Marine News

Report on the IIMS 2016 Annual General Meeting

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Capt Bertrand Apperry hands the President's medal over to Adam Brancher at the AGM. Photo by Kirk Schwarz - www.kirkschwarz.co.uk
Capt Bertrand Apperry hands the President’s medal over to Adam Brancher at the AGM. Photo by Kirk Schwarz – www.kirkschwarz.co.uk

The 2016 Annual General Meeting of the International Institute of Marine Surveying took place at Herringham Hall, Regent’s University on Wednesday 31 August at 14.45. The meeting was called to order and opened by President, Capt Bertrand Apperry.

Acceptance of the minutes of the 2015 AGM were proposed by Capt Khalil Khan and seconded by Capt Syed Humail.

The President gave his verbal report to those in attendance, his final one before stepping down. He said:
“It has given me great pleasure to have been your President for the last two years. It is special that my presidency has coincided with the Institute’s twenty fifth anniversary in 2016. Since our formation in 1991, the organisation has grown steadily and we have reached this significant milestone in good shape.

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IIMS Small Craft Working Group Super Training day programme announced

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The Horizon Suite at Action Stations, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard will host the IIMS SCWG 'Super' Training Day
The Horizon Suite at Action Stations, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard will host the IIMS SCWG ‘Super’ Training Day

The SCWG ‘Super’ Training day programme, taking place on Monday 24 October, has been released.

The venue is the Horizon Suite, Action Stations, 19 College Road, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth PO1 3LJ. There is ample paid car parking within a few minutes’ walk of the venue.

Action Stations, set within the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, is a most iconic venue for what promises to be an excellent training day.

Thanks to Matrix Insurance Services Ltd and Cygnus Instruments Ltd for their kind sponsorship of the event.

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MAIB issues its report into the Arco Avon engine room fire

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Photograph of Arco Avon at anchor
Photograph of Arco Avon at anchor

This reports the MAIB’s investigation into a fire in the engine room of the dredger Arco Avon while the vessel was loading a sand cargo approximately 12 miles off Great Yarmouth, UK. The fire claimed the life of the vessel’s third engineer, who was attempting to repair a failed fuel pipe when fuel, under pressure in the pipe, ignited.

Statement from the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents
The sad death of an experienced officer serving on a UK registered ship serves as a salient reminder of the risks that crews can be exposed to when policies and procedures designed to mitigate such risks are not followed, and recognised safe systems of work are allowed to lapse. Robust risk assessments and safe systems of work are important barriers that prevent marine accidents. Everyone, from the individual seafarer to the senior company executive ashore, needs to develop shared company safety cultures that make the use of risk assessments and safe systems of work an unquestioned part of life when working on board UK registered vessels.

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Winners of the IIMS Silver Jubilee Awards for Excellence announced

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Sir Alan Massey, MCA CEO, (right), is thanked by IIMS CEO, Mike Schwarz, for presenting the IIMS Silver Jubilee Awards
Sir Alan Massey, MCA CEO, (right), is thanked by IIMS CEO, Mike Schwarz, for presenting the IIMS Silver Jubilee Awards

Following a search lasting six months to discover and recognise excellence in marine surveying, the IIMS Silver Jubilee Awards for Excellence were announced on 31 August 2016 at Regent’s University in central London as part of the Institute’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

Presentations of the crystal trophies were made by Sir Alan Massey during a splendid luncheon and ceremony. Sir Alan, who is Chief Executive Officer of the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency, also addressed around 100 delegates at the end of the ceremony when he gave a short key note speech.

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Pods versus water lubricated props – greater comparative studies required says Thordon Bearings

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Thordon Bearings has called on the marine industry to investigate the characteristics of both conventional seawater-lubricated propeller shaft systems and podded propulsion arrangements in order to provide shipowners with a better understanding of the two very different propulsion configurations.

In a recently published White Paper, the Canadian manufacturer of the COMPAC seawater-lubricated propeller shaft bearing system believes there is a great opportunity for independent comparative data so that cruiseship operators, in particular, can make more informed procurement decisions.

Highlighting the development of both systems, the 24 page paper asks if the water-lubricated propeller shaft is more efficient than podded propulsion, encouraging readers to assess a number of different factors before selecting their optimum propulsion solution.

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What’s next for the Ecoship Project?

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Peace Boat’s Ecoship project is organising a special event at this year’s SMM exhibition to call for suppliers and to announce the latest developments in the project.

