News Bulletins

View the August news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin August 2023 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Every now and again I am invited to engage in something slightly unusual. Here’s one such example. Recently, the President of the Marine Surveyors Association of Bangladesh (MSAB), Captain Mahfuzul Islam, and IIMS Regional Director for Bangladesh, Capt Zillur Bhuiyan FIIMS, approached me as their local organisation heads towards its 30th anniversary. They invited IIMS President, Peter Broad, to compose an introduction to their special journal to mark this auspicious occasion.

IIMS is planning to return to the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis twice (subject to demand) for courses later this year. The first event, a new programme, is a 4-day residential practical surveying course giving delegates the opportunity to conduct in depth surveys on a couple of small craft under the instruction and guidance of two experienced surveyors before compiling a survey report for marking and assessment.

View the July news bulletin in full: IIMS-News-Bulletin-July-2023 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Well, what a past few weeks it has been in the life of IIMS. The team has certainly stretched itself on various fronts and to its limits, but ultimately has played a blinder. Well done and thank you. I am referring to the delivery of the recent Annual General Meeting, Southampton Conference and Dinner, coupled with a management board meeting which was followed the week after by our annual presence at Seawork.

Seawork is a good place to start my introduction this month perhaps. The event was good for IIMS and we met a number of old friends and made some interesting new ones. But the three-day show is likely to be best remembered by many for the explosive reaction and negative outpouring from many of those who attended the presentation given by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) on the proposed new Workboat Code 3, which is set to hit the statute books in January 2024 if all goes to plan.

And finally, before I close this month, I wanted to reference the two appalling avoidable disasters that have happened in the past few weeks that have rightly made major news headlines around the world.

View the June news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin June 2023 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

The report by the MAIB into another two needless deaths onboard the vessel Emma Louise at Port Hamble Marina once again reminds me of the hidden dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. Had a CO detector been fitted on the boat, both men would still be alive today. Such devices are available in the UK at the local hardware store for as little as £20. It frustrates me that vessel owners do not routinely fit them and that there is no mandatory requirement to make them do so. It also poses the question as to where the limit of a surveyor’s duty of care ends. In my opinion, any surveyor boarding a small craft that does not have a CO detector should point out this deficiency to the vessel owner as a matter of course. You can read more about this avoidable tragic incident and download the report elsewhere in this bulletin.

I am pleased to announce the release of the June Report Magazine. Elsewhere in this bulletin you can find links to download the publication. I would particularly like to steer you to this edition for one reason and one alone. The onslaught of AI and its rise to the public’s attention in recent months is both fascinating and alarming.

View the May news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin May 2023 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

The Institute is currently in the midst of delivering some great hybrid training this Spring, both in the UK and further afield too as the year unfolds. Recent events these past few weeks have seen a good number of members participating and the range of topics covered has been wide. The small craft seminar at the end of March saw more delegates returning in person to network face-to-face with their fellow surveyors. But still the majority of attendees are joining online, proving that hybrid is the way to go.

Lithium-ion batteries have been the subject of several presentations and we will come back again to this important topic as regulation lags but starts to be developed. It and its associated dangers are a subject that is frightening a good number of people. The aim quite simply has been to lift the lid off this technology, still misunderstood by many and it will be a recurring theme throughout 2023 to help surveyors understand the challenges.

View the April news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin April 2023 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

I would like to start my column this month by congratulating Gordon Foot. I have been following his progress towards an MBA (Maritime Operations) over the past 18 months and after he reached out to me, assisting him by answering the occasional questionnaire as part of his research for this project. He has now been awarded his MBA based on his thesis “Maritime leadership in a changing world: The role of the future professional mariner”.

I would also like to extend my congratulations to Virginia McVea following her appointment as Chief Executive Officer of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA). I do have a message for Virginia. The MCA has a vital role to play in framing the role of the future professional mariner at a time when the sands are shifting around us on a frequent basis. Good luck to you. It is important to remember that MCA regulations are mimicked around the world by other Flag States, and it is vital the organization remains a trailblazer for the maritime sector, gets ahead of the curve and sets the correct regulation direction of travel.

View the March news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin March 2023 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Well, 2023 has certainly got off to a busy start at IIMS and the team is beavering away on a number of exciting projects. We are pleased to be finally hitting the road again and have plans to deliver some meaningful training events and a Conference too – most offering both the possibility of a face-to-face experience, but with the option to join online via Zoom. I do hope that across the year we will meet some members in real-time. It has been far too long! Click to view the calendar of events.

Lithium-ion batteries remain one of the hottest topics of discussion in the marine world right now, and justly so given there has been a spate of accidents last year linked to this rapidly emerging technology. So, it is interesting to learn that Havila Kystruten, the specialist Norwegian cruise ship operator, has recently decided that only cars and motor vehicles that use fossil fuel can be transported on board the company’s ships in selected ports along the Norwegian coastal route.

