France has no single required diploma for yacht surveyors. ActuNautique, in its series on the expert maritime, notes that the profession of expert maritime in pleasure craft has no single required state diploma. What it rests on is solid initial training, in naval engineering, the merchant navy or mechanics, and proven experience in the field.
Three kinds of mandate
ActuNautique describes where the work comes from:
- Independent. Hired by a private buyer or seller, a yard or a lawyer.
- For an insurer. Assessing insurable value or the cause of a claim.
- For the courts. An expert judiciaire, on an official list held by a Court of Appeal or the Court of Cassation, appointed by a judge.
The missions include market value surveys, pre-sale diagnosis, damage surveys and following repair work. ActuNautique stresses that pre-purchase and value surveys are visual and non-destructive.
The university route
Université Le Havre Normandie runs a university diploma for maritime experts, developed with the École Nationale Supérieure Maritime, the professional union of marine experts and the marine insurers' committee. It's level 7, bac +5, aimed at people retraining with real experience at sea:
- officers holding an unlimited STCW certificate with at least two years serving as second in command
- French navy officers of at least lieutenant commander rank with significant sea experience
- non-seafarers at engineer level, or with equivalent skills and experience and knowledge of the maritime world
It runs over 15 weeks in six blocks from September to June, about 440 hours, plus two weeks in a company. Block 5 covers surveys of pleasure craft and superyachts, and blocks can be taken on their own. Assessment is by exams, a placement report and a dissertation.
Professional bodies and insurance
ActuNautique names the Chambre Nationale des Experts Maritimes et Fluviaux and the Fédération des Experts Maritimes, and presents membership as a sign of a code of ethics. It also says an expert must be covered by a professional liability policy specific to the work.
Practical steps
- Build experience at sea, in a yard, or as an engineer in the marine trades.
- Take the Le Havre diploma, or its pleasure craft block, if you meet the entry conditions.
- Join a professional body and take out professional liability cover.
- Start with the surveys closest to your background, and build relationships with brokers and insurers.
The general route is in how to become a marine surveyor. For the buyer's side, see buying a used boat in France.