News Bulletins

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

The shipping and boating business is constantly evolving to meet new challenges and rarely sleeps for long, but changes happen quicker in some areas than others, yet sometimes not fast enough it appears. If you are wondering what I am going on about, you will read in this bulletin about the looming crisis facing the offshore wind sector.

The March Report Magazine – edition 99 – is published and available to read today in both pdf and/or eReader format. It is another edition packed with thought provoking features and articles that offer the reader not only a diverse mix of informative reading material, but some practical information and advice too.

I am pleased to welcome Rosie Webb to the IIMS head office team as Office & Web Administrator. You can read more about her in this bulletin. If you are reading this and are based in Australia, I should draw your attention to the public consultation of Australia’s Domestic Commercial Vessel Safety legislation which is now open.

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

2022 has kicked off in busy fashion for IIMS on several fronts and there are a number of ongoing projects during January that have kept my colleagues and I with our heads down at our desks!

There has been a rush of new membership applications in recent weeks, so if you have recently joined and are reading this bulletin for the first time, welcome to the organisation. Perhaps the biggest project for some time to report on is the rollout of the new IIMS student education portal for those enrolled and studying the distance learning Professional Qualifications. More than twelve months in the making with our software partner, eDot Solutions in Goa, we finally went live on 10 January.

The reaction I received following the publication of the 2021 Safety & Loss Prevention Briefings Compendium has been astonishing. Although the importance of the compendium was apparent to me when compiling it, I had not anticipated the extraordinary feedback. If you have yet to download your free 100-page copy of the compendium in pdf format, you can do so now.

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

A number of members have asked when face-to-face Institute events and meetings can begin again. In truth, I have no idea and at this time do not expect to be travelling internationally in 2022. We have provisional plans to hold the AGM in June in the grounds of IIMS Head Office, Murrills House, but for now there remains a question mark over that.

Since I took up my role with IIMS, I have never managed to fully get to grips with the sheer number of accidents that happen at sea. It shocked and horrified me then and still does. I read something recently from Standard Club that said they process 7,500 claims per annum – and that is just one organisation. Multiply that up and the number of annual claims must surely run into tens of thousands. For me this is unacceptable and more must be done. It is with this in mind that I decided to publish the first edition of the IIMS 2021 Safety & Loss Prevention Briefings Compendium. It runs to 100 pages and the sole aim is to bring together as many of last year’s incident/accident reports and loss prevention guidance as possible into one easy-to-use electronic magazine format. There is content relevant to marine surveyors of all disciplines, and I believe this publication is an essential addition to your online resource library. I would encourage you to share it with your professional network.

View the news bulletin in full to continue reading: IIMS News Bulletin December 2021 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Let me start with a heart-warming story in these still challenging times. IIMS launched the John Excell Award for Outstanding Achievement earlier this year following John’s untimely passing. I am delighted to inform you that the first two recipients of the award have been announced. And in Christopher Keenan and Matthew Willis, we have found two exceptionally gifted students. Elsewhere in this bulletin, you can read more about them and their citations.

For the first time, IIMS has put together a year-end Big Quiz. A bit of fun, there are 75 multiple-choice questions that will test your general marine knowledge. The top-scoring IIMS member will have his or her fees refunded as the first prize, but non-members are welcome to take the quiz. The questions can be accessed and answered online.

I would like to mention the new Shipbuilding Acquaint Course that Peter Broad (Deputy President) has been working on for some time.

Let’s hope 2022 gets us firmly back on track to some kind of normality. If you celebrate Christmas, then I wish you a happy one with family, friends and good cheer. But no matter if you do, or do not, may I wish you prosperity and good fortune for the New Year.

View the news bulletin in full to continue reading: IIMS November 2021 News Bulletin (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

I am always happy to champion good and worthy causes, especially those that fit within the current environmental landscape that we are being so challenged by. So, I am grateful to Peter Franklin of YachtMedia for alerting me to the excellent work that has been undertaken by Brighton University about the global problems associated with the thorny subject of end-of-life boats. It seems the boating world continues to turn a blind eye, which is no longer acceptable. The situation is deteriorating, or at best making only improving marginally, in what is now becoming a major environmental catastrophe requiring serious attention.

