A marine surveyor, within the complex and capital-intensive landscape of shipbuilding, defines the quality of a vessel, its compliance with regulations, and the successful and cost-effective delivery of the project. Whether you are in charge of a new build, a ship conversion program, or are selecting a shipyard, the surveyor you choose will influence the outcomes of more than mere safety, efficiency, or operational longevity. At Risk Design International, we have understood the considerations surrounding new shipbuilding for long-term successful outcomes. With experience in Europe, Africa, and the Americas, this article defines the five criteria that focus a top-tier marine surveyor, and what every shipowner, classification society, or oil and gas company should look for before hiring a site supervision professional.

What Defines a Top-Tier Marine Surveyor?

The position of a marine surveyor has undergone significant changes in the world shipping and maritime industry. Not so long ago, they were seen as mere check-box tickers for compliance checking; they are now required to be strategic advisors, process optimisers, and technical specialists as well. Higher standards – driven by more sophisticated vessels, increasingly demanding environmental stewardship, and rising project costs – have set the bar high for marine professionals.

So, what does it mean to be a top-tier marine surveyor in 2025?

A Critical Link Between Shipowners and Shipyards

Marine surveyors are the on-the-ground eyes and ears of shipowners. From steel cutting to delivery, they supervise the construction of a ship to ensure it complies with contractual requirements, rules, regulations, and project milestones. But the finest of surveyors do more than simply see. They understand the technical details, anticipate issues before they arise, and act as a bridge in advance between shipyards, classification societies, and project members.

In that regard, A-list surveyors not only preserve a project, but they can also add value. For shipowners, that means fewer surprises, managed costs and peace of mind through a long and unpredictable build cycle.

Navigating Rising Project Complexity

The most modern ships are becoming increasingly complex. Whether building an LNG-powered tanker, a DP2 offshore supply vessel or a hybrid-powered passenger ferry, shipbuilders will need to assimilate sophisticated propulsion systems, electronics, emissions control and automation technology — each the domain of the marine surveyor.

As such, high-level marine surveyors must stay current with:

• Rapidly evolving IMO and IACS standards
• Alternative fuel systems and environmental compliance
• Integrated digital systems (e.g., remote monitoring, AI diagnostics)
• Shipyard-specific building practices and cultural workflows
• The fine print in shipbuilding contracts and specification clauses

These evolving demands make generic supervision inadequate. Surveyors must be specialised, cross-functional, and up to date on the latest engineering practices and compliance requirements to be truly effective.

Accountability and Autonomy in Remote Environments

Shipyards are often located in regions far from shipowners’ headquarters—whether in Turkey, South Korea, China, or Brazil. This distance makes the independence and reliability of a marine surveyor absolutely crucial.

A top-tier marine surveyor works with autonomy and integrity. They are trusted to:

• Identify and resolve non-conformities without needing daily instruction
  
• Make on-the-spot decisions that align with the owner’s best interests
  
• Document progress in a way that’s verifiable and traceable
  
• Maintain professionalism under pressure from contractors or deadlines

At Risk Design International, we’ve found that autonomy, when paired with structured digital reporting and project management, builds the highest levels of accountability and transparency—two non-negotiable traits in top-tier supervision.

The Impact of a Top-Tier Surveyor on Project Outcomes

A marine project supervised by an average inspector versus one overseen by a top-tier surveyor can diverge drastically in outcome. Poor supervision can result in:

• Missed Class or Flag compliance
  
• Delayed approvals and handovers
  
• Costly rework or warranty claims
  
• Safety hazards due to overlooked workmanship errors
  
• Legal disputes due to vague reporting or contract misinterpretation

On the other hand, a top-tier marine surveyor drives positive results such as:

• Faster commissioning and on-time delivery
  
• Documented design compliance
  
• Reduced scope creep and contract deviations
  
• Proactive management of yard relationships and negotiations
  
• Better lifecycle outcomes for the vessel post-delivery

Ultimately, choosing a top-tier marine surveyor is not just about “checking a box.” It’s about investing in the success of your asset—maximising value, ensuring compliance, and reducing risk across the board.

