Someone independent on the quay while your cargo is being handled
Most cargo claims are not created at the discharge port. They are created during loading and securing — and only discovered weeks later, when nobody can prove how the cargo was stowed or what condition it was in when it went on board.
DENIS attends on your behalf while the operation is running. We record condition, monitor handling and securing, and produce a documented, photographic record of what actually happened — the record that decides who carries the loss if something goes wrong later.
What we can be instructed to do
Attendance can cover a single stage of the operation or the full call from arrival to sailing.
Heavy lift operations are supervised against the lifting plan, not observed from the quay.
A claim is argued on the record that was made at the time
Once the vessel has sailed, the argument is no longer about what happened — it is about what can be proven to have happened. Whoever holds the better contemporaneous record is in the stronger position.
Attendance during the operation costs a fraction of the cargo value, and a much smaller fraction of a disputed claim. It is the cheapest point in the whole chain at which to protect your position.
- Damage caught at the source — recorded when it occurs, with the responsible stage of handling identified rather than guessed at afterwards.
- Securing verified before sailing — checked against the lifting plan and the Cargo Securing Manual, and photographed as finally arranged.
- Problems escalated in real time — you hear about a handling issue while it can still be corrected, not in a report a week later.
- An independent record — not the terminal’s account, and not the vessel’s, but one produced by a party with no interest in the outcome.
Timing matters more than scope. An inspection carried out after discharge can describe the damage, but rarely establishes where it came from. Attendance during the operation can do both — which is why the nomination should be made before the vessel berths, not after a problem appears.
What we do at each stage of the operation
Attendance is scoped to the stages that matter for your cargo — you do not have to instruct all of them.
Where the detail decides the outcome
Two areas where a general inspection is not enough and a specialist record is what holds up.
Securing failures are almost never about the number of lashings. They are about pre-tension, the angle of the lashing, the strength of the securing point and whether the arrangement matches what the Cargo Securing Manual actually allows.
We document the arrangement as finally built — components, positions and points of attachment — and raise any reservation in writing before the vessel sails, while it can still be corrected.
Condition on receipt is the reference point for every later dispute. We record apparent order and condition, packing adequacy for the intended voyage, marking and quantity — with photographs that carry position, scale and date.
Where quantity or quality is commercially critical, sampling and independent laboratory analysis can be added to the scope. Quantities determined by survey are estimates carried out to customary industry standards and within their inherent tolerances.
Cargoes we attend
If your cargo is not listed, send us the details — we will tell you plainly whether it is within our experience.
Cargo moving soon? Nominate before the vessel berths
Send us the vessel, port, cargo and ETA together with the scope you need. We will confirm availability, scope and cost basis in writing — and tell you which stages of the operation are worth attending for this particular cargo.