IIMS Conference, Baltimore Maryland, 3/4 February 2017 announced

IIMS US Regional Director, James Randy Renn, has finalised plans for the Institute’s annual American marine surveying Conference, which will take place on 3rd and 4th February 2017 from 08.30 to 16.30 daily.

The extensive two day programme covers a wide range of topics and subjects that will appeal to surveyors from all sectors of the industry. For the first time, delegates are able to join the Conference remotely too by video conferencing as well as being present face to face. See below for details.

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New IIMS Membership Secretary appointed

Camella Robertson has been appointed as the new IIMS Membership Secretary to succeed Jan Cox
Camella Robertson has been appointed as the new IIMS Membership Secretary to succeed Jan Cox

The search to find and recruit a replacement for the popular current IIMS membership administrator, Jan Cox, has reached its conclusion. Jan, who formally retires from the Institute in February after many years’ service, was herself part of the interview process to find her successor. Two excellent candidates emerged as front-runners following the first round of interviews. Both were invited back for second and final meetings.

IIMS is delighted to announce that Camella (Cam) Robertson is the new Membership Secretary and will formally take up her new position on Monday 9 January 2017. Cam will work side by side with Jan for six weeks to enable her to learn about the role in depth. Cam brings with her a wealth of experience in managing a membership organisation, general administration and event management too. For the past four years, she has been Club Manager at the Royal Naval Club and Royal Albert Yacht Club, located in nearby Portsmouth.

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New developments in professional standards for marine surveyors

Seawork 2014 saw the issue of an updated UK Workboat (Brown) Code following comprehensive updating by an industry technical working group (TWG) over a long period of time, supported by the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA). Further detailed work has been carried out by the TWG since then and the official launching of the Workboat Code Edition 2 is expected shortly.

The new Code has been enthusiastically supported by the UK workboat industry and it is hoped that this will be recognised and adopted internationally in the same way as the UK Large Yacht Code (LY3), thus countering criticism aimed at UK commercial vessel standards (i.e. those in MGN 280 (M)) by some EU Flag States, which spurred the development of the new WB code.

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IACS and IMO set to extend their collaboration

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to collaborate further on their shared goals and objectives with regard to safe, secure and environmentally sound shipping.

The MoA signals and will deliver a further strengthening of the bond between IACS Members, in their capacities as Recognized Organizations, and the IMO Member States they serve, for the benefit of the membership of both the IMO and IACS.

In order to deliver tangible outcomes, both parties have agreed that work will initially concentrate on three areas: Cyber safety; the ongoing maintenance of the verification process of IACS Members’ Rules with goal-based standards; and the redesign of the Marine Casualty Investigation (MCI) module of the IMO Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS).

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Feadship reaches dizzy new heights with 97-metre Vertigo

Photo credit: Tom van Oossanen
Photo credit: Tom van Oossanen

Feadship Vertigo saw the light of day on Wednesday 23 November, which is when this 96.55-metre masterpiece left the construction hall at the Feadship yard in Makkum (NL).

With the outstanding interior and exterior design by Redman Whiteley Dixon and Chahan Interior Design and Azure acting as Owner’s project manager, Vertigo’s creative execution raises the bar of superyacht design to new levels of sophistication.

The elegant curves of Vertigo’s streamlined profile are in perfect proportion and harmony. The same applies to the characteristically Feadship lines of Vertigo’s flared bow, which features a games deck and helicopter landing pad with a hangar below for a Bell 429 WLG helicopter.

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Siemens commissions first customised wind turbine vessel

Siemens has commissioned its first specialized transport vessel, the Rotra Vente, to transport the large nacelles used in offshore wind turbines.

The 141-meter long vessel can carry multiple 8MW nacelles per trip and will connect Siemens’ coming manufacturing site in Cuxhaven, Germany, with installation harbours in the North and Baltic Seas.

