Marine Surveyor Jobs in the U.S. Maritime Industry

Marine surveying involves the independent opinion about the condition, value, damage or cargo of a vessel, and the survey report becomes the basis for an insurance decision, a purchase, a charter dispute or a repair scope.

The niches are distinct. Condition and valuation surveys serve buyers, sellers and underwriters. Damage and casualty surveys follow groundings, collisions, fires and machinery failures, often with attorneys reading the result. Cargo and draft surveys measure what was loaded and discharged. On-hire and off-hire surveys fix the condition of a vessel at the start and end of a charter, including bunkers. Class society surveyors work to rule requirements and statutory certificates.

Employers include independent survey firms, insurers and P and I clubs, class societies, cargo inspection companies and government agencies, and many experienced surveyors work for themselves.

The usual entry route is prior sea time or shipyard experience plus accreditation through a recognized body. A mariner who has lived with machinery, cargo gear and hull structure already has most of the raw material.

Work is port-based and concentrated around Houston, New Orleans, Hampton Roads, New York, Seattle, Miami and the Great Lakes.