News Bulletins

We have done it. Yes, we have really done it. I still have to pinch myself to realise that after months of challenges and not insignificant hurdles, IIMS has finally completed the purchase of the freehold of Murrills House, a major new asset for members. We can finally boast that we are the owners of a period property dating back, in parts, some 500 years – a real piece of history and something to make our members proud. I will not begin to suggest any of this has been easy, because it hasn’t. But now that the deal is done, I can finally reflect on this momentous occasion.  When I look back to the parlous financial state of the Institute when I arrived six years ago, we have come a long way. This really is something worth celebrating and shouting about.

Many things have changed in the past few months and not all of them good either as we have learnt to cope with tragedy and a new way of living courtesy of the pandemic engulfing us all. COVID-19 certainly has a lot to answer for, but out of the situation that was forced upon the profession, a new way of surveying is fast emerging, particularly in commercial shipping. I refer to remote surveying, which although not entirely new, was probably unimaginable to most of us just a few years ago and is perhaps a shock to the system for more traditional surveyors too.

View the bulletin to continue reading: News-Bulletin-August-2020 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Halfway through another year? You bet. Hard to believe and 2020 has been like no other year we have ever known with a set of unprecedented challenges to deal with and overcome. I am encouraged to hear increasing reports that marine surveyors are suddenly very busy and in demand in many parts of the world. But just a word of warning for those who have found themselves overwhelmed with enquiries for pre-purchase surveys. Please exercise caution and ensure your reports are not rushed and are thoughtfully crafted!

There are two stand out news items I want to bring to your attention. The first is the unveiling of Geoff Waddington as your new President for the next two years. My hearty thanks to Zarir for his efforts and unwavering contribution over the past two years as President. And my congratulations to Geoff for achieving this milestone. The second item I wanted to mention demonstrates the growing authority with which IIMS is seen around the world and is in relation to the recently published Australian Senate report into the performance of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. At over 100 pages it is a hefty tome digging deep into the organisation, its structure, and culture. Bizarrely, IIMS was the only marine surveying organisation brave enough to raise their heads above the parapet to make a detailed submission to the enquiry.

View the bulletin to continue reading: News-Bulletin-July-2020 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

A month in the world of COVID-19 sure is a long time. The pandemic continues to consume our thoughts on a regular basis, but there are signs that worldwide lockdowns are starting to open up slowly and members are reporting that surveying activity is starting again. Hurrah! Please, however, do not let yourself become complacent to the dangers of this awful disease as you work.

Working from home, the IIMS team has put their time to good use and the past few weeks have proved to be busy. The IIMS UAE Branch hosted over 400 delegates at their recent online seminar. New membership applications are reaching the office at a much higher rate than normal. The number of students joining the IIMS Professional Qualifications programme has soared. Our twenty third handy guide is published, an authoritative piece of writing by Capt Allen Brink entitled ‘What a marine surveyor needs to know about on-off hire condition and bunker surveys’. And today we have published the biggest ever Report Magazine at 112 pages!

We have all been kept busy and I am pleased to say that my CEO report for the Annual General Meeting on 16th June will be an upbeat one to reflect all this activity. The IIMS offices are reopening to staff from 1 June on a voluntary basis. Half the team plan to work from the office with the other half continuing to function from home for the time being.

View the bulletin to continue reading: News-Bulletin-June-2020 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

These are tough times for marine surveyors – more challenging than most of us will ever have experienced in our lives. I do remain confident though that as we emerge from lockdown, marine surveyors will once again be in high demand. I’d like to thank those IIMS members who have joined us for the first of our online seminars in the past few weeks. They have been very well attended, beyond expectations. It is heart-warming to see many surveyors taking the ‘enforced career break’ to learn some new and refresh old skills.

Also, I’d like to extend my thanks to my colleagues at IIMS for their efforts this past month and for their unstinting support. Our combined teamworking has been the only reason we have managed to keep offering a full service to our members.

I recently updated the IIMS COVID-19 Safety Working Guide, which is published in full in this news bulletin. As countries around the world start to unlock their citizens, I remain very concerned at what this means given that the virus is still present in our communities. It requires us to keep social distancing and taking sensible precautions until a vaccine or suitable treatment exists.

