Marine service
Vessel technical inspections give owners and managers a view of the ship that does not come from their own superintendent or the crew. A surveyor goes on board, examines structure, machinery and maintenance records, and returns a ranked defect list that supports budgeting, charter readiness and fleet planning. Reports are written for decision-makers, not for the engine room.
Directory
Company
17 Years in business
RTBS is a Singapore marine survey and consultancy firm founded in 2009, with its office at Innovation Place, Mandai Estate. It helps clients deal with maritime regulations and offers condition, marine warranty, pre-purchase, on/off-hire and P&I condition surveys, hold inspections, ultrasonic thickness measurement, flag state inspections, casualty investigation and towage surveys.
Company
12 Years in business
Marine Mechanics Private Limited is a Chennai-based ship service company, established in 2014, that combines engineering, digital tools and technical support for vessels. Its site puts the team at more than 150 experts offering round-the-clock support. Work covers navigation and communication equipment, servicing of safety equipment, calibration and statutory surveys, repair support and new-build assistance for tankers, bulk carriers and container ships.
Company
9 Years in business
Dagger Diving Services Ltd is a UK commercial diving company formed in 2017 and staffed by former military divers. It has completed more than 200 projects across the UK, including on the Thames and in London, and offers underwater inspection, salvage and training. Its address is at Unit 3, The Old Laundry.
Company
Johnson Marine Services, LLC is a family business founded by Jim Johnson, who joined the US Navy in 1969, served in Vietnam and on the repair ship USS Ajax, and later worked as a shipyard welder while studying. He became a marine surveyor and over 30 years worked for a barge line, managed repair yards and terminals and spent time in salvage before starting his own firm. It surveys on the inland rivers and across the Gulf Coast, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Company
Engine Surveyors, LLC (Engine Surveyor of South Florida) is owned by Gary A. Gillespie and carries out diesel and gasoline marine engine surveys across the Southeastern US and worldwide, from Jupiter, Florida. Gary's career includes work as a mechanic, warranty and service inspector, fleet maintenance manager, engine rebuilder, dealer and captain, and he has given expert testimony and investigated failures. Much of his work comes from yacht brokers and referrals.
Company
Eastern Marine Services, Inc. is a Baltimore marine contractor with more than twenty years of work for federal, state, municipal and private clients, using ADCI-certified dive crews. Besides marine construction, salvage and hull husbandry, its inspection side carries out inspections of Coast Guard and Navy vessels, NDT, cathodic protection checks and underwater video inspections with written reports, and it handles insurance investigations. It runs a 24-hour emergency line.
Company
APEX Maritime Consultants, LLC. is a Texas consultancy and survey firm focused on heavy lift and project cargo. Its surveyor, Gilman, holds a 2010 Texas A&M degree in maritime business administration, is NAMSGlobal certified and passed the National Cargo Bureau / USCG course on securing non-standard cargo. It works alongside several survey firms in America and Europe and also handles damage, condition, draft and warranty surveys and loading supervision.
Company
Celtic Maritime Limited is run by Martyn, a lead auditor for the main maritime conventions and certified flag surveyor who went to work for the UK's MCA in 2017 and reached the rank of Principal Marine Surveyor there in October 2023. Working from Cardiff, he was part of the senior team covering most of Wales and the Severn area and helped draft UK policy on small craft, workboats, pleasure vessels and domestic passenger ships. The company offers MCA coding, fishing vessel and yacht surveys, ISM audits, pre-PSC checks, thickness measurement and new-build supervision.
Company
Boatcare Yacht Surveys offers named survey packages for boat buyers and owners: BoatBuy pre-purchase inspections, BoatSure condition, finance and insurance surveys, hull and structure inspections, sports boat and RIB surveys, trailer-sailer surveys, damage surveys, market valuations, sea trials and new boat delivery checks. It also handles charter coding and British registration, works at harbours such as the Hamble, Lymington, Chichester, Brixham and Salcombe, and lists YDSA membership.
Company
The Maritime House is a maritime consultancy based in Ağaoğlu My Office in Ataşehir, Istanbul. It works on engineering design, consultancy on HSQE systems, surveys, claims handling and product services, and its site publishes technical news such as MARPOL Annex VI EEXI and CII rules and Panama Canal requirements.
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About this service
Vessel technical inspections are periodic examinations of a ship's physical state and upkeep, usually requested by owners, ship managers, commercial operators or financiers who want a view that is separate from the in-house technical superintendent.
Unlike a class survey, which checks the vessel against the society's rules at fixed intervals, this kind of inspection is not tied to a certificate. The owner sets the scope. Typical triggers are a change of manager, a newly acquired vessel, a lender's covenant, concern about a particular ship's cost trend, or preparation for a charter that demands a clean record.
The surveyor walks through deck, accommodation, cargo spaces and the engine room, examining structure, coatings, piping, valves, pumps, electrical installations, boilers, purifiers, and the main engine's condition as shown by running parameters and recent overhauls. Safety equipment under SOLAS is inspected for condition and servicing evidence: lifeboats and release gear, fire detection, fixed fire-fighting systems, emergency generator and emergency stops.
A large part of the day is spent on documents. The planned maintenance system should show jobs completed on time, defects closed with evidence, and spare parts consumption that matches the work claimed. The surveyor will also check that the shipboard system required by the ISM Code is actually used rather than filled in afterwards.
Ask any candidate what they will measure and what they will only observe, whether a machinery condition review will include running the plant, and how findings are graded.
The report is a condition report with photographs, a list of deficiencies ranked by safety, class and commercial consequence, and recommended timing for each correction. Owners use it to set repair budgets, plan dry-dockings and hold managers to account.
Frequent findings include maintenance that exists only on paper, leaking steam and fuel systems, corroded deck fittings, and spares ordered but not fitted.