Multifunctionality: The New Benchmark for Top-Tier

One of the defining features of a top-tier marine surveyor today is multifunctionality—the ability to competently manage multiple technical scopes such as structure, machinery, piping, HVAC, and electrical within a single individual or small team. This approach significantly reduces overhead while increasing on-site responsiveness.

At Risk Design International, we carefully recruit, cross-train, and equip our multidisciplinary surveyors and foremen to provide Supervision of quality without overpopulating our projects. This belief has enabled our customers to save money and achieve operational excellence.

More Than a Job—A Professional Standard

Being a top-tier marine surveyor is not merely about seniority or certifications. It’s a standard of performance, built on:

• Deep technical fluency
• Broad field experience across vessel types and regions
• Clear, timely reporting and communication
• Commitment to safety, accuracy, and client value
• Strategic cost-conscious thinking

5 Criteria That Define a Top-Tier Marine Surveyor

Now, let’s look at the five core criteria that distinguish the best marine surveyors in the industry today—criteria that every shipowner, classification society, or oil & gas technical director should demand when choosing their site supervision team.

1. Comprehensive Technical Competence

A qualified marine surveyor must possess deep technical knowledge of shipbuilding processes, materials, classification standards, and international regulations. This includes:

• Hull construction and steelwork
• Outfitting and machinery systems
• Electrical and automation systems
• IMO, SOLAS, MARPOL, and Class rules compliance
• Environmental performance regulations (EEDI, BWMS, etc.)

Without a complete understanding of ship design and construction processes from steel cutting to delivery, a surveyor cannot effectively verify quality or spot deviations early.

At Risk Design International, we maintain a rigorous internal certification process, ensuring that every multifunctional surveyor we assign has demonstrated expertise across key disciplines—structural, piping, electrical, and HVAC—thus eliminating the inefficiencies of overly segmented teams.

Note: A 2022 study in the Marine Structures journal found that project outcomes significantly improved when site inspectors had cross-disciplinary training, reducing design change requests by 18% and improving delivery timelines by 14%.

2. Proven Experience in Ship New Building Supervision

Marine surveyors are not interchangeable across all vessel types and projects. Experience in specific vessel categories—tankers, bulk carriers, offshore units, passenger ships—matters greatly. A top-tier marine surveyor should demonstrate:

• Involvement in multiple new building projects from contract to delivery
• Familiarity with shipyard procedures across various regions
• Practical knowledge of contractual clauses and change-order negotiations
• A history of successful interactions with classification societies

Furthermore, surveyors should contribute beyond oversight—participating in design reviews, identifying cost-optimisation opportunities, and mitigating delays.

3. Ability to Optimise Supervision Resources

Shipbuilding supervision is a resource-intensive function. A top-tier marine surveyor understands how to balance comprehensive oversight with cost control. The modern shipowner does not need ten different inspectors—they need one or two multifunctional professionals with clear communication tools and accurate reporting.

We believe that the days of bloated site supervision teams are over.

Risk Design International pioneered the use of multifunctional marine surveyors—professionals who are trained and certified to cover several technical scopes. This approach has enabled our clients to reduce their supervisory budgets by up to 30% without compromising quality or compliance.

This efficiency is further enhanced through our partner SEAVIZOR software, which provides real-time progress tracking, quality control logs, photo documentation, and digital approvals—all accessible by shipowners from anywhere in the world.

Note: According to a 2021 report by Clarkson Research, digital supervision tools are becoming a standard requirement among top-tier shipping companies, especially for builds exceeding 10 months in duration.

4. Fluent Communication and Reporting

One of the most underrated yet crucial skills in marine supervision is clear and timely communication. A surveyor must not only spot issues but articulate them in a format that shipowners, contractors, and class representatives can act on.

Characteristics of superior communication include:

• Daily or weekly progress reports with quantifiable metrics
  
• Photo and video evidence embedded in supervision logs
  
• Immediate alerting systems for deviations or delays
  
• Stakeholder briefings summarising milestones and risks

At Risk Design International, our partner SEAVIZOR platform ensures that reporting is digital, structured, and accessible in real time, avoiding misinterpretations and enabling proactive decision-making. Additionally, our surveyors undergo communication and reporting training to ensure every technical finding is translated into actionable insight.

