Q3.
What does your typical ‘bread and butter’ weekly workload consist of – e.g. pre-purchase, insurance surveys?
Most of my work is completing insurance, pre-purchase surveys, damage assessments and overseeing refits on small crafts of everything from yachts, steamboats, barges and cruisers both at sea and on our inland waterways. I have occasionally acted as an expert witness in Coroners and Civil Courts, however, not for Ambulance chasers.
Q4.
What are the key challenges facing marine surveyors in Ireland and what can the regulator do to help?
One of the challenges that I see is that one insurance company is using surveyors to complete an “Advisory Boat Check”, instead of an independent surveyor completing a proper independent insurance survey with a valuation on the vessel. Essentially it is a check list of safety items on the vessel, which they tick off and then send the
report to the owner with any safety recommendations that they deem required to be completed. The problem with this is that when the vessel is written off due to a fire or sinking, the insurance company can then put whatever valuation they wish on the vessel, so quite a few owners have been caught out, as they don’t have an independent valuation to argue their case with the insurance company. The insurance company advises their clients that they can have this tick box exercise completed on the water, but if they use an independent surveyor then they must have an out-of-water survey, thereby inflicting further expense on their clients. Thankfully the majority of the insurance companies require an out-of-water survey every five years. The standard of surveying has improved over the years, thanks mainly to the IIMS training and CPD for the members.
Three years ago, Allianz Marine Insurance withdrew cover on marine insurance because of not having small craft properly surveyed on a regular basis, so that part of their insurance went bust, having to pay out enormous claims due to the lack of surveys being completed by independent surveyors. The creditable insurance companies now insist on an out-of-water survey every five years.
Q5.
We have spoken about mentoring and training the next generation of marine surveyors and I know it is something you care about. What can you tell me?
In all professional walks of life, mentoring is an essential component of developing your career. I have had quite a few mentors throughout my working life, and I have found some outstanding and a few were average, one way or another I am a keen advocate of mentoring, and I feel it is important to share one’s knowledge and experience to raise the standards of surveying in Ireland. I also mentor Race Officers for Irish Sailing. I have been involved in race management since I was a teenager, and I officiate at several regattas and championships at home and abroad each year. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience with younger and less experienced Race Officers. It is up to senior members to help raise the standards within our institute. I am an Associate Fellow of the Nautical Institute and a Member of the Irish Institute of Master Mariners, this also helps me stay up to date with many related matters and subjects relating to my surveying.
132 | ISSUE 113 | SEP 2025 | THE REPORT
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