News Bulletins

View the March news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin March 2025 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader magazine format.

Two ‘lite’ podcast versions are also available to listen to. Yacht & Small Craft Surveyors (run time 21 minutes) and Commercial Ship Surveyors (run time 25 minutes).

If you read my column back in January, you may recall that I questioned the future of indoor boat shows, following the collapse of several important indoor events at that time. Now I have read the 2025 edition of the Dutch indoor show has been cancelled, and future editions of the Gothenburg boat show have been curtailed due to economic conditions. Tough economic conditions seem to be a key reason why three well-known and highly respected British yacht brands have hit the headlines for the wrong reasons recently. I am referring to Princess Yachts, (about 260 jobs were lost in late 2024), Sunseeker (around 100 people temporarily laid off in December) and Fairline (which fell into administration at the end of January just weeks after the business changed ownership and is now awaiting a new buyer). So, what’s going wrong?

View the February news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin February 2025 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader magazine format.

Two ‘lite’ podcast versions are also available to listen to. Yacht & Small Craft Surveyors (run time 18 minutes) and Commercial Ship Surveyors (run time 24 minutes).

Late last year, I read an article that resonated with me and set me on a train of thought because it concerned an issue facing not just the surveying profession, but many other industry sectors too. The headline was ‘GREY HAIR. Too much on the canals?’

What struck me was the correlation with the marine surveying profession. The article highlighted the need for younger people (with less grey hair) to step up and join the ranks. Let me assure you there is nothing wrong with grey hair per se – (I have plenty) – for with it comes knowledge, experience and expertise. But what happens when those grey hairs retire, fade away and disappear?

View the January news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin January 2025 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader magazine format.

Two ‘lite’ podcast versions are also available to listen to. Yacht & Small Craft Surveyors (run time 24 minutes) and Commercial Ship Surveyors (run time 27 minutes).

Let me start my first column of the new year on a slightly downbeat note by posing this question for your consideration: “Are we witnessing the death of indoor boat shows?” A recent announcement confirming the cancellation of the Paris Boat Show scheduled for April 2025 is disappointing, especially as it comes hard on the heels of a similar decision made late last year to cancel Boatlife 2025 in the UK. The Fédération des Industries Nautiques (FIN) – the French federation for the nautical sector – made the announcement that the Nautic-en-Seine boat show will not take place. The federation says the decision was made in light of current market conditions, which FIN believes no longer guarantees the full success of the show’s first edition.

View the December news bulletin in full: News Bulletin December 2024 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader magazine format.

Two ‘lite’ podcast versions are also available to listen to. Yacht & Small Craft Surveyors (run time 22 minutes) and Commercial Ship Surveyors (run time 28 minutes).

If I told you the marine surveying profession is showing small signs of starting to self regulate itself, you could be forgiven for thinking I have taken leave of my senses perhaps. Marine surveying remains essentially an unregulated profession and there seems little global government interest in doing much about it. How can it be right that someone with no practical industry knowledge, limited or no surveying skills, a lack of relevant general experience, can set themselves up as a surveyor and do this work? Yet as we all know they are out there, undercutting professional surveyors to get the job if needs be and providing low-grade surveying. Apart from anything else, this tarnishes the surveying profession and undermines those who have spent years honing their craft and skills.

View the November news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin November 2024 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Two ‘lite’ podcast versions are also available to listen to. Yacht & Small Craft Surveyors (run time 23 minutes) and Commercial Ship Surveyors (run time 25 minutes).

I wonder – do you ever stop for a moment to think where the next generation of good quality, professional marine surveyors might come from? Training and enthusing the next cohort of marine surveyors is of critical importance and should be something that concerns us all. It is a subject that is dear to the Institute’s heart of course, and we have been doing some work in this area recently. Gen Z (pronounced zee) is a term I do not care for. But this generation sees the world through different eyes, including mine and perhaps yours too. Their expectations are different, aspirational for sure, born, as they are, from the new technological age. Marine surveying is not the only business trying to reshape itself as an appealing and potentially rewarding career option to attract fresh blood.

View the October news bulletin in full: IIMS October 2024 News Bulletin (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Two ‘lite’ podcast versions are also available to listen to. Yacht & Small Craft Surveyors (run time 21 minutes) and Commercial Ship Surveyors (run time 24 minutes).

So, what are we to make of the recent sinking of the superyacht Bayesian in the Mediterranean and the tragic loss of life? I wanted to talk about this story, not to share an opinion, nor to add to the myriad of conspiracy theories that are circulating everywhere. Let’s leave it to the experts to determine the facts. It is clear that the superyacht encountered a rare and destructive weather event. My reason for raising this topic is that I have been overwhelmed by the shockwaves this incident has sent through the superyacht sector and surveying profession. My inbox has been jammed with messages from members wanting to share their thoughts, including from one who has even surveyed the boat! I have received a variety of data from many sources, including a copy of the Bayesian’s Stability Information Booklet. It has been many years since a marine accident, perhaps not since the Cheeki Rafiki tragedy, has gripped the yachting world to such an extent. Of course, everyone wants to know what happened and needs answers, but let the authorities do their work and allow the investigation to take its course.