View the February news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin February 2023 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Let me start my introduction to this month’s news bulletin on a dark and cautionary note: cyber-crime and online scams. There surely cannot be a person who has not been the subject of a potential online scam, which often manifests itself through a suspicious email appearing in their inbox. I know I get plenty and sadly have learnt to trust no one online these days. Unless I can be sure I know the recipient I do not open emails and download any attachments. I’d urge you to think likewise. And even then, the sender of the email is unaware sometimes they have emailed you as their account has been hacked by fraudsters without their knowledge. All of this can be distressing and costly too, but it is at the lower end of the cyber-crime pyramid.

Given this is now the reality of the world we live in, I wanted to highlight this topic to keep it fresh in your mind, especially in light of two high-profile reported cyber crimes in the past month affecting the shipping sector.

View the January news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin January 2023 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Welcome to 2023 and may I on behalf of IIMS wish you all the best for a fulfilling and successful year ahead despite the global challenges that surround us. We start 2023 with a bumper January news bulletin featuring some important news and guidance for marine surveyors.

The last IIMS UK Conference took place way back in 2019 for all the reasons you know. We have assessed the possibilities of holding the 2023 AGM and Conference as a hybrid event, meaning you are welcome and encouraged to come and be with us in person, or you can join online. For the 2023 AGM and Conference, we have chosen Southampton as our venue. And we plan a Dinner on the evening of 6th June too. There is more information in this news bulletin about the event.

Almost unbelievably for me, I am about to start my tenth year as CEO of the Institute.

View the December news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin December 2022 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

As we start to wrap up 2022, I have noticed a distinct step change this year when it comes to the subject and progress of decarbonization. For some years it seems the maritime industry was dragging its heels and coming reluctantly to the decarbonization table. That has noticeably changed and with fervour. New technologies are mushrooming and emerging fast, along with alternative fuels too. We are now moving from the raw science and research stage into the implementation phase.

Each year the IIMS Certifying Authority is subjected to a mandatory audit by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) external monitoring team. It is always a challenge and not a day we look forward to with much relish. As well as a review of our processes and procedures, the MCA conducts a technical review of perhaps 10 vessel files. For the second successive year, I am pleased to say that the audit was clean and tidy with just a handful of minor findings to attend to.

View the November news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin November 2022 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

I would like to steer you towards two very worthwhile safety digests that have been released. Read elsewhere in the bulletin for details about how to access them. The first publication comes from the MAIB – their second digest of the year, which highlights a variety of incidents and safety issues. And just a few days later, the US National Transportation Safety Board published its equivalent version, which gives important information about 31 serious accidents and highlights key lessons learned. I recommend both publications to you.

Maritime regulatory framework seems to be constantly in the news as it evolves. After a protracted and difficult birth, the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency has finally released the new proposed Workboat 3 code for consultation. The aim is to bring several existing codes into one Statutory Instrument and legal document, likely to be ratified by mid-2023 via the UK parliament. There is further information in this bulletin with links to enable you to read the consultation document and details about how you can have your say.

View the October news bulletin in full: IIMS News Bulletin October 2022 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

There is a new feature in this month’s news bulletin. For the first time, we have added QR codes, which can be easily scanned with your device to give you instant access to online material.

Mid last month, once I had reviewed the number of incidents, accidents, and mishaps that came into my inbox during August, I was shocked. Those of you who read my news bulletin introductions regularly will recall I highlighted a significant number of superyacht fires a couple of months ago. That all now seems rather tame by comparison to August’s list of fires, sinkings, groundings and tragedies. This prompted me to write a short blog entitled “Carnage at sea in August. What’s happened and why?”

Tom Elder MIIMS was Chairman of the IIMS Yacht & Small Craft Working Group Scotland. News reached me recently informing me of his death. I am grateful to his wife, Moira, and his friend Cameron Johnstone, for helping me to compile his obituary which you can read in this bulletin.

View the September news bulletin in full: IIMS September 2022 News Bulletin (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

It seems that the number of UK boaters taking to the water has also reached record levels too – that’s the finding in a recent British Marine survey, details of which are published in this bulletin. Somewhere along the way there must consequently be a silver lining for yacht and small craft marine surveyors, one would hope.

My personal thanks to all those who participated in the recent IIMS membership survey, the first in four years. So much has changed in our world over that time and it was important to get feedback. The results are displayed in the news bulletin.

The September 2022 Report Magazine is published today. As always, I recommend the publication to you. There are two topics that come under closer scrutiny in this issue. The first is antifouling and biofouling. There is a lot of activity going on in this sector currently and there are several articles devoted to this topic. The thorny issue of container stack collapses will not go away. Again, there are a couple of features related to this item.