Boat naming honour for outgoing CRT chief executive
How cool to have a boat named after you. Can there be a higher accolade? I always thought a street being named after you, or a library perhaps, would be incredible, but a boat has far more cache! This was the surprise that awaited Richard Parry, the outgoing chief executive of the Canal & River Trust. Volunteers and colleagues at the charity’s base on the Grand Union’s Hatton lock flight in the UK have named a new workboat in his honour.
The 30ft work boat and hopper will be used for operational maintenance including Continue reading “What caught my eye: October 2025”
Dear colleague
You don’t need me to remind you of the safety concerns and issues surrounding lithium-ion battery technology. My views are well known! But this is the first instance I am aware of a narrowboat on the UK canal network exploding as a result of this battery technology. Reports suggest that debris was thrown 40ft across the canal and witnesses said the explosion was very loud and shook their boats. Fortunately, there were no injuries. This is yet another wake up call, but sadly, I suspect we will never know what caused the batteries to blow given the total destruction of the boat. 
What a truly bizarre spectacle this is. It seems that climate change is causing excessive weed growth in UK canals as of July 2025. The poor guy in the boat (pictured above) seems to have been almost swallowed whole by the green stuff which is clearly out of control. Here’s the story.
This is the first of three stories I have chosen to highlight this month, all of which originate from Norway.
Let’s face it, we all love a good ghost story, don’t we? Engineers (along with a different branch of the surveying family) have braved spooks and spectres to inspect the Harecastle Tunnel in Staffordshire, UK to ensure it is safe for waterway users to navigate, this and other things caught my eye in January 2025.
Edition IV of the IIMS Safety & Loss Prevention Briefings Compendium has been published and is available for download. This is an essential addition to every marine surveyor’s online library. As you read and browse the 172-page publication you will discover:
When I read this story in December 2024 despite the report coming out in October, it did not shock me, but it certainly saddened me. I guess we all know the inherent dangers that fishers the world over face. So, I read that a global safety charity is calling for urgent change and investment after its latest report named fishing as the world’s most dangerous occupation.