Marine surveying and loss adjusting often overlap during cargo claims, but they serve different purposes. Understanding the distinction helps appoint the right scope from the beginning.
Marine surveying: establish the technical facts
The surveyor attends the cargo, vessel, terminal, warehouse or operation to observe condition, measure damage, review visible handling or securing evidence and create an independent factual record.
Loss adjusting: evaluate the loss
Loss adjusting goes further into the claim by correlating technical evidence with documents, repair or replacement information, mitigation, salvage and other factors relevant to quantifying the physical loss.
Where the two roles work together
A strong cargo claim often needs both immediate field evidence and a structured assessment of what that evidence means commercially. The survey should preserve facts early; the adjusting process can then evaluate the loss using those facts.
Why scope matters
The appointment should state whether the client needs factual attendance only, cause and extent assessment, repair review, quantum support, salvage observations or a broader claims role.