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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 holds the advantage at every stage that follows. 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 an evidence package built to withstand challenge.

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.

Who We Act For, and What Each Gets

A claim looks different from every seat at the table. We work each instruction to what that principal actually needs from the file.

Cargo Insurers & Underwriters

Surveys, investigations, and adjustments delivered in the form your claims committee approves, a subrogation package prepared on every recoverable file, and loss findings that feed back into how the risk is written next year.

P&I Clubs & Correspondents

Attendance for members at African ports: cargo claims defense, stevedore damage, liability incidents, and casualty support, reported to the standard clubs expect, through our P&I and H&M team.

Partner Loss Adjusters & Survey Firms

We act as your presence in Africa: attendance, joint surveys, and local investigation under your instruction and your reporting format, with reciprocal appointments where you cover ports we do not. Your client stays yours; our network becomes yours.

Insurance Brokers

Claims support that protects your client relationship: professional handling when a loss lands, clear updates you can pass on without translation, and loss prevention work that improves the risk before renewal.

Banks & Trade Financiers

Claims on financed cargo and collateral: the loss quantified, the remaining security protected, and warehouse exposures connected to our stock monitoring service.

Shippers & Exporters

Defense against destination claims: pre-shipment and loading records that show the condition your cargo left in, and attendance at destination through our network when a claim arrives against you.

Freight Forwarders & NVOCCs

You sit in the middle of every claim: pursued by the cargo interest, recovering from the actual carrier. We build the record in both directions, including supervised cross-stuffing and transloading, where your liability is sharpest.

Shipowners & Charterers

Cargo claims defense, on and off hire condition evidence, and bunker dispute support, so charterparty arguments run on records instead of recollection.

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.

Appointed Late? The Claim Is Not Over

Many instructions reach us after the cargo has moved, after the other side’s surveyor has been and gone, sometimes after positions have already been exchanged. The early party’s advantage is real. It is also, very often, overstated: a file built early but built one-sided is a vulnerable file. Surveys conducted without a joint invitation can be challenged on that ground. Causes assumed rather than tested do not survive testing. Quantum asserted without support does not survive an adjuster who asks for the support. Every shortcut the other side took in its head start is a place their position can be contested.

On a late file, we rebuild the record from sources that exist independently of anyone’s survey: vessel, port, and terminal records, voyage weather data, temperature and data loggers, tally sheets, delivery receipts, and photographs created at the time by people with no position to defend, together with the cargo itself where it still exists. We re-survey what remains, under joint invitation so the findings carry weight. We take statements while they can still be taken, examine the opposing report’s methodology, sampling, and chain of custody, and establish what remains of the notice periods and time bars, issuing protective notices and seeking extensions where rights can still be preserved.

The honest limits: evidence that was destroyed cannot be recreated, and an expired time bar rarely revives. Late instruction narrows the options; it does not usually remove them. The earlier the call, the more of the file can still be saved, and that is true on the day of the incident and on the day you find this page.

Cause Decides Whether a Claim Pays

Marine policies respond to cause, so the first question on every file is not how bad the damage is but what produced it. Seawater rust and freshwater rust on steel lead to different liable parties. Wetting from a leaking hatch cover and wetting from hold condensation sit on different sides of a carrier’s defenses. Damage that predates shipment is not a transit loss at all. A claim built on an assumed cause collapses the first time the other side’s surveyor tests the assumption.

Our investigations establish cause with methods that hold up: laboratory analysis through approved partner laboratories to separate seawater from freshwater wetting, condensation pattern analysis against voyage weather data, temperature log interpretation on reefer cargo, stow examination to distinguish crushing from handling impact, and sampling under sealed chain of custody where contamination or quality is in dispute. The finding is stated with its evidence, so the report survives challenge.

The causes we investigate most often: heavy weather damage, hold sweat and condensation, seawater ingress, handling and stevedore damage, theft and pilferage, contamination, fire and general average events, machinery and reefer breakdown, and deterioration from delay. Where general average is declared, we attend for cargo interests through security, adjustment, and settlement.

Claims by Cargo Type

Each commodity fails in its own way, and each claim turns on its own kind of evidence. From dry bulk to reefer to liquid cargo, the full suite runs under one instruction and one reporting standard.

Steel & Metals

Rust, bending, scoring, and crushing. The dispute is almost always when the damage happened and whether the water was salt or fresh; laboratory salt analysis by approved partner laboratories and the pre-shipment record decide it. Handled with our steel cargo team.

Bagged Commodities

Shortage, torn bags, wet damage, and infestation on rice, sugar, fertilizer, and grain. Tally records at each handling point and moisture readings at discharge locate the loss on its leg.

Perishables & Reefer

Spoilage, ripening, and temperature abuse. The claim lives in the data logger and the set-point history; our fresh produce team reads both against the cargo’s condition at outturn.

Vehicles & RoRo Units

Per-unit damage discovered after delivery. Without a ramp record the claim dies; with one, liability attaches to the leg that caused it. See vehicle discharge surveys.

