Frequently asked questions

Using of the survey services ae given opportunity to receive a certificate (expert report) witnessed the hand of surveyor. This report certifies state of vehicle or cargo in a certain moment of transportation. This certificate has legal force and could be a smoking gun in arbitration court as a surveyor is an independent Party so is an independent witness. Many Russian insurance companies are IQube’s clients. And our specialists are doing quality and quantity control of cargos, check losses, effect adjustment of claims and carry out risk expertise. Shipping lines, trade companies, logistic, insurance and shipping companies, terminals, manufacturers and final cargo receivers use our survey service. We offer services not only in Russian Federation and Newly Independent states but also abroad. Wide chain of agents and subcontractors helps our company to offer survey services worldwide. The central office of IQube company is situated in Saint-Petersburg. Our representative offices and partnership relations give us opportunity to perform inspections in Europe, Asia and America. One of our services is client’s consulting after cargo visual inspection. Our surveyors give advices how to reduce losses which can appear during transportation. Professionality and high qualification of our specialists will help you to work out an issue of loss adjustment and withdraw pretensions faster. The cost of surveyor’s services is less than the cost of cargo. Thanks to services of a reliable and experienced company you can reduce risks, safe your business and pare losses.

Freight transportation are always connect with numerous risks of cargo damage. In spite of the fact that new methods and technologies to safe the cargo are being developed there is no full safe from damages. Nevertheless there are some technologies that help to save the cargo during transportation. The easiest way to save the cargo is to order such a service as survey. Survey means wide complex of services of risk measurement, including inspections, expert reports, and exploratory survey and consulting. Properly conducted survey allows the consignor to safe himself from cargo damage expenses. Specialist from survey company acts as an independent expert and mediator between insurance company and cargo owner. On the base of expert reports insurance companies are decide what risks to insure cargo from. In this case it’s better for consignor to resort to tallyman whose service is much cheaper. Tallymen will control overall cargo state during all the transportation but will not carry out the expertise. Using of tallyman’s service gives the opportunity to minimize risks of pilferage. Professionals check the fixing system inspect the cargo packing and also inspection of a vessel or any other vehicle. All this methods are included in survey services. Nowadays major companies which use professional cargo companies’ services try to minimize risks and reduce expenses; that’s why they order the whole complex of services. Expenses for survey services will never be higher than expenses for damaged cargo, which has lost its tradable value.

Surveyor is a mediator between insuring party (cargo owner/ cargo company) and insurance company who is doing the whole inspection before purchasing insurance. It stands to mention that the estimation of possible risks could also be performed by insurance company or insurant himself. Insurance company will always try to minimize insurance risks or in other words to insure as little as possible and an insurant can hide some defects. For example, breakdown or amortization of one of the ship engines. Surveyor is a specialist who known all the details of marine transportation and could carry out the whole inspection. The fact is that western surveyors take every case as insurance that’s why almost never they do full investigation of cargo damage. Surveyor in contrast with insurance broker is free from its own financial benefits. Surveyor is a specialist who knows all the details of marine transportation and can carry out the whole inspection. Surveyor will inspect cargo for its quality, inspect the packing (if it suits for transportation), examine the vessel in all the details (personnel qualification, its particulars, lower hold serviceability in accordance with cargo specification) and even will check the navigation maps. It is worthwhile to say that national surveyors in many respects leave behind western. The fact is that western surveyors take every case as insurance, that’s why almost never they do full investigation of cargo damage. Native surveyors definitely investigate the reasons of damages. So it can be said that surveyor acts as truth of last resort. Without expert report it will be almost impossible for Insurant to prove that damages are included in insurance case and insurance company will not be protected from efforts of the insurant to hide some mismatches.

One of the most important survey services is cargo examination. Survey company specialists are carriening cargo inspection out: inspect its state, risks of damages, inspect cargo damages, and count cargo quantity. The first time when cargo state examination is fixed is loading. Customs officer will conduct document verification, cargo details, quality certificate presence and search of uncounted cargos. Emergency inspector investigates the reasons of damages is doing all the possible to minimize losses and estimates the loss expenses. The last stage of expertise could be carries out at warehouse of receiver. This expertize could be carried out by specially hired specialist of the survey company.

Tally is a physical count of all loaded and unloaded packages (units of cargo) with fixing the results in tally sheet. Tally is sheeting the primary source of cargo information and as a rule contain not only information about cargo quantity but also remarks about packing and marking state, information about damages (quantity and proportions). Such cargo tally is primarily oriented toward cargo quantity control at all stages of transportation but also has the purpose to describe cargo state.

Tally is a far cry from survey report due to deficiency of detailed examination of damaged cargo. This means common state of cargo. That’s why expenses for tallyman are not as high as for survey. This service is carried out on a continuing basis (during loading/ unloading several shiploads or container loads).

To specify the way of pilferage is the purpose of surveyor but the first information must be collected by the tallyman (during the unloading). That’s why our company has a system of getting the information which allows to detect method of pilferage.

Besides pilferage there is one more problem is underweight reasons of which could be different.

Skilled tallymen/ inspectors work in our company. And we are sure in qualified tallies they do. Besides all inspectors overwatch the cargo not to be damaged during loading/unloading or shiftment.

To become our employee please get acquainted with our vacancies and send us your CV. Even in case if the vacancy isn’t opened for your position you can put your CV in our base of reserve. We will contact you as soon as this vacancy will be opened.