Record high of engine failures reported to Sea Start
The UK’s marine assistance breakdown service Sea Start has experienced one of its busiest periods, with call outs to engine breakdowns at sea amongst the busiest on record.
It’s blaming owners’ “desperate rush to feel freedom” overshadowing much of the normal spring preparation made by conscientious owners.
One of the most illustrious names in marine propulsion has breathed its last with BRP’s announcement today that it will discontinue production of Evinrude E-TEC and E-TEC G2 outboard engines.
A company spokesperson said: “Our outboard engines business has been greatly impacted by COVID-19, obliging us to discontinue production of our outboard motors immediately. This business segment had already been facing some challenges and the impact from the current context has forced our hand,” said José Boisjoli, President and CEO of BRP. “We will concentrate our efforts on new and innovative technologies and on the development of our boat companies, where we continue to see a lot of potential to Continue reading “Evinrude: Pandemic blamed for the demise of the famous brand of outboard engines”
IIMS has published the twenty-third guide in its series ‘What a marine surveyor needs to know about’, this one covering the important topic of on-off hire condition and bunker surveys.
Capt Allen Brink, a Past President of IIMS and a marine surveyor with many years’ big ship experience, has authored this impressive handy guide, now released for sale. Allen was a driving force in the early days and was one of those who worked hard behind the scenes to get the Institute off the ground nearly 30 years ago.
Running to 244 pages, this comprehensive handy guide takes the surveyor through the main parts and requirements of conducting on-off hire condition and bunker surveys. The handy guide contains examples of a number of templated reports which the surveyor can adapt for his/her use. There are photos to assist, diagrams and examples of the certification and documentation the surveyor needs to inspect too.
The handy guide also contains the most comprehensive appendix with a selection of marine terms to assist the marine surveyor when conducting inspections of ships for charter purposes.
Kelly Tolhurst, Minister for Aviation, Maritime & Security, UK Department for Transport
This is an extract from a longer open letter by Kelly Tolhurst MP about the UK government’s new border entry rules with details of those who are exempt when entering the UK from overseas.
Dear Colleague,
Earlier this month, the Government published Our Plan to Rebuild: the UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy, setting out our plan to rebuild the UK and safeguard livelihoods. We are writing to update you on our progress; notably the self-isolation / quarantine measures for international arrivals that we announced yesterday (22 May).
Step One of our carefully planned timetable for lifting restrictions was enacted on 13 May in England. As the level of infection in the UK continues to reduce, it is important we manage the risk of importing cases from abroad. To that end,
we announced work on a series of measures that would be introduced at the UK border, including a requirement for international arrivals (with some notable exemptions) to self-isolate for fourteen days upon arrival. Continue reading “Inspectors of ships exempt from UK government’s entry rules”
The recent second IIMS UAE Branch webinar on COVID-19 practical effects on “Claims handling and Surveys” – are they here to stay? attracted 436 registrations from 43 countries. The initiative was well-received by the community and there was excellent feedback by attentive listeners at the peak of the participation. The initiative taken by the IIMS UAE Branch to bring value to its local and international members was evident by the community coming together for this free to attend seminar for everybody.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has published its investigation report into the bottom contact of the passenger vessel Island Queen III near Whiskey Island, Ontario, in August 2017. In addition, TBS has issued three safety concerns relating to the carriage of lifejackets, the evacuation of passengers during an emergency, and specialized training for crew members who are responsible for managing passengers during an emergency.
In the early afternoon of 8 August 2017, the passenger vessel Island Queen III left port for a planned three-hour cruise in the Thousand Islands area of the St. Lawrence River, sailing out of Kingston, Ontario with 290 people on board. Almost immediately after departing, the vessel encountered three separate fleets of local sailing school dinghies, causing it to deviate from the planned route. As the vessel moved through a narrow portion of the route, it strayed into shallow water and struck bottom, Continue reading “Island Queen III: Three safety concerns after bottom contact of passenger vessel issued by TSB”
According to Post Workboats, a Dutch boatbuilder and vessel operator, the Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) is emerging as a more mobile, efficient, flexible, safe, reliable and cost-effective solution for near-shore and offshore work.
RIBs are increasingly being used for work such as offshore cable landing points, especially in shallow water says Klaas Post, owner of Post Workboats.
A multifunctional, well-equipped RIB is quick and easy to deploy. In many cases, it is also more practical than a multipurpose vessel. A RIB built specifically for this work can even produce over two tons of pulling Continue reading “RIBs continue to emerge as excellent workboats”
Norwegian maritime software company BASS has released a new mobile inspection app, which lets vessel and shore-based personnel go digital when conducting audits and inspections on site. It is fully integrated with the company’s core BASSnet™ SAFIR (Safety & Improvement Reporting) system, including predefined checklists and audit guides.
“Mobile apps have changed the way we approach everyday tasks, and it’s no different when it comes to safety checks,” says Per Steinar Upsaker, CEO and managing director of BASS. “Using predefined templates on-site means standardization of inspection checklists across the company and fleet. Updates can then be Continue reading “BASS: New App set to ease the ship inspection process and paperwork”
IWA has launched the first part of a two-part report
The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has launched the first part of a two-part report which aims to highlight the significance of waterways heritage across the UK. The report is part of the IWAs on-going campaign to protect waterways heritage, the need for which was uncovered as part of their ‘Value of Inland Waterways’ report authored by Nicki Schiessel Harvey, which launched last year.
IWA has joined forces with the Historic Narrow Boat Club, National Historic Ships UK and the Railway & Canal Historical Society, who have endorsed the report, and with Historic England who has provided support and research evidence.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has made some changes to legislation that will require certain types of commercial vessels, including trawlers, to carry float-free Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB) from 1 January 2021.
The new legislation follows the number of capsized incidents that took place in Australian waters between 2015-2017, highlighting that none of these commercial vessels were equipped with a means of automatically alerting search and rescue authorities to their unfolding plight. Continue reading “EPIRB required on commercial vessels by AMSA from January 2021”
Transport Malta has published its investigation report on the sinking of the fishing vessel Zaira in Marsascala Bay, resulting in death of two fishermen on 4 May 2019. The findings from the investigation show that the vessel sank after flooding of compartments and a loss of stability in heavy weather.
On 4th May, Zaira was heading towards Valletta to seek shelter from inclement weather. The vessel was around 3.5 nautical miles from Valletta, when a high wave from the East caused it to heel heavily to the port side. Eventually, a second wave caused the vessel to heel further to port and she started to take in water through her hull openings. The fishermen lost control of their vessel and had to abandon it.
The INTERCARGO Bulk Carrier Casualty Report provides an analysis of casualty statistics covering the years 2010 to 2019. Over that period, thirty-nine bulk carriers with 173 seafarers were reported lost, based on available reports of total losses and constructive total losses from public sources and IMO’s GISIS.
