Articles

Senior Partner Chris Foster has been featured in "Burning Desire", published in the Telegraph Magazine on 17 October 2009 and on line, which describes the work of fire investigators and focuses in particular on the "hidden plague" of arson.  The author, Eric Clark, describes the work of investigators from London Fire Brigade and features Burgoynes, major insurers, loss adjusters and lawyers.  Chris points out that "you can't do armchair investigations"  and goes on to describe the general principles of investigation, including recording without disturbance followed by an in-depth search of the scene. 

There are instances where a vessel is alleged to have collided with a fixed or moving object and where the witness evidence, or lack of it, requires support by an examination of the physical evidence. In such cases the physical evidence most often relied upon is that provided by a comparison of paint samples taken from the vessel and the object with which it is alleged to have collided. As forensic chemists many of our consultants have a detailed knowledge of paint comparisons including their chemical analysis, largely through dealing with vehicle accident work for the police, such as in pedestrian hit-and-run cases.

We have all heard of metal fatigue. It is a subject studied in great depth by metallurgists and materials scientists. It is frequently mentioned in reports prepared by Burgoynes and is occasionally mentioned in the printed press or broadcast media. We are often asked to explain what it is. The following should help.

Operators of bulk fleets will be aware of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) and of the appropriate precautions that must be taken to ensure its safe carriage by sea.  However, we are aware of a number of shippers who are offering a material for bulk shipment that is clearly a DRI product, but is claimed to be safe for bulk carriage by sea without the usual precautions.  However, we are also aware of two explosions, and a potential explosion, in the past year that have occurred on vessels that were carrying this cargo.

This article was written by Dr Christopher Foster for the Swedish Club and is reproduced with their kind permission.