MAIB releases its report on the grounding of the Hamburg cruise ship

Damaged propeller from the grounding of the Hamburg  cruise ship
Damaged propeller from the grounding of the Hamburg cruise ship

At 1328:21 on 11 May 2015, the Bahamas registered Hamburg cruise ship grounded on charted rocks near the New Rocks buoy in the Sound of Mull, Scotland. The accident caused considerable raking damage to the hull and rendered the port propeller, shaft and rudder unserviceable.

There were no injuries and the vessel continued on its passage to Tobermory.

The investigation found that, having been unable to enter Tobermory Bay on arrival, the passage plan was not re-evaluated or amended. Combined with poor bridge team management and navigational practices, this resulted in the vessel running into danger and grounding. Despite the loud noise and vibration resulting from the grounding, the bridge team did not initiate the post-grounding checklist, no musters were held and neither the managers of the Hamburg cruise ship, nor any shore authorities were notified of the accident.

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Debut Seawork International at Mayflower Park voted a success

Seawork International closed its doors for the nineteenth successive year, following three successful days of business at its new and permanent home in Southampton’s Mayflower Park.

Councillor Simon Letts, leader of Southampton City Council, opened Seawork International on Tuesday 14 June at the Waterfront Restaurant, sponsored by Golden Arrow Marine. He was joined by the Deputy High Commissioner of Barbados, Althea Wiggins. The Barbadian inward delegation is just one of a number of VIPs who attended Seawork to explore procurement opportunities. Seawork also welcomed the Naval Advisor to New Zealand, VIPs from Brazil, a delegation from the United Arab Emirates and China, as well as the US Naval Attaché, who is a returning visitor. These delegations provide valuable export opportunities to Seawork attendees, many of whose businesses have flourished thanks to the opportunities that Seawork presents. Many exhibitors reported superb feedback and have high expectations for future business success.

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Cheetah Marine builds the world’s first hydrogen powered boat

Cheetah Marine has built a hydrogen-fuel catamaran which demonstrates the potential of zero CO2 technology in the marine industry. It is believed to be the first hydrogen powered craft.

The 9.95m catamaran, designed and built at Cheetah Marine’s workshops on the Isle of Wight in the UK, features a Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (HICE). The Honda outboard works in the same way as traditional petrol engine, except it burns hydrogen and produces harmless water vapour as the only emission.

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AMSA prepares for container weight regulation changes

From July 1, 2016, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) will implement changes to regulations for container weight verifications in the shipping industry, requiring shippers to provide a verified gross mass (VGM) for containers. These changes reflect amendments to the International Safety of Life at Sea Convention, approved by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). To implement the new international requirements, AMSA has amended Marine Order 42 (Cargo, stowage and securing).

Under the changes, the shipper is required to provide a signed VGM to the terminal and the master of a vessel or their representative, in advance of a container being loaded. Providing a VGM for a container allows the master of a vessel to plan ship loading, so that the ship is stable, hull strength and stack weights are not exceeded and lashing arrangements are effective.

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Japan P&I Club warns of increasing ignition during petcoke loading in Venezuela

japanPetcoke (petroleum coke) is a byproduct of the oil refinery coking process that produces low-cost fuel, often with a high sulphur content. Petcoke may also be known as green delayed coke, sponge coke, needle coke, delayed coke or raw coke-fuel grade. Petcoke is over 90 percent carbon and emits 5 to 10% more carbon dioxide (CO2) than coal on a per-unit of-energy basis when it is burned. As petcoke has a higher energy content, petcoke emits between 30 and 80 percent more CO2 than coal per unit of weight.

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IIMS enjoys a very active at Seawork

The International Institute of Marine Surveying had a strong presence at the Seawork Exhibition, being held at Mayflower Park in Southampton for the first time. The show attracted over 7,000 visitors and continues to be one of the foremost commercial workboat shows and the largest such event in Europe.

It was an opportunity to meet many members from the UK and further afield as they popped by the stand, which was managed by John Kilhams with assistance from other members of the IIMS head office team.

