At all times and under all circumstances the owner/operator of a vessel has the duty to act prudently and therefore has the responsibility to take whatever steps necessary, including organising pre-loading surveys to ensure that the bills of lading are correctly endorsed whenever appropriate.
Naturally the circumstances under which such preventive surveys are required, will vary from port to port and also from cargo to cargo. It would not be possible to provide an exhaustive list of the types of cargoes and ports where surveys should be recommended.
It is entirely up to the Master’s and his Cargo Officers’ experience and the Company Insurance Departments advice to order pre-loading surveys at the right time for sensitive/highly valued cargo under doubtful circumstances.
About the author
Amit Sharma
Graduated from M.E.R.I. Mumbai (Mumbai University), After a brief sailing founded this website with the idea to bring the maritime education online which must be free and available for all at all times and to find basic solutions that are of extreme importance to a seafarer by our innovative ideas.