5. Commitment to Safety Without Compromising Efficiency

A top-tier marine surveyor must lead by example in enforcing safety. They must ensure:

• Shipyard safety policies align with international best practices
• Contractors maintain risk assessments and safety permits
• PPE compliance and safe work execution are consistently monitored
• Potential design-related hazards are flagged early.

Yet safety should not come at the cost of agility. The best surveyors understand how to streamline inspections and approvals without creating bureaucratic slowdowns.

Case Study: Long-Term Supervision Partnership with P&O Maritime Logistic

Background

In 2019, P&O Maritime Logistic engaged Risk Design International Ltd. to supervise the construction of several vessels across multiple international shipyards. The client needed a partner who could ensure strict compliance with technical specifications and safety standards, while also controlling costs across lengthy and complex build schedules.

With operations spanning multiple regions, P&O Maritime Logistic required a supervision team that could move fast, communicate clearly, and deliver consistently, without the burden of managing large, traditional inspection teams.

The Challenge

The key challenges included:

• Coordinating supervision across different time zones and shipyard cultures
• Ensuring real-time reporting and visibility for project managers located outside the yard
  
• Maintaining a high standard of quality and safety throughout multi-vessel builds
  
• Optimising supervision costs without reducing oversight

Traditional site teams—built with multiple single-scope specialists—would have been costly and inefficient. P&O Maritime Logistic sought a smarter alternative.

Our Approach

Risk Design International deployed a lean supervision model using multifunctional surveyors—experts trained to handle structure, piping, machinery, and electrical scopes within one cohesive role. This eliminated redundancies and streamlined communications.

To support full transparency, we implemented SEAVIZOR, providing:

• Real-time progress tracking
  
• Embedded photo documentation
  
• Issue escalation and resolution logs
  
• Remote approvals and reporting access for shipowners

Our team also actively participated in reviewing technical documentation, flagging contract deviations early, and facilitating approval processes with classification societies.

Results

• Cost Reduction: P&O Maritime Logistic achieved approximately 25% savings on supervision costs compared to traditional team models.
  
• Transparency: Stakeholders received live updates via SEAVIZOR, reducing the need for mid-project travel.
  
• Quality Assurance: No major non-conformities were recorded at the delivery stage across all projects supervised.
  
• Safety & Compliance: The client reported consistent adherence to both Class and international safety regulations.

As Martin Kavlakov , Operation Manager at P&O Maritime Logistic shared in testimonial:

“Our company recently worked with Risk Design International Ltd. on a project involving the building/conversion of 7 MCV vessels. RDI provided a range of services including engineering support, feasibility study, supervision, and shipyard evaluation. We have found their specialists to be competent, and their performance and safety culture live up to the highest industry standards.”

Summary

This case study exemplifies how a top-tier marine surveyor, equipped with multifunctional skills and modern reporting tools, can not only meet but exceed expectations for quality, safety, and cost-efficiency.

Risk Design International continues to support P&O Maritime Logistic on future projects, proving that leaner supervision does not mean lower quality, but rather smarter execution.

Supplementary Qualities of a Leading Marine Surveyor

Beyond these five core pillars, the following supplementary qualities often separate an average marine surveyor from a truly top-tier one:

• Cultural Adaptability: Can the surveyor adapt to work cultures across Asia, Europe, and Latin America?
  
• Digital Literacy: Are they comfortable using project management tools, CAD viewers, and data-entry platforms?
  
• Contractual Awareness: Do they understand the nuances of change orders, liquidated damages, and Class Notations?
  
• Ethical Conduct: Will they uphold quality and transparency even under pressure?

At Risk Design International, we screen and train for all of the above—because clients deserve a team they can fully trust in high-stakes shipbuilding environments.

Why Risk Design International?

