Ralph Bruni
Master Mariner, MNI
Formerly Bruni Marine Surveys & Investigations, LLC

Ralph J. Bruni, now retired, is a Nautical Institute member with over forty years of marine and seagoing experience. Mr. Bruni brings two years of shipyard experience, ten years at sea in the foreign-flag merchant marine and twenty-nine years of marine surveying and casualty investigation experience to a wide range of marine transportation issues. He has had extensive involvement investigating and evaluating claims and warranty work across the Western Hemisphere, from Alaska to Argentina, including major fire and grounding casualties.

He recently concluded his assistance to a New York law firm as an expert in a high-profile case involving a collision with a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer, wherein his research contributed to the multi-million dollar claim against a merchant ship being reduced by a significant amount.

Mr. Bruni’s expertise is in risk mitigation, conducting and managing complex maritime investigations, and in evaluating and analyzing technical and shipping documents for investigative and safety authorities, including underwriters, classification societies, P&I clubs, flag states, vessel and cargo owners, shipyards, salvors, attorneys and terminal operators. He conducts damage surveys, appraises losses, investigates claims, approves repair estimates, and assists in planning various marine ventures for clients. He has a wide range of experience in marine transportation to include merchant vessels, tugs and barges, main engine claims, project cargo movements, high value cargo losses, and hull and shipyard repair.

Ralph is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, has obtained a master’s degree in maritime management and is a founding member of the U.S. West Coast branch of the Nautical Institute. He is a dual national and fluent in German. In his free time, Ralph enjoys club rides on the California roads on his racing bicycle and is the former president, now vice president, of Team Alameda with over 150 members, which has a board and bylaws of its own to run its affairs as a non-profit organization.