View the September news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin September 2024 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

‘Lite’ categorised podcast versions are also available to listen to. Yacht & Small Craft Surveyors (run time 21 minutes) and Commercial Ship Surveyors (run time 22 minutes).

Well, it has been a momentous few weeks in the life of IIMS and I am keen to bring you up to speed and share our latest news, about which the team and I are very proud. Over the past 2 years, IIMS has been working steadily behind the scenes towards achieving ISO 9001 certification. It has been a lengthy and at times exhausting process; but finally, following our recent external audit carried out by DNV, I am delighted to inform you we have done it!

Last year I met the Bangladeshi Director General of the Department of Shipping on my trip to Chattogram. We spoke about delivering the IIMS Professional Qualification in Commercial Ship Marine Surveying locally and he was supportive. Imagine my delight to hear from Capt Zillur Bhuiyan FIIMS when he confirmed we have our first 9 students enrolled in the programme.

View the August news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin August 2024 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

‘Lite’ categorised podcast versions are also available to listen to. Yacht & Small Craft Surveyors (run time 22 minutes) and Commercial Ship Surveyors (run time 21 minutes).

This month I would like to start my column by talking about change. It probably won’t have escaped your notice that the UK has a new government. A new government is undoubtedly bursting with energy and new ideas, but what does it mean for the UK maritime landscape (or should that be seascape)? There was no mention of the maritime sector in the various manifestos pre-election. Time will tell.

Something else I am keen to tell you about is the eCMID Accredited Vessel Inspector Accreditation Scheme run on behalf of IMCA by IIMS subsidiary, the Marine Surveying Academy. The scheme was launched in 2015 and a couple of weeks ago it was brought to my attention that we had received our 1,000th application for accreditation.

View the July news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin July 2024 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

‘Lite’ categorised podcast versions are also available to listen to. Yacht & Small Craft Surveyors (run time 19 minutes) and Commercial Ship Surveyors (run time 23 minutes).

At last month’s AGM, IIMS awarded Fellowship status to Rory Marshall and an Honorary Fellowship to Zennon Cheng. You can read in more detail why the Institute has chosen to recognise these two exceptional individuals for their contributions in entirely different areas of the marine surveying profession.

The AGM also saw a changing of the guard as Peter Broad stepped down following his two-year stint as President to be replaced by Capt Ruchin Dayal. David Pestridge was also elected as the new Deputy Vice President.

View the June news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin June 2024 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

‘Lite’ categorised podcast versions are also available to listen to. Yacht & Small Craft Surveyors (run time 24 minutes). Commercial Ship Surveyors (run time 26 minutes).

Whilst compiling this month’s news bulletin, I am reminded of the growing presence of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in our midst. Its progress is accelerating ever faster I sense. It is now starting to have a significant impact on our daily private lives as well as in our business environment. There are several articles featured in this month’s news bulletin that expose the onslaught of AI technology as we advance ever further into this brave new world.

I would like to remind you that the 2024 AGM takes place on Tuesday 4th June. I would encourage you to join the AGM, or to view the video after the event. The following day, the IIMS one day Conference takes place at the Axis Conference Centre near Southampton.

View the May news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin May 2024 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

‘Lite’ podcast versions are also available to listen to. Yacht & Small Craft Surveyors (run time 17 minutes). Commercial Ship Surveyors (run time 19 minutes).

I knew it was too good to be true. The start of this year had heralded what seemed to be a sharp drop in the number of major maritime incidents and accidents reaching my desk. And then in late March along comes the collapse of the busy Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore wrecked in an instant having been struck by a ship. I offer my personal condolences to those who have lost loved ones in this catastrophe. At the time of writing, the exact cause is not known and it will be the aim of the formal, painstaking investigation to reveal the actual facts in time. But we now learn that the insurance payouts after this momentous event may turn out to be the largest in history, according to Lloyd’s of London chief executive John Neal. Speaking to Bloomberg News, he said, “This has the potential to be one of the largest marine losses in history.”

View the April news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin April 2024 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Listen to ‘lite’ podcast versions of the bulletin. Yacht & Small Craft Surveyors (run time 23 minutes). Commercial Ship Surveyors (run time 21 minutes).

In this new-fangled world we inhabit when old-fashioned thinking and ways of working are being scrapped and discarded in haste, new technologies seem to pose challenges and risks for us on an almost weekly basis. To counter this, I would argue that sometimes it is necessary to pause, draw breath, assess and, if required, rethink things rather than blunder on regardless. Rarely it seems do we do that. We plough on until something goes BANG. Only then do we stop and reassess. A colleague in a recent meeting was overheard to call the maritime world a ‘screwed up industry’. With all this in mind perhaps he has a point.

April sees me on the road again. I am looking forward to meeting surveyors in Baltimore, US on 12/13 April and a few days later at the Western Mediterranean Yacht & Small Craft training event in Palma, Mallorca on 25/26.