ATTENDANCE · REVIEW · REPORTING
Marine Warranty Survey (MWS)
Independent third-party marine warranty survey for underwriters, brokers, assureds and project stakeholders, against the standard named in your policy's warranty clause. We review the procedures and the calculations, survey the spread, attend the operation and report.
Where SolarisTech is appointed as marine warranty surveyor under a policy warranty clause and accepted by the underwriters concerned, the scope includes issuing the Certificate of Approval for the approved operation. Appointment is made by the assured and is subject to underwriter acceptance.
We will tell you at first contact whether that acceptance is in place, or whether the right scope for us is assured-side marine assurance support alongside an appointed surveyor. Either way our job is the same: put evidence in front of the people deciding, early enough to be useful.
Operations we are engaged on, subject to scoping
- Load-out, sea-fastening and transportation
- Project cargo and heavy-lift transport
- Tows: tug and barge suitability, bollard pull verification
- Offshore installation and lifting operations
- Offshore wind transport, installation and cable operations
- Decommissioning and removal operations
What's Included
- Review of operation procedures, calculations and certification against the standard named in your warranty clause
- Suitability surveys of the vessels, barges and tugs in the spread
- Attendance at load-outs, departures, lifts and installations, with verification against the agreed weather and operating criteria at the time of attendance
- Written findings during review, each item tracked until it closes, so nothing arrives as a surprise on the day
- A survey report at each milestone in the agreed scope, issued to the assured and to underwriters as the evidence base for their decision
- Direct access to the attending surveyor from the first document to the final report
How We Engage
- 1
Agree the survey scope and the governing standard with the assured, the brokers and underwriters.
- 2
Review the procedures and calculations, and survey the spread.
- 3
Attend the operation and deliver the survey report at each milestone in the scope.
How an MWS engagement works
Insurance policies for high-value marine operations carry a warranty clause: the operation must be reviewed and surveyed by an independent surveyor before cover responds. The assured normally appoints and pays that surveyor, subject to underwriters' acceptance. The surveyor's duty runs to the integrity of the operation, which is what protects underwriter and assured alike. What the surveyor produces is evidence: a documented review, an attendance record and a report at each milestone the scope defines. Our engagement runs in three phases. Scoping: we agree the survey scope and the governing standard named in your warranty clause with the assured, the brokers and underwriters, and confirm the scope is one our principal can personally review and attend. If it is not, we say so before quoting. Review: operation procedures, calculations, certification and the suitability of every vessel, barge and tug in the spread, with comments returned in writing until each item closes. Execution: attendance at the operation itself, verification against the agreed weather and operating criteria at the time of attendance, and the report at each milestone. Speed is part of the product. Procedure comments come back while there is still time to act on them, not after the spread has mobilised, and anything capable of stopping the operation is raised by telephone as soon as we identify it rather than held for the report. Engagements are led by our founder, and every report names the reviewer who wrote it. There is no junior bench behind the report. That is the point.
Outcomes
SolarisTech acts as an independent third-party surveyor. We review, we survey, we attend and we report. Where SolarisTech is appointed as marine warranty surveyor under a policy warranty clause and accepted by the underwriters concerned, the scope includes issuing the Certificate of Approval for the approved operation. Appointment is made by the assured and is subject to underwriter acceptance. Where that acceptance is not in place, the right scope for us is assured-side marine assurance support alongside an appointed marine warranty surveyor, and we say so at first contact.
We accept engagements only where the scope matches principal-led delivery. On multi-spread campaigns we say plainly what one senior surveyor can and cannot cover, and any additional attendance is by named individuals, disclosed before work begins. Our reports are prepared for the party that instructs us and for the purpose stated in the engagement. Reliance by any other party requires our written agreement.
Questions we're asked
What is a marine warranty survey?
An independent third-party review and survey of a high-value marine operation, required by the warranty clause in the project's insurance policy. It covers the plans, the calculations, the vessels and the execution, and it concludes in a survey report to the assured and to underwriters.
Who appoints the marine warranty surveyor, and who pays?
The assured normally appoints and pays, subject to underwriters' acceptance of the surveyor. The surveyor's obligation runs to the integrity of the operation rather than to either party's convenience, which is what makes the report worth having.
When is an MWS required?
Whenever the policy for the operation says so, which in practice means most load-outs, heavy-lift and project cargo transports, offshore installations, tows and decommissioning operations above routine value. If your policy carries a marine warranty clause, the survey is a condition of cover, not a formality.
What standard do you survey against?
The standard named in your policy's warranty clause, agreed with underwriters at scoping. Different underwriters specify different codes, and the correct standard for your operation is the one your policy requires.
What do you issue at the end of the survey?
A survey report at each milestone in the agreed scope. It records what was reviewed, what was attended, what was found, and whether the operation as performed was consistent with the reviewed procedures and the agreed limits at the time of attendance. It is milestone-specific: a load-out attendance report says nothing about the tow, and a departure report says nothing about the installation. Where SolarisTech is appointed as marine warranty surveyor under a policy warranty clause and accepted by the underwriters concerned, the scope includes issuing the Certificate of Approval for the approved operation. Appointment is made by the assured and is subject to underwriter acceptance.
What is the difference between MWS and class?
Classification certifies the vessel against class rules on an ongoing basis. Marine warranty survey examines one specific operation against what the policy requires, once. A classed vessel can still be unsuitable for a particular tow or lift, which is exactly what the warranty survey is there to catch.
What happens if the operation proceeds without the survey?
Warranty clauses are policy terms, and the consequence of not meeting one is a matter for the policy wording, your brokers and your underwriters. Proceeding without the survey your policy requires is a larger gamble than any schedule pressure justifies. If you are already close to that position, call early: the answer is usually a compressed review, not an abandoned one.
Can one surveyor handle our project?
If the scope matches what one senior principal can personally review and attend, yes, and you deal with that surveyor directly from first document to final report. If the scope needs more than that, we tell you plainly at scoping rather than discovering it mid-campaign, and any additional attendance is by named individuals, disclosed before work begins.
FROM OUR UPDATES
Marine warranty survey: what the surveyor actually delivers
YOUR REVIEWER
Thomas Blenk
American Bureau of Shipping, latterly Corporate Vice President, Global Marine Sectors. Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Affairs, Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Request an MWS scope call.
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