For Ro-Ro loading, a large bow door can be opened. A telescopic roof protects the nacelles from salty seawater spray and can be slid away for optional lift-on loading.

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New water lubricated seal for workboats developed by Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä has developed a new water lubricated seal, Enviroguard SLR, which provides cost-effective reliability for small workboats.

Available in nine standard sizes that suit 75mm-306mm of shaft size, the new seal is expected to provide more reliability to smaller workboats, fishing boats, motorised barges, and super yachts.

The Wärtsilä Enviroguard SLR seal is also designed to survive large shaft movements and to tolerate aggressive waters that are heavy with silt or sand.

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Sunseeker plans to launch new Manhattan 66 model at the London Boat Show

Sunseeker International has announced its intention to use the London Boat Show in January 2017 to launch and showcase its new Manhattan 66 model.

The Manhattan 66 has a brand new deep V hull which offers signature Sunseeker performance and seakeeping whilst its open-plan layout provides enough space on board to rival much larger yachts.

Sean Robertson, sales director at Sunseeker International, said: “We’re really looking forward to launching the all new Manhattan 66 which is already generating substantial interest. Following the success of the Manhattan 52 which was the first in a series of new Manhattan models, it underlines our ability to keep giving our customers the best in class across every segment we operate in.”

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ABS publishes free guide to conducting rack and pinion jacking gear surveys

The ABS has issued a freely available jacking survey guide to establish minimum requirements for the inspection of rack and pinion jacking gear at Special Periodical Survey of Hull for Self-Elevating Drilling Units.

This Guide provides more details regarding the examination of open and closed type jacking systems of a Self-Elevating Drilling Units. The maintenance crew will benefit from understanding the general and design specific survey requirements for a Rack and Pinion jacking gear. This will enable better planning, execution and consistent application of the scope of surveys and inspection during Special Surveys for jacking systems.

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MAIB report into the grounding and capsize of berthed trawler Saint Christophe 1

On 9 March 2016, three French fishing vessels sought shelter from bad weather in Dartmouth harbour, on the south-west coast of England. One of the vessels, Saint Christophe 1, was directed to berth alongside a quay wall and when the tide went out it grounded and capsized alongside. Saint Christophe 1 subsequently flooded and sank with the incoming tide, and was declared a constructive total loss.

Safety issues
The lack of effective communication between harbour authority staff and vessel’s crew failed to ensure a common understanding of the fact that the boat would ground at low water
The assumption that the crew understood the information provided by the harbour staff, prevented further safety checks from being made
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Hydrofoil water taxi Sea Bubble zero emissions concept

The new concept Sea Bubble zero emissions water taxi coming to a river near you soon?
The new concept Sea Bubble zero emissions water taxi coming to a river near you soon?

A new concept of water taxi designed to operate on rivers has been developed in France. Called the Sea Bubble to reflect its shape this new water taxi is powered by electric thrusters and uses hydrofoils to reduce the power requirements, allowing the Sea Bubble to operate at speeds up to 15 knots.

The futuristic egg-shaped river shuttles are the creation of French yachtsman Alain Thébault and Swedish windsurfer Anders Bringdal, and the current plans suggest that this new water taxi concept could be tried out on the River Seine in Paris. The water taxi system is proving attractive because of its zero emission profile in this environmentally conscious Continue reading “Hydrofoil water taxi Sea Bubble zero emissions concept”

Importance of maintaining and adjusting magnetic compasses stressed by AMSA

AMSA, The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, has issued a Marine Notice with a view to reminding of the importance of magnetic compasses for the safety of navigation, which applies to regulated Australian regulated vessels and certain foreign vessels too.

Vessel owners and masters each have responsibilities for ensuring that magnetic compasses are maintained in good working order, adjusted and a table or curve of residual deviations is available.The performance of the compass should be monitored and, for a vessel more than 100GT, deviations recorded in a compass deviation book at regular intervals, ideally at least once every watch and also shortly after a large alteration of course.

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