On September 7 from 10am, Peace Boat will lead a three-hour event at the IWSA Innovation Forum, located in the new A5 Hall, which is specialising in sustainable and alternative propulsion solutions.

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Scruffie Marine to deliver its second solar powered launch

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The solar powered launch by Scruffie Marine
The solar powered launch by Scruffie Marine

Scruffie Marine, based in Queensland, Australia, is close to completing its second solar powered launch with its latest Secret 33 model due to be launched within weeks. It will then be shipped to Perth where it will operate as a tourist launch on the Swan River.

The first prototype of the Secret 33 has been operating in Perth since March.

Derek Ellard at Scruffie Marine said the key to the new boat’s performance is its racing yacht pedigree with the proven hull being perfectly suited for electric propulsion.

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UK MAIB publishes its Annual Report for 2015

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maibThe Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published its Annual Report highlighting the work of the branch during 2015. In 2015, a total of 1,057 accidents to UK vessels, or in UK coastal waters were reported to MAIB, involving 1,194 vessels.

Of these accidents, 46 involved only non-commercial vessels and 447 were occupational accidents that did not involve any actual or potential casualty to a vessel. There were 646 accidents involving 744 commercial vessels that involved actual or potential casualties to vessels.

For the sixth year in succession no UK merchant vessels of >100gt were lost. The size of the UK fleet has increased and so the overall accident rate for UK merchant vessels >100gt has fallen to 85 per 1000 vessels from 88 per 1000 vessels in 2014. Two crew lost their lives on UK merchant vessels >100gt during 2015. Only one UK small vessel (<100gt) was lost in 2015 compared with six in 2014.

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Wärtsilä’s hybrid battery technology to be used on new Wightlink flagship ferry

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Impression of the new Wightlink flagship ferry
Impression of the new Wightlink flagship ferry

A ship under construction at Cemre shipyard for UK operator Wightlink will be the first ferry to employ Wärtsilä’s technology that uses batteries to manage engine load fluctuations.

The use of batteries in conjunction with four six-cylinder Wärtsilä 20 generating sets – controlled by a 690v main switchboard, an integrated automation system and a power management system also supplied by the Finnish company – is expected to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions while lowering noise levels.

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IIMS announces the finalists for its Silver Jubilee Awards for Excellence in Marine Surveying

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To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS), nine awards categories were created to represent excellence in marine surveying in various disciplines.

The deadline for nominations was 30 June. Following a meeting of the judging panel on 12 July, the nominations have been whittled down to a list of finalists.

The IIMS Silver Jubilee Award winners will be announced and their awards presented at the special 25th Anniversary Conference on 31 August at Regent’s University by Sir Alan Massey, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency. Continue reading “IIMS announces the finalists for its Silver Jubilee Awards for Excellence in Marine Surveying”

Blohm+Voss to open refit facility for megayachts in the Mediterranean

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Blohm+Voss has announced that it has won the tender for the set-up of a new maintenance and refit facility for megayachts in La Ciotat, in the South of France. The company will partner with La Ciotat Shipyards (managed by SEMIDEP-Ciotat), the local company in charge of the site development which is providing a large dry-dock and neighboring workshop premises embedded within the existing shipyard. Blohm+Voss will utilize this new facility in the heart of the Mediterranean to maintain and service megayachts over 80 meters in length. Operation is planned to start in November 2016.

Blohm+Voss Chief Executive Officer, Fred van Beers commented: “Setting up a maintenance facility for megayachts in La Ciotat is an important step in our current growth strategy. With our new office in Monaco and this central location in the Mediterranean we are moving our core business closer to our customers; we are now offering more flexibility and tailored life-cycle.services. The dock in La Ciotat is 200 meters long and 60 meters wide. Our customers now have the choice of utilizing our extensive shipyard facilities in Hamburg or our new base in La Ciotat for large yacht maintenance, refits or conversions. Whatever our customers require: we will provide our renowned, exceptionally high Blohm+Voss quality standards and on-time services at both sites.”

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Beware signage dropping from a crane boom warns IMCA

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In one of its regular safety bulletins, the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has issued new information on an incident involving parts falling from a crane – in this instance a steel sign. IMCA says that this is not the first time this has happened and individuals may wish to review this in light of other similar reported incidents.

A piece of metal fell from a crane boom. The incident occurred on a vessel whilst alongside during the testing of the luffing motors’ braking system on the main crane. During this testing the crane boom made an uncontrolled descent into its crutch, resulting in a 60 kg steel sign falling 15m down to the deck. Investigation revealed that the sign was fixed by 4 x stitch welds, of which three were completely rusted away.

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