Choosing a marine surveyor is not just about credentials—it’s about outcomes. With over 30 years of combined international experience, Risk Design International helps shipowners:

• Select the right shipyard via detailed shipyard evaluations
• Optimise costs through lean supervision teams
• Get real-time oversight with SEAVIZOR reporting software
  
• Stay ahead of timelines and mitigate project risks

We offer support across Europe, Africa, and the Americas, and are committed to moving fast, working smart, and always prioritising safety. Our multifunctional supervision model has been successfully applied to tankers, bulkers, OSVs, and passenger vessels—always tailored to each project’s unique scope.

Marine Surveyors Are Project Gatekeepers

A marine surveyor is more than a site inspector—they are the gatekeepers of your project’s success. A top-tier professional protects your investment, ensures compliance, and helps your vessel enter service on time, on spec, and on budget.

Suppose you’re beginning a new building project, considering a ship conversion, or facing challenges with an ongoing build. In that case, it’s time to partner with surveyors who bring more than oversight—they bring foresight.

Work With Risk Design International

If you’re a shipowner, technical director, or shipbuilding project manager seeking:

• Expert supervision across multiple technical scopes
  
• Simplified reporting with full transparency
  
• Cost-effective team structuring without compromising quality
  
• Reliable partner support in Europe, Africa, or the Americas

Get in touch today to discuss your next project. Let’s build better—together.

In our last article, the focus was on how to choose the right shipyard and the intricacies involved in the shipbuilding process. This time, we are going to take a look at another vital component in shipbuilding, namely the site team. The Site Team (ST) personnel are the ship owners’ representatives. They confirm that ships are built as per the signed contract and technical specifications. Preferably, the Site Team must have a diverse range of professional experiences and a set of responsibilities, as decided by the Site Manager.

The size of the Site Team should be a function of the ship’s size, speed of production and availability of these experts on the market. The “larger” ships require greater surface area’s coverage, hence more effort. If the production speed is “fast” then one ST specialist might not effectively cover what is expected of him/her and more persons of the specialty may be required. If adequate “trust” is assumed for the Shipyard, then the size of the ST can be reduced. On top of their professional skills Site Team members should posses soft Skills as well:

1. Be proactive and anticipate problems, as opposed to looking for after-the-fact solutions.
2. Work as a team player.
3. Cooperate with Shipyard, Equipment Suppliers and Class Surveyors.
4. Be good and patient communicators.

In addition, each Site Team member must be healthy / physically fit and be specifically insured by Ship Owners for traveling abroad, against all types of accidents, occupational hazards, health impairment, treatment of any illness. Here follows a typical list of necessary Site Team personnel, all reporting to site manager, each person described with the desired characteristics for the position:

Site Manager (SM)

Must be a trusted, articulate and experienced Naval Architect. His professional experience could be linked to the value of the project.  Preferably SM must be senior to everybody else involved in site team with “in-field” managerial experience. Strict Naval Architectural background is necessary so that the SM will cover the widest possible technical background on ships, a qualification, which cannot be earned or compensated by experience.

SM must:

1. Be a “wide-knowledge”, respected integrator
2. Be in charge of overall new buildings activity.
3. Act as a Ship Owner’s official representative to Shipyard.
4. Be the head of Site Team and the only link of Site Team with the Ship Owner.
5. Organize and supervise all Site Team activities.
6. Be responsible for Site Time safety and welfare.
7. Legally represent all Site Team members abroad.
8. Apply Contract terms and Specifications.
9. Maximise benefits for Ship Owner.
10. Give priorities for daily actions.
11. Provide all site office and personnel necessities.

Hull and Outfitting Supervisor  (HS)

The Hull Supervisor can be an ex-Shipyard production foreman, minimum fifteen  (15) years’ experience, or a Shipyard naval architect with minimum five (5) years production supervision experience. Must have:

1.  “Hands-on” Shipyard production experience.
2. Welding standards and methodology knowledge
3. Steel quality & metallurgical knowledge
4. Blocks assembly knowledge
5. Structural alignments knowledge.
6. Detailed knowledge of (local) outfitting’s standards and assembly practices.
7. Must understand non-destructive testing procedures / application.

