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Marine Claims, Handled End to End

From the first hours of an incident to final settlement and recovery: investigation, loss adjusting, salvage, and subrogation, run as one file by one team. For Insurers, P&I Clubs, Banks, and Cargo Interests. Africa and Worldwide.

Claims Are Won on Evidence and Time

Every marine claim runs on two clocks: the evidence that degrades from the moment of the incident, and the notice periods and time bars that expire whether or not anyone is watching them. The party whose surveyor attends first, whose file is complete, and whose deadlines are protected controls the outcome. Observater runs claims with that understanding: immediate attendance through our African network and worldwide partners, investigation and adjustment to the standard underwriters work from, and recovery pursued against every liable party the evidence supports.

Claims Services We Provide

Incident Response

Attendance in the first hours: evidence secured, condition documented, statements taken, and loss mitigation started while the facts are still on the ground.

Claims Investigation

Cause, nature, and extent established through damage surveys, document review, and technical analysis, so the claim rests on findings, not assertions.

Loss Adjusting

Quantum assessed and adjusted under the policy by our loss adjusting team: coverage questions flagged, depreciation and salvage credited, and the figure defensible line by line.

Salvage & Loss Mitigation

Salvage planning and sale of damaged cargo, reconditioning where value can be saved, and mitigation that reduces the claim before it is even adjusted.

Recovery & Subrogation

Liable parties identified, notices served in time, and recovery pursued against carriers, terminals, transporters, and bailees, with the evidence package their insurers cannot argue past.

P&I and H&M Claims Support

Vessel-side claims attended through our P&I and H&M team: cargo claims defense, stevedore damage, casualties, and the correspondence clubs expect.

Insurance Surveys & Risk Management

Before the claim: pre-risk and warranty surveys, loss prevention programs, and the risk picture underwriters price from.

Reporting for Settlement

Reports written for the people who decide: claims committees, reinsurers, courts, and arbitrators, with cause, quantum, liability, and the documents to support each.

One File, One Contact

However many countries an incident touches, one coordinator owns the file and reports to you, from first notification to closure.

How a Claim Runs With Observater

1

Notify

You report the incident. The nearest qualified surveyor or adjuster is assigned and attendance is confirmed, with scope and fee basis in writing.

2

Investigate & Protect

Evidence secured, cause and extent established, mitigation and salvage started, and notice periods against third parties protected.

3

Adjust

Quantum assessed under the policy, salvage credited, and the adjustment reported in a form your claims committee can approve.

4

Recover & Close

Recovery pursued against liable parties, settlement supported through negotiation or proceedings, and the file closed with every document in place.

Where Claims Are Lost

Most failed marine claims fail the same four ways. Attendance comes late, after the cargo has moved, the stow has been broken, and the photographs that would have decided the matter were never taken. Evidence dies at a border, when the port surveyor and the inland surveyor work for different firms and neither holds the whole chain. Time bars expire quietly, because notice to the carrier or the terminal was someone else’s job. And recovery is never pursued, because by settlement everyone is tired and the subrogation package was never built.

Our answer to all four is structural. The One Team, One Fight corridor system keeps one evidence chain from port to final delivery, so the file is complete wherever the loss surfaces. Attendance runs through resident surveyors, not fly-ins, so the first hours are not lost to travel. Notice periods are tracked on every file as a standing duty, not an afterthought. And every investigation is built from day one as if it will end in recovery, because the strongest settlements are negotiated by the party that is ready to litigate.

Country claims teams carry this locally, including Kenya, Djibouti, and Tanzania, with claims attended beyond Africa through our partner network, including India and Vietnam.

Where We Attend Claims

Tap a marker to reach the country team behind it. Blue pins are anchor offices and country networks; blue circles are further ports we attend; grey dots are on-request points. Beyond Africa, claims run through our worldwide partner network.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you handle the whole claim or just the survey?

Either, at the principal’s choice. We can attend as surveyors and hand over the evidence, or run the file end to end: incident response, investigation, adjustment, mitigation and salvage, negotiation, and recovery from liable parties, reporting to you throughout.

Who do you act for on claims?

Cargo insurers and underwriters, P&I clubs and their correspondents, hull and machinery underwriters, banks and trade financiers, shipowners, charterers, traders, and receivers. Where interests conflict on the same matter, we disclose and act for one principal only.

Can you handle claims outside Africa?

Yes. Our own teams cover Africa; beyond it we work through partner loss adjusters and independent survey firms appointed under our written scope, so the file keeps one standard and one point of contact wherever the incident sits.

An Incident Is Running on the Clock Right Now?

Send the vessel or consignment, the port, and what happened. We will confirm who attends, the scope, and the fee basis, in writing, and start protecting the file.

Email surveys@observater.com

Or call +254 776 960 820  |  WhatsApp +254 776 960 820

International Marine Cargo Surveyors, Loss Adjusters and Technical Consultants in Africa - On-ground expertise, Global reach. Your gateway to African and Global Marine Expertise: Trusted technical solutions, marine surveys, aviation cargo surveys, and cargo claims investigations.

Anywhere you Go in Africa, we are Already There, with capacity to serve Globally. HQ: Amir Suites, 1st Floor Room No. B6, Sauti ya Kenya Road, Mombasa, Kenya; Claims Office Express House Moi Avenue Road, Mombasa, Kenya. Email us: marinesurveyors@observater.com Tel: +254776960820

When precision matters, Observater Surveys Group is your Partner of Choice   

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