Dear colleague
Wherever I go these days – and I have been around a bit recently – and whoever I meet in the maritime world, be they small craft or commercial ship surveyors, loss prevention executives, insurers and underwriters, and even maritime regulators, it seems there is one subject that comes up time and time again. Can you guess? Ah yes, lithium-ion batteries, and more importantly the mounting challenges they are presenting in our industry! Perhaps that does not surprise you.
Now please understand, I am not here to stymie innovation or prevent the advance of new technology; clearly the technology is amazing. However, I am concerned that people are kept safe when surrounded by lithium-ion batteries and, let’s face it, they surround us these days. The bit I still grapple with is that we have invented what is clearly an excellent power source on the one hand, which meets our collective decarbonisation aspirations, yet when an installation blows, we still have no reliable means of successfully putting out the resulting inferno! Frankly, that’s crazy. How many people have to die, how many yachts, and how much cargo must end up at the bottom of the oceans before someone says, “enough is enough – hang on – stop – let’s review things shall we”?
Last month, in my news bulletin ‘What caught my eye’ column, I referenced a UK leisure narrowboat on the UK canal network in Northamptonshire that quite literally blew up without warning early one morning whilst on overnight charge. Had anyone been on board at the time, it is hard to imagine they would have survived such a blast. It was reported that windows in nearby craft in the marina were blown out and debris strewn around the place. This is the first such instance I know of on the UK inland waterways network, and it has sent a shock wave through the boating community, well, those who have heard about the incident, for it was reported only through local paper and obligatory social media of course. But it was not deemed of sufficient importance to make national news headlines. Strangely, even the specialist canal boat media seems to have ignored the story too. Why? Surely at the very least the public should be made aware so they can make their own choices and informed decisions. The local fire brigade attended but could not put the fire out. The boat reportedly sank, and I guess everyone heaved a sigh of relief, only for it to resurface and for the fire to reignite. To those of us who have acquired some knowledge in this area, this does not come as a surprise!
Captain Pat, based at a large suburban fire department in Michigan – a mechanical engineer with a background in R&D, holding multiple patents on electric vehicle technology – remarkably picked up this story and produced a thought-provoking video on what happened. I have subsequently reached out to Pat, and we have met online to discuss this issue in more detail. He is an illuminating character and something of an expert in this field. If you missed the video (run time 7 minutes plus), here it is.
So what to do? How to inform and upskill marine surveying professionals and other interested, associated parties in this technology? Well, help is at hand, but I would hate you to think that my rant is just a shameless plug and promotion for a forthcoming new training course! Perhaps it is, but I have become so vexed with this situation and the seemingly total lack of knowledge being exhibited by so many marine surveyors that I decided it was time for IIMS to take some action and to lead the way.
A couple of months ago, I commissioned acknowledged experts in this field, David and Magda O’Neill, to prepare a four-module short course devoted to lithium-ion batteries, the chemistry, the installation, and the surveying/inspection of them. I am certain we cannot make surveyors specialists in this field quickly, but I am confident we can pass on enough relevant information to make a surveyor knowledgeable and more comfortable with this technology. That work is now complete and will be available to study soon. Watch this space for more information.
IIMS India Conference
It is several years since IIMS organised an Indian Conference. Last month I had the absolute pleasure to spend time in Goa, India with IIMS President, Capt Ruchin Dayal, to participate in and speak at our Indian Conference – and it was worth waiting all these years! The event was well attended in-person, with others joining for the live YouTube broadcast. The conference was voted a great success by all those who attended. Delegates were treated to some exceptional speakers drawn from far and wide who covered a wide range of topics. My thanks to Ruchin, our speakers and all those who were involved behind the scenes to ensure the success of this event, in particular the media who were generous in the coverage and reporting of the event.
Superyacht Coating Conference
As you may be aware, IIMS has significant interests in the superyacht coatings sector through its successful, decade old Registered Marine Coatings Inspector (RMCI) standard in partnership with stakeholders ICOMIA, SYBAss and AkzoNobel. It is many years since the last conference took place in the Netherlands. But after a long absence, it is back. The Superyacht Coating Conference will return to RAI Amsterdam on 18–19 November 2025, running alongside Metstrade and The Superyacht Forum.
The interactive approach of the conference will explore the latest developments in legislation, ISO standards, and sustainability, examine coatings from an owner’s perspective, and present advances in coating inspection, advisor certification, and dispute resolution. The event programme will also explore future requirements in international standards and guidelines, innovations in surface preparation, paint materials, and application techniques, as well as new coating-related legislation, antifouling coatings, and comprehensive quality assurance measures.
I have a speaker slot at the conference and expect to be announcing the most significant development in the RMCI standard for a decade. If you make it to Metstrade, I hope to catch up with you there. Click here for more details.
And finally (as you have gathered from my long introduction it has been a very busy month indeed), I wanted to inform you about the biggest regulation change, set to hit the UK under 24 metres commercial small craft sector for a quarter of a century. The new proposed MCA Sport & Pleasure code is set to become regulation soon. The extensive consultation outcome report and annexes have been published. This consultation, which drew over 400 responses, sought views on a new Statutory Instrument (SI) and accompanying Code, The Code of Practice for Small Vessels in Commercial use for Sport or Pleasure (the “Sport or Pleasure Vessel Code”), which will provide a domestic legal underpinning for vessels used commercially for Sport or Pleasure to operate on a commercial basis. It is required reading for some, but not for the faint hearted!
Survey well.
Mike Schwarz