Mechanical Supervisor (MS)

At least chief engineer’s qualifications and five (5) years ships repairs work experience is required. Alternatively, a university graduate in marine engineering with minimum ten (10) years practical ship operations / repairs experience. Must be:

1. Ability to check multiple interacting ship’s systems details.
2. Must feel confident and resourceful dealing with mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, electronic systems
3. Wide ranging systems knowledge.
4. Patient in analytical quality control procedure.

Corrosion Protection Supervisor (CPS)

Can be ex-shipyard painting/Blasting foreman with minimum ten (10) years experience in new building process or Corrosion Engineer. Must be:

1. FROSIO (red) or NICE 2 certified.

2. Must have painting specifications knowledge and know where problems arise.
3. Ideally CPS must have been involved in ship’s structural repairs
4. Must know surface preparation standards and various means used for surface preparation by Shipyards.
5. CPS complements the steel work supervisor.
6. Knows corrosion mechanisms and means to combat them.
7. Intimately understands paint technology and its field application limitations.
8. Knows how to conduct practical field tests relating to paints coatings adhesion, thickness, damage repairs, dust/dirt control, humidity and temperature.

Electrical / Electronics / Automation / Communications (EEAC) Engineer

EEAC must be a University graduate Electrical engineer with minimum (5) years repairs & five (5) years new buildings experience, or a electrical field engineer of higher education who has minimum ten (10) years repairs experience in mixed electrical, electronic, automation & communications. Must be:

1. Must be able to read electrical installations and electronic circuitry drawings.
2. Refer to standards and appropriate practices as well as propose practical solutions.
3. Must understand subsystems functions and expert in components circuitry.
4. Must be able to integrate ship’s systems with automation.

HSE Supervisor

It is relatively new function in the newbuilding supervision Site team and even now there are projects where this position is missing. In line with HSE policy of the Ship Owning companies, there should be somebody who implements and follows-up these polices in the place where the vessel is being build. Often, there are clashes with Shipowners’ company policy and Shipayrd HSE Policy thus presence of HSE will be a plus in solving these issues.

Commissioning Engineers (Mechanical/Electrical)

It is not common for most of Site Teams to have this specialists, however when project have long series of vessels and though schedule presence of above-mentioned specialists on site is recommendable.

Secretary

The secretary is SM’s assistant and the heart of the Site Team. Ideally he/she must:

1. Local person, experienced in dealing with shipbuilding Site Teams working under pressure.
2. Not have any links with the Shipyard, so as to reduce chances of accidental project-specific information “leaks”.
3. Keep the site office surroundings & records in order.
4. Arrange for ST overalls routine cleaning, availability of office consumables and office good presentation.
5. Collect and distribute all incoming / outgoing correspondence, information, drawings, inspections etc.

The choice of selecting a shipyard is probably one of the most important decisions a shipowner could make. This crucial choice could potentially have an impact on your long-term vessel quality and the operational expenses during the ship’s lifecycle. Therefore, you have to take a careful and measured approach to choosing the right shipyard to build your vessel.

The process of choosing a shipyard

One of the best places to start is to find a proven independent scheme, such as Manufacturer Product Quality Assessment, or MPQA. This service is delivered, normally by Classification Societies and gives you quite a good understanding of the shipyard’s quality and capabilities. From 2008 to 2011, Lloyd’s used a similar scheme to evaluate Chinese shipyards. From roughly 1100 registered shipyards, only around 150 covered the majority of the criteria outlined by Lloyds. Of those, only 50 were announced as first-class builders.

Next, you’ll want to work with an experienced new building supervision company. This is an opportunity for requesting an audit of any shortlisted shipyard. For instance, Risk Design International has experience in shipyard evaluation and our specialists are ready to help you with choosing the right shipyard and successful delivery of the vessel or series of vessels. As a result, we have put together a shipyard assessment document that covers the following areas:

• Assessment of shipyard facilities and building strategy 
• Assessment of production capacity and manpower qualification 
• Data performance from already built vessels in the same shipyard

Assessing the environment and current conditions of above-mentioned areas is an indicator for the planning, management and resource control of the shipyard. A well-constructed shipyard displays a logical production flow throughout its layout and space.

