Obituary Capt Paul Townsend FIIMS

Capt Paul Townsend FIIMS who has sadly passed away
Capt Paul Townsend FIIMS who has sadly passed away

News has reached the IIMS head office of the sad death of Capt Paul Townsend, who passed away after a long illness fought with courage and fortitude. He died on 28 August 2015 at a hospice on the Isle of Wight, UK. He was 76 years old.

Paul was a Fellow of the Institute and an active member of the IIMS Management Board. Until recent months, he was a regular contributor to that forum. He also regularly attended Certifying Authority training days. He joined IIMS in 2002 and was made a Fellow in 2010.

Paul joined the Merchant Navy as a Cadet with Clan Line, studying at Warsash Maritime College, Hampshire, UK and obtained his Master’s Certificate in 1969.

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The procedures for tonnage surveys

IIMS has published its procedures on who may do tonnage surveys and what is required
IIMS has published its procedures on who may do tonnage surveys and what is required

There has been a steady increase in interest from IIMS members wishing to undertake tonnage surveys. If this is an area of business you with to operate in, please read this to understand who may and who may not undertake such work.

The IIMS’ authority to undertake tonnage surveys on vessels up to 24 metres and only up to 24 metres is through the Certifying Authority contract with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The Institute is required to demonstrate to the MCA how it authorises and controls tonnage surveys. To do this we have created a category of ‘tonnage only’ Certifying Authority surveyor, not authorised to do MCA coding work, but ok’d for tonnage.

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What a summer it has been

The front cover of one of the first four new books to be published by IIMS
The front cover of one of the first four new books to be published by IIMS

It has been a while since I posted on my blog due to pressure in other areas. And although summer in the UK is not quite over and done with, what a summer it has been (and no I am not referring to the indifferent British weather than has made it one to forget).

Of course my colleagues and I are now heavily involved and focused on the build up to the IIMS London Conference 2015, dinner and AGM, our showpiece annual event. Numbers for both Conference and dinner are looking excellent and I am looking forward to what will be a full on two days – the culmination of many months planning. There is an excellent mix of speakers who will, I am confident, inspire and engage the delegates. Anyone who has ever put together such an event will know the sheer amount of work that goes in to the organising side of it. So I thank my colleagues at head office who have done a great job. Look forward to seeing those of you who are coming.

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AMSBC successfully amalgamates with IIMS

The Association of Marine Surveyors British Columbia has successfully amalgamated with the International Institute of Marine Surveying.
The Association of Marine Surveyors British Columbia has successfully amalgamated with the International Institute of Marine Surveying.

A ceremony and meeting was held at the Mission to Seafarers in the Port of Vancouver on 8 July to formally amalgamate the Association of Marine Surveyors British Columbia (AMSBC) with the UK headquartered International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS). As a consequence, a new regional branch of IIMS was created, IIMS Canada.

The event was, which was well attended, comprised delegates who were existing IIMS members, AMSBC members and others from the maritime sector in the British Columbia area and further afield.

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Nearly half way through the year

Just a photo I managed to take of a Le Havre pilot boat following beside the ferry I was on recently on a sunny evening
Just a photo I managed to take of a Le Havre pilot boat following beside the ferry I was on recently on a sunny evening

So as we approach the mid point of 2015 – time for an update?

There are a number of activities that I would like to touch on in this blog. In particular, I am proud of the work we have done recently with IMCA to bring the ‘world class’ CMID accreditation scheme successfully to market from 1 June. We now have our first two accredited CMID vessel inspectors with a further forty or so in the pipeline. It is a progressive and encouraging start.

It was exciting to reveal the IIMS London Conference 2015 speaker programme recently and I have been delighted by the initial feedback from members. I am so pleased that Nick Sloane, the man behind the parbuckling project on the Costa Concordia, has agreed to speak; but he is one of a number of excellent speakers and the conference will cover a multitude of topics. Particular thanks go to DGS Marine Group and Constellation Marine Services for their generous support and sponsorship.

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New IIMS President nominates his charity

IIMS LogoFollowing his succession to the post of IIMS President in June 2014, one of Capt. Bertrand Apperry’s first pleasurable jobs has been to select a charity for IIMS members to support during his term in office over the coming two years.

The President’s nominated charity is the French based Les Sauveteurs en Mer S.N.S.M., an organisation that saves the lives of seafarers and the public in and around the French coastline and waters.

Their mission is stated as follows:
‘With our constant and unyielding commitment to the safety of users of the sea, we set many goals to provide the public with an increasingly efficient service and allow Sea Rescue to take place in the best conditions. Today, we optimise the efficiency of rescue at sea and around the French coastline built on innovation, prevention and training’.

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Small Craft Working Group meets at Grafham Water

IIMS members at the Grafham Water SCWG meeting
IIMS members at the Grafham Water SCWG meeting

The IIMS UK Small Craft Working Group (SCWG) met for one of its regular meetings in early May at Grafham Water Sailing Club near Huntingdon.

The theme of the day was Metals in the Marine Environment. Although attendance was smaller than normal, those who did come to the meeting found the day both absorbing and highly informative too.

Three speakers spoke in detail and at length about their specialist subjects.

The Speakers

Carol Powell has been a consultant metallurgist to the Copper Development Association and Nickel Institute in the UK for over 20 years with particular specialisation in marine applications for copper-nickels, stainless steels and high nickel alloys. Furthermore, she has been a member of the Marine Corrosion Forum and Copper-Nickel Task Force since their inception and is currently deputy chair of the European Federation of Corrosion Marine Working Party.

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IIMS Certifying Authority training day

Marine surveyors at the IIMS Certifying Authority training day
Marine surveyors at the IIMS Certifying Authority training day

Twenty plus marine surveyors who are IIMS Certifying Authority examiners met for their twice yearly training day at Portchester Sailing Club in mid May.

With the many changes now in place as a result of the implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006) legislation, it was an opportunity to review the procedures and to learn more about the convention.

Mark Towl from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) was the key presenter in the morning session. During his presentation he stressed that the MCA is still reviewing many aspects of MLC 2006 and further changes were inevitable. He also stressed that, in his view, the MCA have taken the most liberal view to how MLC 2006 is being interpreted.

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