Forensic Engineers & Investigators
Forensic Marine Engineering
Prosolve Ltd offers forensic marine engineering services. These include:
Causation analysis of hull pitting and corrosion
Failures analysis of mechanical ship systems and on board processing facilities
Cargo losses
Ships contain systems similar to on shore industrial facilities and this means that industrial investigation and forensic capabilities are directly transferable to the marine environment.
Case study 1: Demise of the hull of a fishing trawler and an investigation expedition to Yemen
Andrew McGregor was engaged by a lawyer who was acting on behalf of the owner of a fishing vessel. The ship and its hull had recently been condemned due to corrosion pitting that was found under epoxy fill or ‘bog’ as it is known colloquially. Andrew Mcgregor led a comprehensive inspection programme to examine the age and characteristics of the pits. Together with other specialists that Prosolve sourced and engaged, we were able to assess that the pits probably existed at the time the ship was purchased but had been deliberately masked by ‘bog’ and paint. The ship owners believed that their insurance policy covered them for this event, however the insurers disagreed, believing instead that the pits were caused by poor maintenance. In support of the claim against the insurance company, Andrew McGregor was commissioned to research the early history of the ship’s life in Yemen. We were able to locate a credible Arabic Yemeni host and with his help, located key documents in some old rubbish sacks in an old shed at an ancient Middle Eastern port. These documents provided a credible history of the ship’s early life and proved that the hull pitting had occurred before it left Yemen. The hull pitting was therefore unrelated to any questions of poor maintenance while the ship was berthed in NZ waters. The dispute was settled out of court.
Figure: Photographed of a Purse Seiner fishing vessel, similar to the ship investigated.
Case study 2: Deck crane incident
A deck crane partially failed resulting in a formal incident which the marine regulator required to be formally investigated. Prosolve Ltd was engaged to determine the cause of failure and issue recommendations to prevent a recurrence. The recommendations were implemented to the regulator’s satisfaction.