Assessment of shipyard facilities and building strategy

This process can be subdivided into smaller sectors that have a significant impact on the shipbuilding process, including:

1. Warehouse and storage areas: Housekeeping and traceability are important for the building process.
2. Shop primer line: The shop primer, steel profile and applied thickness are critical for corrosion protection. To ensure efficiency, steel plates should be treated with a shop primer coating to reduce work during secondary treatment.
3. Gas/Plasma Cutting workshop: Proper nesting maximizes the utilization of steel material. Modern gas and plasma units with cutting and marking heads help to shorten sub-assembly and assembly processes. Machine steel beveling increases the quality of butt and filled welding, where available.
4. Subassembly workshop: Protection from severe environmental conditions is a must during the sub-assembly process. This process should only be carried out in a dedicated indoor location, by an experienced team. This is vital to pre-heating and temperature preservation for thick and high-tensile plates.
5. Block assembly workshop: The requirements for the protection of environmental conditions are the same. There should, however, be an emphasis made on the quality of block inspection. The following standards are all of importance:
   1. Steel plate material and thickness
   2. Weld quality
   3. Alignment of plates and profiles
   4. NDT Reports
   5. Dimensional Report
6. Blasting hall: These are designated indoor workshops for separate blasting work, equipped with a centralized compressor, ventilation, dust collector and heating system.
7. Painting hall: An enclosed working environment guarantees that there will no dust during the painting process. This makes painting easier and more reliable. The painting hall itself is also equipped with a centralized compressor, ventilation, and heating system as well. Workers should have a thorough understanding of IMO PSPC requirements. This is crucial to Ballast tank coating performance through the years.
8. Pre-erection area: In recent years, pre-erection has become standard shipyard practice, in order to reduce a newbuilding’s time in the actual dock. You’ll need a shipyard ready to facilitate the transport of large blocks, but it can greatly improve your overall efficiency.
9. A dry dock area: Dry dock erection is the most expensive part of newbuilding, taking place in the highest cost part of a shipyard. There needs to be a correctly chosen building strategy that in turn can save a lot of time and money to shipyard and owners. 
10. Machinery workshop: Type and capacity of machines need to be carefully inspected to ensure that the whole production process is covered.
11. Outfitting berth: There needs to be enough crane capacity at the berth to cover outstanding jobs, once the ship is launched from the dry dock.
12. Design/Engineering offices: The engineers involved in the shipbuilding process needs to be certified and competent with the use of design software (eg. ShipConstructor, Aveva, NAPA, etc.)

Assessment of production capacity and manpower qualification 

Of course, even the best facility in the world won’t mean much if they just don’t have the resources available to work with you. The production capacity of the shipyard and the number of new buildings in progress gives a percentage capacity that is left available for your project. Meanwhile, the ratio of shipyard workers to contractors is an indication of the flexibility and the overall power of the shipyard.

It is important to inquire about the availability (as planned) of the Dry dock slot for your newbuilding project. This information would be a good measure of the shipyard’s production flow and whether it suits your schedule, as planned. It’s also imperative that you evaluate the team’s strength, from management down to shipyard employees. The ratios of employees in production, quality control and design are all indicators of efficacy for your shipyard.

Review of production plans, Gant charts, and schedules comes first. Next, comparing these with your real production needs will help to gauge whether the shipyard can carry out the workload. Can they compensate delays, overcome bottlenecks and, most importantly, complete the project? Will they do it on time, to budget, and according to standards? You can learn all of that during this phase.

Data performance from already built vessels in the same shipyard

Throughout our network of captains and chief engineers, Risk Design International has been able to collect data for the operational phase of vessels. The past performance and vessel delivery of any shipyard could be used as a guide for any future new building. Equipment underperformance, guarantee claims, unexpected repair works are always clear indicators of a poor quality job during the building process in the subjected shipyard. Therefore, visiting the shipyard and inspecting vessels that are at the final stage of the building process is always an excellent approach to verifying the professionalism of the shipyard.

Choosing the right shipyard: Let a professional help you

Want to learn more about our shipyard selection services? Get in touch with us, today, and we’d be happy to answer your questions and get you started with choosing the right shipyard for your needs.