Naval architecture & newbuild survey
Monte-Carlo Solutions represents the owner throughout construction. We are not a shipyard and we build nothing ourselves โ we work with every builder, on the owner's side of the table. We read the drawings, stand on the yard floor, and hold the build to the contract and to the rules of the chosen flag and classification society.
Independent of every yardRetained by the owner alonePresent at each control pointEngaged for the long term
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A newbuild contract is signed long before the first plate is cut. Between signature and delivery, the owner faces a yard that knows its own build far better than he does. Our surveyors close that gap: they read the specification, check the drawings against it, and verify on site that what is built matches what was agreed โ at every stage, with nothing skipped.
A relationship, not a transaction
We are not brokers in the ordinary sense. Our purpose is not to place a yacht and move on: it is to carry a newbuild from the first drawing to delivery, and then to keep her running for the owner who asks it of us. A commission collected at signature, with the file closed the following week, is the model we have deliberately set aside. One-off sales do not interest us. We take on few projects, we stay with them for years, and our work is judged long after the papers are signed.
We act for the owner, never for the yard, and we hold no interest in any shipyard. Contractual specification, general arrangement, technical schedules: we hold the reference documents and measure the build against them at every stage.
Structure, systems, coatings, outfitting. Scheduled inspections and resident presence during critical phases, with written reports, photographic records and tracked non-conformities.
We work alongside the classification society and the flag administration, follow plan approval, attend surveys and make sure certification advances at the pace of the build.
Delivery is not the end of the assignment. Once the yacht is handed over, we may take her operation in hand as far as the owner wishes: crew, certification, planned maintenance and operating budget.
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A newbuild runs through the same sequence in every yard, whatever the country and whatever the flag. Each stage closes on work that the next one will bury: a weld hidden by insulation, a pipe run sealed behind a lining, a hull surface locked under primer. Once a stage is closed, correcting it costs steel, schedule and money. Our surveyors are present at each of these moments โ that is the whole point of the assignment.
The first plate is cut and the build officially starts. We verify that the approved drawings, the material certificates and the steel grades match the specification before a single plate leaves the cutting table.
The first block is set on the slipway. We attend, record the milestone that starts the contractual clock, and check the alignment and the datum from which the whole hull will be measured.
Sections are assembled and joined. We verify plate thickness and stiffener spacing against the approved scantlings, follow welder qualifications and welding procedures, and witness non-destructive testing before the structure is closed.
The aluminium superstructure is built and joined to the steel hull. We check the transition joint, the insulation of dissimilar metals and the fire boundaries, which are among the most common sources of later defects.
Fuel, water and technical tanks are tested. We witness pressure and tightness tests, and we make sure no compartment is closed or coated before its test has been recorded and accepted.
Engines, gearboxes, generators, switchboards, piping, fire protection. We verify installation against the approved schemes, alignment and mounting of the propulsion line, cable routing and segregation, and the presence of the required certificates.
Filler, primer and topcoat. We follow filler thickness, surface preparation, humidity and temperature conditions, and coating records โ because once the hull is painted, what lies underneath can no longer be inspected.
Joinery, linings, floors, equipment. We compare the work delivered against the approved samples and mock-ups, and we record every deviation while the yard can still correct it.
The yacht enters the water. We attend the launch and the inclining experiment, and check the lightship figures against the stability booklet submitted to class and flag.
Speed, consumption, noise, vibration, manoeuvring, endurance. We attend the trials and compare measured performance against the figures written into the contract, not against the ones announced afterwards.
We produce and defend the punch list, follow each item to resolution, verify that every class and flag certificate has been issued and is valid, and assist the owner at the protocol of delivery and acceptance.
Defects appearing after delivery are recorded and pursued with the yard until resolution, within the deadlines set by the contract. The assignment ends when the warranty does, not at the handover.
Beyond delivery
Delivery is a milestone, not an ending. From the day she is handed over, owners who wish it may entrust us with the running of the yacht, and the mandate is drawn to match precisely what each owner chooses to retain or to delegate.
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The applicable framework depends on the flag, the class, the length and the intended use โ private or commercial. We identify it at the start of the project and hold it to the end.
Class notation, code and flag are chosen with the owner at the outset. Where the intended use changes during the build, we assess the consequences on certification before the change is committed.
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Tell us the yard, the length, the intended flag and the stage the project has reached. We answer with a scope of survey and the terms of our involvement.
Write to uscontact@mcs.yachts