employ or contract the services of a private marine surveyor in order to determine the condition of the ship. Yacht and small craft surveyor Yacht and small craft (Y&SC) surveyors specialize in inspecting smaller vessels, typically less than 24 meters, that are most often used for pleasure boating (both power and sail). Y&SC surveyors may be employed directly by larger marine insurance companies, but most often they are independent practitioners engaged directly by the boating public. Since using boats for pleasure (or "yachting") is a relatively recent phenomena, having only been widely practiced for the last century or so, Y&SC surveying has many unique aspects that are not shared with the more traditional forms of marine surveying described above. In the UK the Yacht Designers and Surveyors' Association has a broad professional membership dealing with the range of craft below and above 24 meters (excluding ships and cargo/container ships). The International Institute of Marine Surveying has over 1,000 members in more than 100 countries and provides regular face to face and online training seminars for both members and non-members at various UK and overseas locations. MCA coding surveyor All UK vessels in commercial use up to 24 meters load line length, which go to sea are required by law to comply with one of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Small Craft Codes. Vessels that meet the stringent requirements of MGN 280 code, or one of the other specialist small craft codes, or the Work boat 2 code, are issued with license certificates by one of several UK Certifying Authorities that are approved under contract by the MCA. Code surveyors have been interviewed, assessed and authorized as being competent by the Certifying Authorities, which include organizations such as the International Institute of Marine Surveying. Marine surveyor training There are very few institutions providing education and training in this specialist but vitally important field. One such organization is the International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS), a professional body that has been providing surveyor education courses for nearly 20 years. The IIMS provides Diploma Professional Qualification courses in both yacht and small craft as well as commercial ship surveying. The IIMS membership consists of marine surveyors, cargo surveyors, yacht and small craft surveyors and other professionals in the field. IIMS also offers a standalone Professional Qualification in Marine Corrosion. Suny Maritime College provides online survey classes in Cargo, Hull and Yacht and