The past few weeks have been eventful with some lengthy and important meetings. An annual audit visit from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency – these days online – is never a fun event to look forward to. Their aim? To dig deep to ensure that IIMS is operating its Certifying Authority in a professional manner and in keeping with our procedures manual and the contract by which we are governed. Fortunately, they seemed happy and there were no nasty surprises for either side and, importantly, no red flags! The following day saw a Certifying Authority committee meeting. This was rapidly followed by an Education Committee meeting. It is pleasing to report one of our largest student intakes to study for the marine surveying Professional Qualifications at the start of last month.

View the news bulletin in full to continue reading: News Bulletin October 2021 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

At the start of last month, I had the pleasure to stand shoulder to shoulder with colleagues from four other well-known UK-based professional maritime organisations onboard HQS Wellington in London. The reason? We were onboard to launch The Maritime Professional Council of the UK (MPC). The event attracted over forty VIP guests, including three members of the House of Lords. Launching a new lobbying group is a bold initiative. Our collective desire to want to assist the lawmakers to make better maritime regulations, based on knowledge and experience, is a genuine one.

And on the subject of collaboration with other organisations, I’d like to mention our support for the Norman Finlay Memorial Development Scheme, which is designed to increase the amount of small commercial vessel seafarers and those with a passion for these types of craft moving into advanced careers ashore within the sector.

President, Geoff Waddington, has written a hard-hitting article entitled ‘Beware the challenges of surveying steel hull inland waterways craft – and other considerations’. If this is the type of surveying you are engaged in, I would urge you to read Geoff’s article and to take note.

View the news bulletin in full to continue reading: News Bulletin September 2021 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

In the past few weeks, several members have commented to me that in their opinion IIMS has become expert at developing and delivering quality training that meets the needs of the marine surveying profession. I am grateful to them for their unsolicited comments and am happy for my colleagues and I to accept the plaudits. I know just how much time and effort we (and those who assist in developing the course and seminar material alongside us) put into perfecting our training offerings. However, I rather hope IIMS is recognised as more than just a training organisation, although I cannot deny we have more exciting training opportunities up our sleeve.

I received an email recently from IIMS member, James Newcombe, one of very few experienced and recognised yacht and small craft surveyors practicing in New Zealand currently. He made two interesting observations and I am sure he will not object if I quote him verbatim. James said, “I joined the IIMS not just for back-up support, or a community to belong to, but also, more importantly, to increase my knowledge.” I hope we deliver all of that and more for members and yes, that takes us full circle back to training and surveying knowledge resources.

I recommend the September Report Magazine, another bumper edition, which has just been published.

View the news bulletin in full to continue reading: News Bulletin August 2021 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Covid-19 regulations in the UK have changed recently as the government seeks to unlock further. Will it make a big difference for marine surveyors in the UK? Possibly. And just when we thought we were heading into calmer pandemic waters, two of my colleagues came into contact with people who have tested positive and had to self-isolate. I labour the point about Covid only to highlight that it remains a hazard to us all, not just in the UK.

The IIMS team is now back working full time from Murrills House. Fortunately, before my colleagues had to self-isolate, we managed a highly successful overnight team building event, which brought us altogether face-to-face as a group for the first time in over 18 months. I have included a few photos in this news bulletin to give you a flavour of what the team got up to.

Another story that broke in the last month that caught my attention was indirectly related to the pandemic. The US Coast Guard has published its 2020 Boating Safety Statistics Report and the findings show a rather depressing surge in fatalities during the pandemic. Click to read the full story and the report. In 2020, the report reveals there were 767 boating fatalities nationwide, an increase of 25%. These are troubling statistics and can only be explained by the fact that so many more people have taken to the water in the last 18 months – many of them, I suspect, first-time boaters.

View the news bulletin in full to continue reading: IIMS-News-Bulletin-July-2021 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

This month there is only one place to start and you will forgive me for being a little self-centred. I am delighted to inform you that we have passed the 1,000 member mark for the first time; and we have another 40 plus applications currently under review by the Professional Assessment Committee. This is a milestone and worth celebrating. The timing could not have been more perfect either as this achievement coincided with the Institute’s 30th birthday celebrations.

