BMT recognised by United Register of Appraisers

In addition to practical knowledge and gained experience, we are committed to continued education. This has resulted in, amongst others, a number of our experts from our offices in the Netherlands and Belgium being (once again) recognised and registered with the United Register of Appraisers (VRT).

At the end of last year, Johan Peeters, in our Belgium office, was the first 'Belgian' ship appraiser to be recognized and included in the VRT register, as a specialist in inland shipping and land equipment. Following his studies in Breda as a marine engineer, Johan gained extensive experience in shipbuilding, construction, automation, and shipping. In 2005, he joined the former Techmar International, which was later merged into our current BMT surveys division. Due to his extensive knowledge and expertise in primarily inland shipping, port-related activities, and heavy lift, he was often entrusted with valuation requests from insurers, shipowners, and banks within Belgium.

Jochen Schenk from our Netherlands office has also been included in the VRT member list since 2018. After his studies as a mechanical engineer, Jochen gained extensive experience in shipbuilding and inspections of ship structures. In 2002, he joined the former Verweij & Hoebee, which also later became part of our surveys group. Due to his extensive knowledge of inland shipping, fishing, and land equipment in particular, all kinds of requests for valuations from insurers, shipowners and banks were left to his expertise.

Our surveys division manufacturing / service process has long been ISO 9001 certified, but recent enrolments from some of our experts to the select group of appraisers will provide a clear reference to the specialist work. This brings a significant added value in the services we can provide to our current and future customers.

The market has evolved significantly over the past 10 years. We are an established asset in the field of valuations for various types of customers for inland vessels, port-related equipment, and heavy lift equipment. In Belgium, we have been asked several times to carry out valuations for the takeover of important family businesses. Such sensitive investigations are carried out in the greatest confidence, for which our Belgium team has signed a Due Diligence Agreement with the client. The follow-up investigations have been conducted with the utmost care, respect, trust, and diplomacy, with several successful acquisitions as the result. Supported by a strong secretarial department, we have the capability to professionally report in major international languages such as English, German and French, in addition to Dutch. The possibility of offering reports in French is of course appreciated by the many customers of our customers in Belgium, Wallonia, and France.

When asked what skills an expert / surveyor / appraiser should have, Johan and Jochen answer unanimously:

“Excellent technical knowledge, diplomatic skills, up-to-date knowledge of market conditions and the ability to think like a trader.”