Maritime Damage Analysis

Salas O’Brien reviewed reports from opposing experts and developed an opinion about the weather conditions a container ship encountered during a two-week journey from China to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Our review of the opposing expert report found that an inferior method determined precipitation and wave conditions near the ship as it crossed the Pacific Ocean. The “back of the napkin” approach was based on grid spacing covering 400,000 square miles and did not accurately represent the weather and wave conditions in the vicinity of the vessel.

We procured state-of-the-art ERA5 computer model reanalysis data that, combined with the ship’s known hourly coordinates, provided a more accurate depiction of the weather and seas during the trans-Pacific voyage. The accuracy of the reanalysis precipitation data was confirmed by comparing the generated output with in-situ observations while the ship was in port in China, California, and British Columbia.

SERVICES

Forensic Meteorology

COMPLETION YEAR

2024