View the bulletin to continue reading: News-Bulletin-May-2020 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Those of you who read my columns often will know I am rarely short of words or topics to write about; and I usually have an opinion on one marine subject or another. But with the pandemic engulfing us all now and overwhelming our lives, I have found the introduction to this month’s news bulletin almost impossible to write. What should I say? How should I phrase it? How to make IIMS seem relevant at a time when other things matter far more? Marine surveying suddenly seems irrelevant. So, I will be brief on this occasion.

We have made the inevitable decision to close the offices and work from home in recent days – effectively taken out of our hands. Working remotely does not mean that the IIMS team cannot serve our members and communities over the coming weeks during these abnormal times – even if you just want to chat, we’d be pleased to hear from you. Our distance learning Professional Qualifications for students continue without interruption as do all the other services we provide. Clearly, we have had to cancel all face to face conferences and seminars until much later this year, but we are rolling out a series of low-cost online seminars via Zoom to replace these covering a variety of topics.

View the bulletin to continue reading: News-Bulletin-April-2020 (1) (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

February proved to be an interesting month with a lot of activity happening, much of which is reported in this bulletin. I would especially draw your attention to the short articles on misrepresentation by an accredited marine surveyor, what to do if the ICO comes knocking and the pitfalls of being an expert witness and getting it wrong – financially painful in this case! But more importantly, I would like to comment about the Institute’s policy on Coronavirus or COVID. The epidemic is a tragedy and has cost many lives already. IIMS is monitoring the situation closely and is assessing its activities on a case by case basis. The consensus is that the virus might peak by April, but that is not a given. So, we need to be careful as do you too, especially if you are travelling internationally. To those planning to attend courses in the coming period, we are advising not to travel if coming from a ‘high risk’ country. It is a worrying time and seeing the impact it is having on the dynamics of the wider marine sector is deeply concerning.

And finally you are advised that The Report Magazine March 2020 edition, number 91, has been published and is now available to download and read in pdf or eReader formats. It is another monster issue with some first class, specially commissioned content to indulge yourself in!

View the bulletin to continue reading: News-Bulletin-March-2020 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Another day another dollar so the saying goes. There’s the clue to let you know I am just back from Baltimore, our first conference of the new decade. I am always reminded that wherever I meet marine surveyors, they are faced with similar challenges and are ultimately bonded by the desire to make a difference to the safety of lives at sea. I am grateful to those who attended and benefitted from some great conference content. Who knew there was so much to know about mould? There is a more detailed report in this bulletin. Next up conference wise is what promises to be an informative two-day IIMS Canada Branch Conference and AGM taking place on 6/7 March 2020 in Vancouver. The event is open to real time and online delegates, so be sure to join us. More details on speakers and how to reserve your place are in this bulletin.

In a recent blog I said, “If I have one wish for the 2020s it is simply this – let’s collectively strive to make this decade a safer one than the last one with fewer fatalities and casualties at sea! As the leading worldwide body for the profession, I pledge that IIMS will do whatever it can to support, train and develop existing and new entrant marine surveyors to enable them to deliver great survey work.” And I stand by that.

View the bulletin to continue reading: News-Bulletin-February-2020 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Let me start by wishing you all the very best for 2020. We are at the beginning of a bright new decade and I hope this coming year proves to be a progressive one for you. The year 2020 is set to be an exciting and challenging one, both for the marine industry and for your Institute too. The IMO 2020 Sulphur Cap comes into force this month, the most dramatic change to impact the marine sector in the last 50 years some would say. Only time will tell how this new regulation rolls out.

As for IIMS, we are committed to developing a selection of new benefits and great events for members to take advantage of as well as seeking to push the profession of marine surveying to the fore at every opportunity! We have exciting plans for this year. As we continue our progress towards the anticipated purchase of Murrills House in the coming months, I would like to remind you that the opportunity to make a donation towards the maintenance fund in exchange for a Founder’s Plaque on the wall in the premises remains open until 31 March. We have received the most generous donations so far.

Did you miss the publication of the 108 page December Report Magazine last month – the biggest ever? Click to read it.

