Legal Support
Independent maritime investigations and legal support
Furness Maritime Services provides independent maritime investigations and consultancy, with a particular focus on supporting legal and insurance matters.
Our core capability lies in conducting proper, end-to-end root cause analysis — investigations that move beyond surface findings and isolated failures, and instead identify the specific operational, systemic, and decision-making factors that underpin incidents.
The objective is simple: to get clients directly to the legal and technical issues that matter, supported by evidence, clarity, and defensible reasoning.
A different approach to maritime investigations
Many investigations stop at description: what happened.
Others stop at attribution: who was involved.
Our work is focused on causation.
We examine how operational practice, safety management systems, regulatory interpretation, supervision, training, fatigue, commercial pressure, and organisational design interact in practice — and how those interactions lead to the event in question.
This depth of analysis allows investigations to be:
Legally useful
Technically robust
Aligned with real shipboard operations
Suitable for claims, disputes, arbitration, and regulatory scrutiny
The result is reporting that supports clear legal argument, rather than piecemeal technical commentary.
How we work
Full investigation and on-site support
Where the matter requires it, Furness Maritime Services can provide full investigative support, including attendance on board, at offices, or at relevant locations.
This approach allows:
Direct observation of operations and systems
Evidence gathering and verification
First-hand interviews
Contextual understanding that cannot be obtained remotely
On-site investigations are conducted with an emphasis on evidential integrity and clear reporting outcomes.
Remote investigation and legal support
Where appropriate, investigations and support can be conducted remotely.
This includes structured review of documentation, records, voyage data, safety management systems, and correspondence, alongside interviews and targeted technical analysis.
This approach is often suitable for:
Early-stage claims analysis
Scoping causation and liability issues
Supporting legal teams with technical understanding
Document and evidence review
Remote work allows rapid mobilisation and focused analysis without unnecessary cost.
In-house legal and maritime consultancy
We also provide embedded support to law firms, insurers, operators, and consultancies.
This includes acting in an in-house or project-based capacity as a Master Mariner to support:
Legal teams preparing or running maritime cases
Insurers assessing technical liability and causation
Operators managing incidents, regulatory issues, or system failures
Consultancies requiring senior operational maritime input
This model allows clients to access experienced maritime judgment directly within their teams, without dilution or outsourcing risk.
What clients can expect
Clients engaging Furness Maritime Services can expect:
Clear scope and method
Structured root cause analysis
Evidence-led conclusions
Writing suitable for legal and insurance use
Independence and discretion
Whether supporting a discrete legal issue or delivering a full investigation, the focus remains the same: clarity, depth, and usefulness.