Brookes Bell Master Mariner is appointed a Special Casualty Representative

Brookes Bell has expanded its team of Special Casualty Representatives (SCRs), enhancing the consultancy’s specialty in salvage operations globally.  The appointment means that Brookes Bell now has the largest team of SCRs of all specialist technical consultancies in the marine and energy sectors, with a total of six inhouse representatives located around the world.  This equates to 10% of the appointed SCRs globally.

Ivan Todorov is an experienced Master Mariner with decades of experience in the maritime industry, first joining Brookes Bell in 2014.  With Ivan now being listed on the Lloyd’s Salvage Arbitration SCR Panel after achieving accreditation, Brookes Bell has signified its dedication to ensuring top-tier representation for all parties involved in salvage operations, safeguarding the interests of shipowners, cargo owners, insurers, and other stakeholders.

“Brookes Bell is unique in the in-house expertise we can now offer to our clients.  By tapping into this expertise, we can provide a much better service that’s more efficient, objective, adequate and prompt”, says Ivan.

“We have an established global reach with SCRs in the United States, Asia, the UK and Europe that can importantly work in tandem with Brookes Bell specialists in other areas such as metallurgists, naval architects, cargo scientists, and more around the world.”

The role of an SCR is to monitor salvage operations in the interest of all engaged parties, including the shipowner, cargo owners, salvors, P&I Clubs and underwriters.  As specialist consultants, SCRs are appointed to the Lloyd’s of London’s SCR Panel to be available to assist with complex salvage operations when the SCOPIC Clause has been invoked, facilitated by the P&I Club on behalf of the shipowners in the first instance.

Ivan began his salvage career working on cargo mitigation, by helping to ensure salvage teams preserve maximum value as much as possible.  He then began working with the other SCRs on the team advising on different technical aspects in relation to a number of wreck removal operations as part of being appointed on behalf of P&I Clubs.

During his career at sea, Ivan spent many years onboard a variety of different vessel types, primarily oil tankers, which gave him a better understanding of the risks involved with this particular vessel type.

“Salvage is about dealing with risks and addressing different risks in different situations.  If the vessel is a tanker, I am ideally placed to understand the cargo and the hazards that come with the cargo, such as the risk of pollution, fire, and explosion.  I believe I have an advantage in this respect especially when it comes to tanker vessels”, Ivan noted.