Marine service
On-hire off-hire surveys record a ship's state at the start and end of a time charter, so disputes about damage, cleanliness and bunkers can be settled with evidence. Surveyors on Surveyor Index attend delivery or redelivery, measure fuel on board and issue a report that both parties can rely on. Both parties can then rely on one agreed record.
Directory
Company
German Survey Marine is a Hamburg-based cargo survey company with offices in Hamburg, Bremen, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Porto and Shanghai. It plans and monitors cargo securing, for example on container shipments from Hamburg to China, and handles break bulk cargo that is too large for containers. Services also include on/off-hire, draft and P&I condition surveys and flag state inspections.
Company
Marine & Ship's Services provides technical consultancy to the shipping industry from an address on Rue de l'Îlon in France. Its work covers vetting, cargo work, annual safety inspections, condition and damage surveys, supervision of repairs, follow-up surveys of newbuildings and training, and it takes worldwide assignments at short notice around the clock. Reports come in English or French and are illustrated with many photos.
Company
Worldwide Marine Surveyors was founded by Saddam Quadir and operates from Rue St-Hubert in Montreal. The team counts a marine engineer and a master mariner among its members, and several surveyors previously worked in marine insurance or held management roles ashore. Services cover on/off-hire, damage, condition and bunker surveys, cargo and container surveys, lashing and securing checks, loading supervision and suitability surveys, with Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver among the ports listed.
Company
IRBEMOL (Maritime Solutions and Trade Consultancy) is a marine consultancy and services company with an office in Antwerp (Deurne), Belgium. Its listed services include pre-purchase and condition surveys, cargo, draft and bunker surveys, on/off-hire surveys, quality and quantity inspections, port captain work and repair supervision, plus supply and servicing of onboard equipment. It says it serves clients across western Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, and it represents Dromon Bureau of Shipping.
Company
Marine Consulting Services (MCS) is an Adelaide practice whose principal has a 41-year marine career: 11 years running a national construction company's fleet of dredgers, tugs, barges, landing craft and workboats, 17 years at a refinery handling marine infrastructure, tanker berthing and ship-to-ship transfers, and 3 years in vessel maintenance. MCS surveys commercial and recreational vessels and offers damage, pre-purchase, draft, on/off-hire, P&I, hold, load line and machinery surveys, underwater inspections and consultancy.
Company
Maiden Marine's principal surveyor, Steve Jones, is a DP master mariner with more than 43 years in the industry, starting on North Sea fishing vessels in 1982 and later serving as master and chief officer in offshore oil and gas. He has worked as an inspector and consultant for oil majors and is accredited as a domestic commercial vessel surveyor by both AMSA and Maritime New Zealand. Based in Kettering, Tasmania, the business offers draft, on/off-hire, marine warranty, pre-purchase, insurance and fishing vessel surveys plus pre-PSC inspections, and lists IMCA membership.
Company
Gibson Minto & Aiton Marine & Cargo Surveyors says it has operated for over a century and still keeps its first survey report. Its surveyors are AIMS Certified Commercial Marine Surveyors and hold AMSA accreditation for statutory surveys of domestic commercial vessels. Work covers cargo, lashing and securing, container and project cargo surveys, on/off-hire and towage surveys, insurance surveys and class and statutory jobs. The company's postal address is in Mascot, NSW.
Company
Al Khair Shipping Management (AKSM) is an Ajman ship manager set up by former seafarers, offering technical, crew, procurement and dry-docking management. Its marine services wing, where the business started, carries out pre-purchase and condition inspections for prospective owners, covering hull, cargo and deck gear, accommodation, navigation equipment, machinery and log books. It also does pre-charter suitability checks, on/off-hire condition surveys, insurance loss surveys and cargo handling work on liquid, gas, bulk, container and break-bulk trades.
37 Years in business
Seaways Marine Services has worked in Egypt since 1989 and combines underwater services, ship supply and Suez Canal transit agency. Its divers carry out hull cleaning, in-water surveys of hull, steering and propeller gear, underwater video and photography and hull protection replacement, and its warehouse supplies vessels at Port Said, Suez, Damietta, Alexandria and Red Sea ports. Survey work listed also includes cargo, condition, on/off-hire and reefer surveys and project cargo.
32 Years in business
Broadpulse Corp (BPc) is a marine and boat survey business in Waterloo, Ontario, with an address on Batavia Place. Its site describes inspections supervised through its head office, safety inspections based on ASTM and MSDS standards, and an interest in improving how cargo products are blended on board during loading. Listed services include damage, cargo, pre-purchase and on/off-hire surveys, valuations, yacht surveys and moisture checks.
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About this service
On-hire off-hire surveys are joint or independent inspections carried out when a vessel is delivered to a time charterer and later redelivered to the owner. Under a time charter the ship is hired for a period, so the parties need a neutral record of what was handed over and what came back.
Either side can appoint the surveyor, or both can agree on one. The charterparty determines the obligation. Many standard time charter forms say the vessel must be delivered and redelivered in the same good order and condition, fair wear and tear excepted, and require quantities of fuel on board at each point to be recorded. A surveyor's report is the evidence for that.
At on-hire the surveyor inspects the cargo spaces for cleanliness and readiness for the first intended cargo, notes visible hull and deck damage, tests essential equipment such as cranes, and records bunkers on board by grade, with soundings, temperatures and densities. Photographs and a date-time stamp are important. At off-hire the same ground is covered again, and the surveyor compares the two sets of records to separate new damage from pre-existing condition. Details such as lube oil quantities, fresh water, and the condition of lashing and dunnage gear can be included if the charter requires it.
Before appointing, ask whether the surveyor will attend both events or just one, whether they can attend outside normal hours at an anchorage, and whether they will agree figures with the chief engineer on the spot. Confirm who receives the report.
The deliverable is an on-hire or off-hire report with bunker calculation sheets, photographs and a statement of damages observed.
Common disputes involve hold cleanliness, small scratches or dents left unrecorded at delivery, and differences in fuel measurement.