The remarkable and positive reaction to edition 96 of the Report Magazine, published last month, was heart-warming and I am grateful to those who took the time to comment on the publication. And as someone was heard to remark as they picked up one of the very few copies we print, “I see we are in the catalogue business now.” At 136 pages it is a monster.

The formal 30th birthday celebrations took place on 9th June prior to the Annual General Meeting. Duncan William bedazzled those who were online with his unbelievable cyber magic and was an instant hit. Just how did he do that? And the 30-minute video that was compiled especially for the IIMS by the Portsmouth Shanty Men was well received. Videos of the Shanty Men and the AGM are available to view on a private playlist on YouTube.

View the news bulletin in full to continue reading: IIMS-News-Bulletin-June-2021 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

The coming weeks for me are about celebrating the Institute’s 30th anniversary, participating fully in the birthday celebrations and delivering the 2021 Annual General Meeting on 9th June. I encourage you to join us, if at all possible. My personal birthday present to IIMS members (and the wider maritime world) is a gigantic and most comprehensive 136-page Report Magazine, by some margin the biggest we have ever published – click to access it.  For me, this is a fitting way to celebrate and commemorate the Institute turning thirty! Compiling each edition of the magazine remains one of my favourite activities and gives me great pleasure.

Turning thirty provokes mixed emotions – a degree of poignancy laced with a sense of euphoria would perhaps sum it up best. It is an opportunity to pause and reflect for a moment, but not to stand still. I believe, however, it is necessary to look back at our roots, to understand where we have come from as an organisation, recognising the challenges we have faced and overcome; and to acknowledge our significant achievements over this time. But, as I say, we cannot dwell in the past. The profession has come on in leaps and bounds over the past thirty years and marine surveying is unrecognisable from what it was back then, but there is a way to go still. The marine world is evolving rapidly, and we must grasp and embrace what is happening around us to ensure we remain relevant and will continue to be successful over the next thirty years.

View the news bulletin in full to continue reading: IIMS-News-Bulletin-May-2021 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

I must start my column this month with sad news. April proved to be the toughest of months and became a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. News reached IIMS Head Office of the death of two long-standing Institute Honorary Fellows. Peter Morgan and John Excell passed away within a week of each other early in April. Both men have left their mark on the Institute. This unwelcome news rocked my colleagues and me, as well as some members too. I have devoted space in this news bulletin to the obituaries of both men and to showcase their professional achievements. As a surveyor remarked to me recently, “The graveyards are full of people the world could not do without”. On further examination, it is true. With the passing of these two individuals goes a wealth of knowledge and experience.

On a far lighter note, our head office building, Murrills House, has been under siege from builders, decorators and window installers for the past few weeks as renovations have got into full swing. Work to replace the windows is well advanced. The new hand-built frames and sash windows have been installed, but not without some drama. The final two windows to be replaced are situated at the front of the building. It became clear as work started that the two old wooden lintels were in a desperate state of repair, rotten enough to potentially bring the front of the building down. I saw the wet rot in the one-hundred-year-old plus wooden lintels, and they were an appalling mess. The window openings had to be propped whilst new steel lintels were inserted. The image shows installation nearing completion!

View the news bulletin in full to continue reading: IIMS-News-Bulletin-April-2021 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Working from home, a welcome novelty just a year ago, seems to have strangely lost its shine and appeal for many! I am pleased to announce that the IIMS offices (complete with magnificent new wooden windows due to be installed imminently) will start to fill up again from early April.

Bookings have now opened for both the June and November new Professional Qualification in Marine Corrosion. I am delighted at the early interest and thank all those who have taken the leap of faith! It is pleasing to see a good number firming up on their initial expressions interest to study for this new qualification. For more details and to view the schedule of live lectures, click here.

I want to give you notice of the Institute’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), which will be held online via Zoom on Wednesday 9th June from 14.00 (UK time). This year’s AGM marks the Institute’s 30th birthday, a date not to be missed. Of course, we cannot gather to celebrate this auspicious occasion in real time, but we have some online birthday celebrations that will take place during the late morning prior to the AGM. In the May News Bulletin, I will provide more details about what’s happening in next month’s bulletin.