View the bulletin to continue reading: News-Bulletin-January-2020 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

There is only one place for me to start this month and it is with the 10th anniversary celebrations of the IIMS UAE Branch. I had the pleasure to host the branch’s 6th biennial Conference the week before last in Dubai. Reaching this milestone makes the branch the longest running of the overseas branches. One of the reasons for its enduring success is undoubtedly the people locally who work hard to make it what it is. I applaud the various Chairmen over the years and those loyal committee members for their efforts. The event opened with a splendid cocktail party onboard the delightful Queen Elizabeth 2, now permanently moored in Port Rashid. It proved to be an excellent choice of venue, which attracted nearly 100 invited guests from around the region and further afield. The Conference the following morning opened with a warm welcome from the Dubai Maritime City Authority for the 80 plus delegates.

Don’t forget to join us online on 10th (small craft) or 12th (commercial ship) December for the Marine Surveying International Fest II 2019. Great value. Great content. And if you cannot join us online, you can purchase the videos we will make on the days.

We have just published our schedule for the IIMS Baltimore 2020 Conference to be held on 24th and 25th January. James Renn has lined up a cracking list of speakers. See inside for details.

View the bulletin to continue reading: IIMS-News-Bulletin-December-2019 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

I am grateful to Vice President, Geoff Waddington, for his assistance in putting together an open letter to the yacht and boat manufacturing industry on the subject of latent defects. Since its recent publication via the various IIMS social media channels and online news portals, a number of supportive comments have been received. I have chosen to publish the letter in full in this news bulletin. I will let you make up your own mind on its contents!

IIMS has launched its first WhatsApp group, this one for UK based canal narrowboat surveyors – a niche grouping. I hope over the coming months we can develop this platform further with the launch of a number of specialist interest surveying WhatsApp groups around the world.

This month sees the tenth Anniversary since the inauguration of the IIMS UAE branch. This landmark is to be celebrated at a wonderful event and one day conference onboard the QE2 in Dubai on 20 November. The theme of the conference is Safe Ships, Safe Cargo – The Insurers Perspective. A full report and photographs will follow next month. Details of how to reserve your place at this prestigious event can be found in this bulletin.

View the bulletin to continue reading: IIMS-News-Bulletin-November-2019 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Regulation changes are afoot again. In reality they are never far away as the sector is forever changing to meet the evolving needs of the modern boating and shipping world. Work is now well underway by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency  in the UK to update the “colour codes” that are used by coding examiners on vessels under 24 metres in commercial use. Presentations have been given to the UK based Certifying Authorities in recent weeks and a roll out of the first phase is not too far away I suspect. The codes are long overdue for a refresh, and this is to welcomed when the current codes are finally updated. In my role as Chair of the Certifying Authority Professional Standards Working Group, I have a special interest in seeing what the outcome is.

The other significant looming regulation change is the IMO 2020 Sulphur Cap which is set to hit the shipping sector and to be enforced from January. Disruptive change for the industry for sure, the word on the street amongst those in the know is that many ship and vessel owners/operators are struggling to be ready to meet the new regulations for a variety of reasons. The new regulation will see marine sector emissions in international waters slashed. The marine sector will have to reduce sulphur emissions by over 80% by switching to lower sulphur fuels. Clearly this is a challenge and not without significant cost for some, so it will be interesting to see how Flag States react in their local waters to non-compliant vessels.

View the bulletin to continue reading: IIMS-News-Bulletin-October-2019 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Marine surveyors it seems face similar challenges the world over. That is my conclusion having recently met members in Brisbane and Singapore. OK maritime regulations differ around the world, but the fundamentals of the job are essentially the same, not restricted by geographical location. Put simply, it is a requirement to have enough technical competency to carry out the survey or inspection assignment, write a factual and concise report whilst having a range of business skills to enable your surveying practice to flourish. When put like that it appears to be straightforward enough. Something to think about perhaps?

I was quite overwhelmed by the number of surveyors (not all of whom are members) who turned up for the two-day IIMS Brisbane workshop on 1st and 2nd August – 50 plus in total. My thanks to all those who came along for what was an excellent event. We plan to return! From there I travelled to Singapore and was pleased to catch up with many of those who have attended previous Institute events in that area before. More details on both seminars can be found elsewhere in this bulletin.

Sad news has reached me about the death of two long standing, stalwart members of IIMS. Caroline Rostant based in Trinidad passed away unexpectedly in Austria and Tony McGrail (located in the UK) succumbed to a serious illness.

View the bulletin to continue reading: IIMS-News-Bulletin-September-2019 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.