Maritime Incident Investigations

Aquatic Navigation, Inc. is a full-service accident investigation firm specializing in all maritime and boating incident investigations. Equipped with the latest technology for accident investigation and reconstruction, we can perform any necessary procedure for a full and complete investigation. These procedures include vessel Inspections, commercial ship Inspections, safety radio inspections, chart plotter and GPS data downloads, Vessel Data Recorder (VDR) downloads, scene inspections,  3D LASER scanning, aerial photography and video. Once the investigation and analysis are completed, we can then provide our expert opinion and help you achieve the best outcome for your case. Our experts, each one with a background in law enforcement and accident reconstruction can provide you with the most “hands-on” experience available. Our office staff has also been trained to work closely with our analysts and field personnel to provide you with the all the relative materials you may need to build your case.

After the accident reconstruction and analysis have been completed,  Aquatic Navigation's team can then present their findings through expert testimony as may be needed. This expert testimony can serve to remove the gray areas from an otherwise complex accident reconstruction, by clearly describing and defining the evidence through clear and concise language, as well as stunning 3D illustrations and other visual aids.

Our experts have provided testimony in numerous cases, in a variety of venues across the southeast, and can help you present your case whether in a deposition, a courtroom, or even in a mediation. Regardless, the Collision Specialists team will be there for you.

We always encourage our clients to act quickly, and to contact us before the evidence of the collision begins to deteriorate. Therefore to ensure the best results, we offer 24/7 Immediate Response to any crash, any time, day or night. There is always an Aquatic Navigation Reconstructionist on call to respond to your scene as quickly as possible so that we can gather the most accurate initial data for your case. Additionally, since most vehicle accident cases will involve some type of electronic crash data, it’s imperative that reasonable steps be taken to preserve any and all relevant electronically stored information for later use.

To utilize this service, please call our office at (954) 762-7123

Having the ability to conduct an inspection of a scene withinvolved vessels is an important part of the investigative and reconstruction process and can provide vital information about the crash for your case.  Our investigators have the tools, training and experience to conduct the most thorough inspections possible, so you are presented with all the information available for these areas.

Scene Inspections

A detailed inspection of the crash scene will serve to locate and document all navigation hazard evidence, provide photographs of the evidence, as well as photographs from known distances, and aerial photographs and video from our drones. We will also document the scene with a 3D Scanner so that we can create 3D images for demonstrative use later.

Vessel Inspections

A vessel inspection can require different things depending on the type of maritime vessel and the factors of the crash, but all will include an examination of the:

·  Steering and control system

·  Navigation and communication systems

·  Engine control systems (order and response)

·  Navigation lighting/ interior lighting/ ambient lighting 

·  Vessel interior/exterior

It will also include the imaging of the GPS navigation data, download of engine ECM’s and VDR Systems.  Photographs - with measurements - documenting what was observed in each of the areas, and scans with the FARO 3D Scanner.

Additionally, our experts can also examine issues regarding potential component failures to try to determine if further analysis by additional experts would be warranted.