The port warden, on being requested so to do by any of the parties in interest, shall proceed in person to any warehouse, store or dwelling, or in the public streets or on the wharf, and examine any property said to have been damaged on board of a vessel, and inquire, examine and ascertain the cause of the damage. He shall make a memorandum of the property and the damage thereto and record a full statement thereof in the books of his office.
N.J.S. § 12:10-8