INS Claims have been receiving assignments more claims than normal related to delayed containers that contain perishable items such as fruits and vegetables.
When there is a possibility the contents of a container may be spoiled, it is a Marine Surveyor who is called to examine the cargo and assess the damages.
In cases such as these, it’s important that the contents are examined for quality before a decision is made prior forwarding the products to retail outlets. These examinations can be rather straightforward, but they are also time consuming.
On completion of the survey, a detailed report is prepared and forwarded to the insurer or their designated personnel who will give additional instructions depending on the findings.
The following is a straightforward example of oranges that were shipped from Chile and were delayed arriving at the Vancouver Port.
Ben photographing the container as it arrived at a cold storage facility The temperature reading of the container is photographed and recorded as temperature has a big impact on perishable items.
Skid loads of oranges unloaded from the truck awaiting inspection. In this case 3 full containers were inspected.
There were 5 sizes of oranges and so several randomly chosen boxes of each size are selected to give an indication of overall quality. Here Ben is selecting a box for examination .
The oranges are examined on a table. The boxes are weighed, the oranges are inspected for spoilage and the citrus level is measured and recorded.