Containers

Condensation, wet damage through roof and floor defects, shifted stow, and theft under intact seals. Container condition, packing evidence, and seal records carry these claims.

Project & Heavy Lift Cargo

Lifting damage, transport frame failures, and securing losses on high-value units. The engineering record, the lift plan, and the securing survey decide liability. See project cargo surveys.

Minerals & Bulk

Shortage across multi-leg corridors, moisture disputes, and quality claims at destination assay. Transfer records and draft surveys along the chain localize the loss. See mineral cargo supervision.

Machinery & Equipment

Impact and water damage to industrial equipment, often found at commissioning. The packing survey and transit shock records separate carriage damage from installation damage.

General Cargo Damage Claims

Wet damage, breakage, and handling losses across breakbulk and containerized cargo, investigated through our damage survey teams at ports and inland points across the network.

Liquid & Tanker Cargo

Shortage, contamination, and water content disputes on bulk liquids. Ullage and tank records, line displacement, and sealed samples analyzed by approved partner laboratories decide these files.

Flexi Tanks

Leak and failure claims where one fitting error can cost the whole parcel. The fitting record, container inspection, and loading procedure show where the failure began, and who was responsible for that step.

Bunkers & Fuel Disputes

Quantity and quality disputes, and machinery damage claims traced to off-spec fuel. Delivery records, sealed samples, and partner laboratory analysis carry these files, with our bunker survey team attending.

Cross-Stuffing & Transloading at Port

Damage and shortage arising when cargo changes container, truck, or mode at the port. Supervised transloading creates a before-and-after record; unsupervised transloading creates the dispute. See container stuffing supervision.

Soft Commodities

Coffee, cocoa, tea, and sugar: condensation, moisture migration, taint, and infestation claims, where packaging, stowage position, and warehouse conditions show where in the chain the loss began.

What Goes Into the File

A claim is only as strong as its file, and a file assembled after positions have hardened is weaker than one built at the scene. From first attendance we collect and preserve: joint survey invitations to all interested parties, so no finding can later be dismissed as one-sided; a photographic record tied to time and place; tally and outturn records against the shipping documents; samples drawn and sealed under documented chain of custody; and the cargo documents themselves, from bills of lading and mate’s receipts to stowage plans and hatch records where the carrier’s handling is in question.

Around the physical evidence we add the context that decides arguments: voyage weather data where heavy weather is pleaded, port records where delay is in issue, temperature and atmosphere logs on reefer cargo, and statements taken while memories are specific. Quantification is built as its own exhibit: sound market value, salvage proceeds, mitigation costs, and survey fees, each supported, so the figure can be checked line by line rather than argued as a lump.

The file is maintained in a form that can go straight to a claims committee, an adjuster on the other side, or counsel, without rework. Principals who have received one know why that matters at settlement.

Notice Periods and Time Bars

Every recovery right has an expiry date, and most expire quickly. Under the carriage regimes that govern most sea shipments, written notice of loss or damage is expected at delivery, or within days where the damage was not apparent, and suit against the carrier is commonly barred after one year. Road, rail, and air legs run on their own, often shorter, periods. Charterparties, terminal conditions, and national law can shorten or reshape all of them. Which limits apply is a question of the contract and the applicable regime on each leg, and the answer differs from file to file.

What does not differ is the consequence: a claim against a liable party that misses its notice or its time bar is not weakened, it is gone, however strong the evidence. Files fail this way silently, because notice was assumed to be someone else’s task. The periods described here are general industry positions only; the applicable convention, national law, and contract terms govern each case, and nothing on this page is legal advice.

On every Observater file, the applicable notice periods and time bars are identified at opening and diarized as a standing duty. Protective notices go out early, and extensions are sought where proceedings are not yet ready, so that protecting recovery rights is a matter of routine rather than memory. It is unglamorous work, and it is regularly the difference between a recovered loss and a written-off one.

After a Loss: Protect the Claim

What the receiver does in the first hours often matters more than anything a surveyor can do later. Two lists worth circulating to your operations team.

Do

  • Note the damage or shortage on the delivery receipt before signing, in specific terms.
  • Photograph the cargo, the packaging, and the seals before anything is moved.
  • Notify the carrier and other parties in writing at once, reserving your rights.
  • Segregate damaged from sound cargo and keep the packaging and dunnage.
  • Call the surveyor before the cargo is repaired, processed, or disposed of.
  • Mitigate the loss where you reasonably can, and keep receipts for what it costs.

Do Not

  • Sign a clean receipt for cargo you have not checked; a clean receipt is evidence against you.
  • Dispose of, repair, or sell damaged cargo before it has been surveyed.
  • Break the stow or unpack further than needed to make the cargo safe.
  • Admit fault or agree figures with any party before the facts are established.
  • Let the packaging, seals, or data loggers be discarded; they are the claim.
  • Assume someone else has sent the notices. Confirm it, in writing.

When in doubt, preserve everything and call us. An hour of caution at the warehouse door has saved more claims than any argument later.

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.

From the Field

Photographs from Observater attendances across the network: the vessels, the cargo, and the evidence being built.

