Senior Master Mariner
MBA, MSc, MNI
work
Liverpool
Career Summary
Ivan Todorov joined Brookes Bell in November 2014. He is an experienced Master Mariner and Expert Witness, harnessing exceptional technical knowledge with meticulous attention to details to provide superior investigative and advisory services for marine industry clients. He is listed on the Lloyd's Salvage Arbitration Branch SCR Panel as a Special Casualty Representative (SCR).
Background
Ivan joined Brookes Bell in November 2014. He investigates, surveys, troubleshoots and advises clients on a range of marine incidents; various navigational, maintenance and operational matters; cargo disputes as well as casualty investigations and assessments. He has provided litigation support by preparing expert reports and acting as an expert witness in arbitration proceedings in the UK.
Key strengths include: providing expert witness reports for maritime disputes; conducting investigations; systematically examining regulatory, human, procedural and technical elements to identify root causes for failures; suggest liability distribution and provide advice / analysis to support conclusions; conducting inspections, surveys and audits of maritime assets and cargoes to assess condition, compliance or viability; impartially assessing and questioning hypothesis to determine underlying drivers, using solid, evidence-based outputs to establish the most credible scenario; and applying superior knowledge of maritime operations including cargo management, tanker and other vessel operations, navigation, maintenance, compliance, casualty response and salvage.
Professional Qualifications
Certificate of Competence Master on ships of 3,000 GT or more
DNV-GL Internal Auditor Certificate for ISM, ISPS, MLC for Shipping Companies
Basic Offshore Safety Induction Emergency Training Course
Nautical Institute Navigational Assessment Course
SDT / IMCS Ultrasonic Hatch Cover Testing Certificate
Bond Solon Expert Witness training
Academic Qualifications
MBA in Shipping & Logistics - Middlesex University, London
MSc (Navigation) - Naval Academy, Varna
Professional Associations
Member of the Nautical Institute
Previous Employment History
- MSQ Superintendent
Conducting internal navigation, ISM, ISPS, MLC and SIRE pre-vetting audits. Addressing the near-miss reports, accident and incident occurrences. Crew assessment, training and appraisals.
- Master and Chief Officer on board Oil Tankers
As a Chief Officer on board tanker vessels, he successfully planned and executed over 200 cargo operations at various terminals and during ship-to-ship transfers. He prepared vessels for periodic annual and special surveys, as well as drydocking. As a Master, he was in charge of and managed the safe navigation, operation and maintenance of tanker vessels and looked after the wellbeing of the crew. The tankers under his command successfully passed Port State Control inspections, Flag State Annual Safety inspections, SIRE vetting inspections, external and internal audits, navigational assessments and audits.
- Operation and Post-fixture of Tankers and Bulk Carriers
He successfully operated vessels, provided voyage instructions to Masters, reviewed voyage and time charter party contracts, appointed agents, prepared various calculations - laytime, demurrage, profit and loss.
Surveying and Consultancy Experience
He has prepared technical reports, advice as well as expert reports for commercial disputes and litigation to do with the following issues:
- Cargo quality and quantity disputes of liquid and dry bulk cargoes
- Liquefaction of dry bulk cargoes – sample preparation, witnessing of moisture content and transportable moisture limit laboratory analyses
- Sampling and witnessing of laboratory analyses of various liquid and dry bulk cargoes, including Flow Moisture Point assessment
- Pre- and post-loading steel cargo condition surveys
- Lashing and securing of steel cargoes on bulk carriers
- Self-heating of coal cargoes, sampling and witnessing of laboratory analysis
- Collision investigations from H&M, P&I and loss of hire perspectives
- Pre-purchase, on-hire and off-hire condition surveys
- Mooring system failure investigations
- Anchoring system and anchorages assessments
- Cargo hose failures during ship-to-ship transfers of liquid cargoes
- Bunker and MARPOL surveys and audits
- Crane, wire and hatch cover failure surveys.
- Water ingress investigations
- Speed and performance disputes
- Draught surveys, assessments and disputes
- Hatch cover condition surveys. Ultrasound testing surveys
- Tank cleaning disputes on oil/product/chemical tankers
- Unsafe ports/berth disputes
- Human injuries and fatalities
- Passage planning disputes, including territorial water disputes
- Weather routing and heavy weather navigation disputes
- VDR and ECDIS playback analysis
- Flag state quality audits
- Lightering, refloating and backloading operations during grounding incidents
- Engagements in Salvage, Casualties and Wreck removals: MELITE in 2017; GENIUS STAR VIII, POLESTAR and HOYU in 2019; ASIA PEARL IV in 2020; LTS 3000 and VERA SU in 2021; RUBISHIPS III in 2022; ISLANDER and KAFKAMETLER in 2023; APOLLO TRIUMPH in 2024.