ITIC and ASG Announce New Wording for Surveyors' Indemnity

ITIC and ASG announced they have a issued new wording for surveyors' indemnity.
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The International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) and the Admiralty Solicitors Group (ASG) today announced they have a issued new wording for surveyors' indemnity to "address the imbalance between owners' and surveyors' responsibilities typically encountered under existing indemnity agreements."

The wording relates to waivers and indemnity that surveyors must sign before given approval to board a vessel.

These documents often stipulate that surveyors must waive all rights to make a claim against the owner and the vessel in respect of any personal injury or loss of or damage to their equipment which they suffer during their time onboard a vessel.

Surveyors are also asked to indemnify the owner if any of the vessel's crew suffer death or  personal injury, or if there is any loss or damage to the vessel itself or its equipment, with indemnity possibly extending as far as claims made against the owner by third parties.

"These waivers and indemnities are usually presented to surveyors as they are climbing aboard the vessel. Surveyors therefore do not have a realistic opportunity to read such documents and invariably just sign them, in order to gain access to the vessel to perform their jobs," explained Mark Brattman, ITIC's legal director.

"ITIC has seen many owner produced wordings over the years, all of them unfavourable to the surveyor. The ASG had a wording which was a significant improvement on the owner produced documents, but ITIC felt that this could be made more balanced.. With the agreement and co-operation of the ASG a new wording, the ASG/ITIC 10 has been produced."

The ASG/ITIC 10 wording provides that the owner will have the usual responsibilities of any occupier to any visitors, unless the vessel is considered a casualty.

In such an event, the surveyor will acknowledge that the master cannot guarantee the safety of visitors, restricting the owners' liability to losses specifically caused or contributed to by the negligence, recklessness, or wilful misconduct of the owner.

What constitutes a casualty can then be discussed after the event, enabling a surveyor to avoid the need to negotiate at the time of boarding the vessel.

"Both ITIC and ASG agree that the new wording represents a far more equitable apportionment of liability when surveyors are asked to attend a vessel, whether by a P&I club on behalf of an owner or by charterers, cargo interests or insurers," said Brattman.