Hull & Machinery Claims

Hull and machinery damage surveys at African ports and anchorages: collision, grounding, contact, fire, and machinery breakdown attended for H&M underwriters and owners. Cause, nature, and extent established on board, repair specifications reviewed, and costs vetted, through our P&I and H&M survey team.

Observater claims attendance: Hull and Machinery Claims
Observater claims attendance: Hull and Machinery Claims
Observater claims attendance: Hull and Machinery Claims
Observater claims attendance: Hull and Machinery Claims
Observater claims attendance: Hull and Machinery Claims

Project Cargo & Heavy Lift Surveys

Loading and discharge supervision of out-of-gauge and heavy lift units: lifting operations, transport frames, lashing and securing checked against the plan before the risk runs. Attendance on project cargo from wind energy components to plant and machinery, at ports across Africa and load ports worldwide.

Observater claims attendance: Project Cargo and Heavy Lift Surveys
Observater claims attendance: Project Cargo and Heavy Lift Surveys
Observater claims attendance: Project Cargo and Heavy Lift Surveys
Observater claims attendance: Project Cargo and Heavy Lift Surveys
Observater claims attendance: Project Cargo and Heavy Lift Surveys
Observater claims attendance: Project Cargo and Heavy Lift Surveys

Steel Cargo Damage Surveys

Steel coils, billets, pipes, and structural sections surveyed at discharge and delivery: rust graded and mapped, bending and handling damage recorded against the mate’s receipts and pre-shipment record, and wetting cause established through salt analysis by approved partner laboratories. Full service on our steel cargo surveys page.

Observater claims attendance: Steel Cargo Damage Surveys
Observater claims attendance: Steel Cargo Damage Surveys
Observater claims attendance: Steel Cargo Damage Surveys
Observater claims attendance: Steel Cargo Damage Surveys

P&I Attendance

Attendance for P&I clubs, members, and correspondents at ports across Africa: cargo claims defense, stevedore damage, hatch and access surveys, and liability incidents, investigated on board and reported to the standard clubs expect from our P&I attendance team.

Observater claims attendance: PandI Attendance
Observater claims attendance: PandI Attendance
Observater claims attendance: PandI Attendance
Observater claims attendance: PandI Attendance
Observater claims attendance: PandI Attendance

Shortage Claims Handling: Draft & Tally Surveys

Independent quantity determination where shortage claims begin: draft surveys at loading and discharge, tally at each handling point, and reconciliation against the bill of lading figure, so a shortage is located on its leg instead of argued at destination.

Observater claims attendance: Shortage Claims Handling: Draft and Tally Surveys
Draft Survey
Observater claims attendance: Shortage Claims Handling: Draft and Tally Surveys
Observater claims attendance: Shortage Claims Handling: Draft and Tally Surveys
Observater claims attendance: Shortage Claims Handling: Draft and Tally Surveys
Tally Survey

Machinery & Equipment: Damage Claims & Accident Investigation

Damage claims on machinery and industrial equipment at ports and consignee premises: impact and water damage documented, lifting and handling incidents investigated, and accident scenes recorded while positions of cargo, gear, and ground still tell the story. Carriage damage separated from installation damage before the argument starts.

Observater claims attendance: Machinery and Equipment: Damage Claims and Accident Investigation
Observater claims attendance: Machinery and Equipment: Damage Claims and Accident Investigation
Observater claims attendance: Machinery and Equipment: Damage Claims and Accident Investigation
Observater claims attendance: Machinery and Equipment: Damage Claims and Accident Investigation
Observater claims attendance: Machinery and Equipment: Damage Claims and Accident Investigation
Observater claims attendance: Machinery and Equipment: Damage Claims and Accident Investigation

Fruits, Meats, Fish & Perishables: Cold Chain Claims

Reefer and cold chain claims on fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish: outturn condition surveyed against the data logger record, set points and defrost cycles read, and spoilage causes separated between pre-shipment condition, equipment, and handling, with our fresh produce inspection team.

Observater claims attendance: Fruits, Meats, Fish and Perishables: Cold Chain Claims
Observater claims attendance: Fruits, Meats, Fish and Perishables: Cold Chain Claims
Observater claims attendance: Fruits, Meats, Fish and Perishables: Cold Chain Claims
Observater claims attendance: Fruits, Meats, Fish and Perishables: Cold Chain Claims

Mineral Cargo: Loading, Discharge & Shortage Claims Handling

Copper, cobalt, bauxite, and concentrate cargoes supervised at loading and discharge: weighbridge and draft figures reconciled, moisture managed by sealed sampling to approved partner laboratories, and corridor shortage claims traced through transfer records from stockpile to ship, with our mineral cargo team.

Observater claims attendance: Mineral Cargo: Loading, Discharge and Shortage Claims Handling
Observater claims attendance: Mineral Cargo: Loading, Discharge and Shortage Claims Handling
Observater claims attendance: Mineral Cargo: Loading, Discharge and Shortage Claims Handling
Observater claims attendance: Mineral Cargo: Loading, Discharge and Shortage Claims Handling

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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