Originally established in 1968 to provide marine appraisal and surveying services, the firm of Dufour, Laskay & Strouse, Inc. (DLS) has pursued a vigorous program of technical education and training for our core staff in order to continuously provide the quality service that our customers demand.  The DLS technical staff comprises the largest concentration of NAMS certified surveyors and ASA certified marine appraisers in the industry.

Our operations are worldwide and our appraisers, surveyors, and consultants have an average of twenty years of experience in the maritime field. Our technical staff members possess diverse marine related backgrounds enabling us to provide a high standard of service. Among our personnel are United States Coast Guard (USCG) Academy Graduates, federal and state maritime college graduates, USCG licensed masters, and others with mechanical and diesel engine knowledge and experience in marine cargo claims adjusting and loss prevention analysis.

We have offices in New Orleans, Louisiana; Houston, Texas; Tampa, Florida; and we service the Great Lakes area out of Chicago, Illinois and Holland, Michigan. We also have non-exclusive correspondents, Mr. Louis Westdorp and Mr. Fred Emond, in Holland and the United Kingdom, respectively.

We are appointed Lloyd’s agent for the ports of Houston, Texas (to include the states of Texas and New Mexico) and New Orleans, Louisiana (to include the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and the states of Tennessee and Kentucky west of 86°W).

DLS provides Shipyard Planning, Project Oversight, and Project Management services to our customers.

David Kroll, principal of Kroll Marine for over twenty-seven years, merged with DLS in November 2003. Mr. Kroll will continue to provide the many services to inland customers he previously offered, in addition to in-depth risk assessment and Marine Safety Development plans for inland and offshore facilities.

DLS maintains an extensive computer database of over 12,000 vessels of all types valued by our office since 1988 and has CD-ROM access to domestic and international vessel databases. In addition, the firm maintains an electronic journal in which information pertaining to new construction costs, day rates, repair costs, and actual/reported vessel sales are recorded.