Marine

RTI international maritime casualty and forensic investigators are highly skilled and experienced, with a range of backgrounds and areas of expertise across all marine environments and inland waterways.  Our marine professionals are supported by a large multidisciplinary team of investigators and experts, enabling us to provide a unique service that integrates the methodology and forensic science of air accidents and other high-risk industry casualty investigations.

Through our joint venture with ConsultISM Ltd., Marine Accident & Risk Consultants (MARC), RTI is able to extend our clients services not only to provide an understanding of why things have gone wrong, but also the tools to proactively avoid them into the future. 

Our services include:

• Casualty investigation and consultancy services to ship operating companies, P&I clubs, insurers, and their legal advisers.
• Backup and support service to complement the in-house casualty investigation team of flag State administrations, coastal State authorities and port State control authorities.

Within the marine sector, RTI provides a refreshingly new and unique service to flag State administrations, which have responsibilities under the provisions of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974 (Regulation I/21), to conduct casualty investigations and supply the International Maritime Organizations (IMO) with relevant findings.  RTI assists flag State administrations in complying with these obligations and has conducted full and thorough investigations, emphasizing root-cause analysis and lessons learned.  This is particularly applicable when administrations cannot count on sufficient in-house human resources, expertise, and experience.  Such investigations, carried out in compliance with IMO Casualty Investigation Code on behalf of a flag State by a truly independent body, figure positively in the Voluntary IMO Member Audit Scheme.

Whether acting on behalf of flag States, ship operating companies, P&I clubs insurers, or their advisers, RTI can conduct detailed surveys and enquiries into collisions, groundings, oil and chemical pollution, fires and explosions, dangerous cargo incidents, sinkings, human factor failures, loss of life, hull failure, fixed and floating object incidents, and machinery and electrical systems breakdown. Careful analysis and clear and precise reporting make our services attractive to states reporting serious and very serious incidents to the IMO. Insurers and maritime lawyers will find RTI's team of mature and experienced expert witnesses of great benefit in mediation, arbitration, and litigation.

The RTI visual aid consulting team can produce accurate reconstructions of any marine incident by using recorded non-volatile and corrupted data from VDRs, GPS, and other digital navigational and machinery monitoring equipment. Environmental records at the time of the incident can be used to make visual presentations more informative. Forensic visuals improve the understanding of what actually happened during any incident. As a training tool, forensic visuals are invaluable during proactive safety management programs and assist greatly in reducing losses and high cost marine claims.