The questions people actually ask
The questions owners, clubs, banks and charterers ask before they instruct us. If yours is not here, send it and we will answer it.
Who can carry out a pre-purchase survey on a ship in Korea?
Moim Consulting is an independent marine survey practice based in Busan, South Korea, and carries out pre-purchase and condition surveys in Korean ports, anchorages and shipyards. Our surveyors are resident in the region rather than flown in, so attendance in Busan, Ulsan, Geoje, Gwangyang, Masan and Tongyeong can normally be arranged at short notice.
Can a marine surveyor attend a vessel in a Japanese port at short notice?
Yes. Moim covers Japan as well as Korea — Yokohama, Tokyo, Chiba, Kawasaki, Nagoya, Yokkaichi, Kobe, Osaka, Mizushima, Fukuyama, Imabari, Sakaide, Moji and Kitakyushu, Hakata, Oita and Nagasaki among them. The same surveyor standard and the same report format apply on either side of the Korea Strait.
What does a pre-purchase survey cover, and what cannot be checked alongside?
It covers hull and structure, ballast tanks and cargo spaces to an agreed priority, machinery so far as it can be assessed, cargo gear, safety and pollution equipment, class and survey status, thickness measurement history and previous steel renewals. Main and auxiliary engines cannot be meaningfully tested while the vessel is alongside, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. Where a Master declines to demonstrate equipment, that refusal is recorded as a limitation.
How quickly is the report issued?
A draft report follows once attendance is complete, with the final issued on your comments. Every report carries the same structure: summary and opinion, findings by system ranked by consequence, stated limitations, a cross-check against class records, and an indexed photographic annex.
What is a marine expeditor, and when do I need one?
A marine expeditor is the charterer's or operator's representative at the terminal, appointed to shorten the port call. The expeditor coordinates berthing prospects, terminal and agent liaison, cargo readiness, bunkering and stores, and logs port events as they happen so the laytime and demurrage position is evidenced rather than reconstructed afterwards. Moim provides expeditor services in Korean and Japanese ports.
Do you provide port captains for loading and discharge?
Yes. A Moim port captain attends the berth for the whole operation — supervising loading and discharge against the cargo plan and the vessel's stability, checking stowage and securing, and recording damage to cargo or ship as it occurs rather than arguing about it afterwards.
Do you act for both owners and charterers on the same survey?
No. A surveyor works for whoever instructed him. We act for one party at a time, disclose any prior involvement with the vessel or the counterparty before accepting, and decline instructions where we have acted for the other side. Our fee never depends on what we find.
How do I instruct Moim Consulting?
Send the vessel name, IMO number, port or yard and the attendance window by WhatsApp, or email moim@moimconsulting.com. That is normally enough for us to reply the same working day with a scope, a fixed fee and the name of the attending surveyor.
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