Lifting appliances on board ship, particularly ship’s cranes, are critical to a vessel earning freight. A ship is only earning money, ie, freight, when carrying cargo at sea. If the deck cranes are out of action in port the vessel will have downtime which in turn reduces the vessel’s earning capacity. For this reason, and the safety of the crew, ship’s cranes should be well maintained, usually whilst at sea, to reduce the possibility of port downtime.

If you’re looking for a broad overview of supercargo operations, this will certainly cover off the essentials. It’s of particular relevance to readers looking to direct their career towards a consultancy or supervisory role in this field, giving a good understanding of the industry and the position of a ‘supercargo’ in particular. While some form of shipping-related experience is expected, author Mike Wall does a commendable job of making the subject accessible to complete novices too. No easy task.

The book is aimed at those wishing to become independent marine surveyors and consultants. It covers many aspects of their work with some covered in depth. It covers different types of marine survey and marine consultancy assignment including hull damage, explosions, fire, pollution, sinkings, salvage and bunker disputes. Collisions, cargo disputes, crew injury and machinery failure are also covered with several examples.

The book is intended for those considering entering the marine warranty surveying discipline of marine surveying. It introduces prospective marine warranty surveyor (MWS) to the wide variety of work available.