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Biggest shake up for IMCA’s CMID inspectors in the 17 year history of the scheme announced

IMCA has provided the IMCA M 149 – Common Marine Inspection Document – for 17 years and it has seen a number of iterative changes over this period and has also seen the introduction of IMCA M 189 – Marine inspection for small workboats (common marine inspection document for small workboats). Since 2009, when the electronic CMID (eCMID) database was introduced, there have been calls from the industry to increase the integrity of the common marine inspection document (CMID) system.

That there is a burden of over-auditing on IMCA’s vessel operators is not in doubt and in an effort to reduce this burden in due course, through greater integration with the Continue reading “Biggest shake up for IMCA’s CMID inspectors in the 17 year history of the scheme announced”

New President plots course for The Nautical Institute

The newly elected President of The Nautical Institute, Captain David (Duke) Snider FNI, has pledged to ensure the mariner’s voice is heard loud and clear within the maritime industry.

Speaking at the Institute’s annual general meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland, on 9 June, Captain Snider said that one of his first roles as President will be to champion the new five-year Strategic Plan, which was launched in March.

The plan, informed by responses from more than 1,400 members surveyed in a questionnaire, will see a renewed focus on human element projects aimed at building competencies for modern integrated ships.

Command, manning and fatigue, mentorship and continuing professional development (CPD) were other themes identified for further development.

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First in-tank drone survey undertaken by DNV GL

This week, DNV GL announced that it had completed its first drone survey. This most recent maritime application for drones demonstrates a growing interest in the technology that has, over the last year, seen applications emerging across merchant, naval and research fleets around the world.

The survey took place on the MV Apollo, a chemical tanker owned by Carl Büttner Shipmanagement in Germany. Two DNV GL surveyors used the drone survey to inspect 14 tanks over a period of two and a half days.

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Death of workboat Carol Anne skipper could have been avoided says MAIB Report

The collapsed crane which caused the death of the Carol Anne skipper
The collapsed crane which caused the death of the Carol Anne skipper

The MAIB has now released its report into the incident in which skipper, Jamie Kerr, died on the Carol Anne when the crane fitted to the vessel collapsed leaving the reader in little doubt that this was an avoidable accident. The installation of a crane to a workboat adds significant challenges for the marine surveyor when assessing the structure as this report highlights.

On 30 April 2015, an Atlas lorry loader crane fitted on the workboat Carol Anne collapsed while being used to offload a net at a fish farm at Balure on Loch Spelve, Scotland. The crane fell directly onto the workboat’s skipper, who was declared dead at the scene. The crane had been in operation since its installation just six and a half weeks earlier. It was not overloaded when it failed.

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Coastal deaths at five year high: RNLI warns to Respect the Water

Coastal fatality figures released on 9 June by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) show the number of deaths at the UK coast reached a five year high in 2015, with 168 people losing their lives. The number of near fatal incidents was higher still, with the RNLI’s UK lifeboat crews and lifeguards saving 385 lives in 2015.

The figures are released as the charity enters the third year of its national drowning prevention campaign, Respect the Water, which aims to halve accidental coastal deaths by 2024.

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Support the IIMS head office team in their ‘muddy’ quest to raise money for Cancer Research

The IIMS 'Muddy Rudders' from left Sam Owen, Sam Legg, Tania Bernice, Elle Hardham and Vicky Lawrence - all set to get muddy for charity
The IIMS ‘Muddy Rudders’ from left Sam Owen, Sam Legg, Tania Bernice, Elle Hardham and Vicky Lawrence – all set to get muddy for charity

It’s a sad fact that we all know, or have heard of someone who has been affected by cancer, whether it is a close family member or a colleague. In some cases people can make a full recovery, but by no means all. This is why the girls from the IIMS head Office have come together to take on a ‘muddy’ challenge to raise funds to combat this terrible disease on Saturday 9 July at a special event in Portsmouth.

The Pretty Muddy event is an organised race over 5km (3 miles) with all proceeds going to Cancer Research. As part of the course, the girls will have to tackle a range of different obstacles as well as enduring a lot of mud too! The team name that that the IIMS has chosen is ‘The Muddy Rudders’, taking inspiration from their work in the maritime world.

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