News Hound, Author at The International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS)

Hapag-Lloyd to penalise for misdeclaration of hazardous cargo

Posted on August 12, 2019May 8, 2025 by News Hound

Following the Yantian Express fire incident that Hapag-Lloyd experienced in early 2019, the company has published a statement to say that they will implement a penalty of USD 15,000.00 per container with effect from 15 September 2019 for the misdeclaration of hazardous cargo.

Specifically, the company highlights the misdeclaration of hazardous cargo prior to shipment is a violation of the Hazardous Material Regulations. Such violations may be subject to monetary fines and/or criminal prosecution under applicable law.

Hapag-Lloyd has also noted that to ensure the safety of our crew, ships and Continue reading “Hapag-Lloyd to penalise for misdeclaration of hazardous cargo”

Use of wrong materials contributed to deadly boat fire

Posted on August 12, 2019May 8, 2025 by News Hound

After investigating a deadly boat fire aboard a casino vessel, the US Coast Guard’s Inspections and Compliance Directorate issued Marine Safety Alert 08-19 to ensure owners and operators understand federal fuel system requirements.

Last year, a Coast Guard inspected vessel operating as a shuttle to transport passengers to and from an offshore casino vessel suffered a devastating fire not long after the vessel got underway from the dock. Within minutes of observing that one of the vessel’s engines was overheating and a significant amount Continue reading “Use of wrong materials contributed to deadly boat fire”

West of England P&I Club says More can be done to prevent engine room fires

Posted on July 30, 2019April 10, 2025 by News Hound

Burnt engine room - Photo credit: West of England P&I Club — Photo credit: West of England P&I Club

West of England P&I Club says that it is well known that fires on ships require a lot of effort to address. And they risk all those on board, presenting extreme danger to the vessel. Engine room fires are especially challenging to put out because of the potential confined nature of the scene and an abundance of fire triangle elements; namely heat, fuel and air.

Now, condition surveys conducted by the West of England P&I Club repeatedly present worrying examples of substandard fire safety in engine rooms which can easily be avoided by taking some simple steps.

The main sources of ignition in the engine room include hot exhaust manifolds of engines, boilers and indicator valves of the engines. When flammable Continue reading “West of England P&I Club says More can be done to prevent engine room fires”

Shipwreck of 500-Year-Old Vessel Discovered in Baltic Sea

Posted on July 24, 2019May 8, 2025 by News Hound

Underwater picture of the wreckage - Credit: Deep Sea Productions/MMT — Credit: Deep Sea Productions/MMT

An international team of scientists has announced the discovery of a shipwreck. The 500-year-old ship remains pristinely intact in the cold, dark depths of the Baltic Sea.

Scientists say the shipwreck is perhaps the best preserved shipwreck of its period yet to be discovered.

It was first detected in 2009 by the Swedish Maritime Administration using state-of-the-art sonar. For years it went unexplored until earlier this year when, as part of work carried out by survey specialists MMT, the wreck was identified as having great archaeological and historical significance.

Further inspection of the wreck was led by Dr. Rodrigo Pacheco-Ruiz, Continue reading “Shipwreck of 500-Year-Old Vessel Discovered in Baltic Sea”

BSU draws attention to watertight integrity after collision

Posted on July 23, 2019April 10, 2025 by News Hound

The German schooner ‘No. 5 Elbe’, built in the 19th century, collided with the Cyprus-flagged 141-meter-long container ship ‘Astrosprinter’ about 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of Hamburg on 8 June 2019.

A total of 28 passengers and 15 crew were onboard the schooner at the time of the incident.

The vessel managed to reach the Schwinge estuary without assistance, Continue reading “BSU draws attention to watertight integrity after collision”

Maritime Annual Report 2018-2019 published by the UK Government

Posted on July 19, 2019April 10, 2025 by News Hound

The UK Government has released its Maritime Annual Report 2018-2019 and Nusrat Ghani MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Transport, Minister for Maritime, says in her introduction:

“As Maritime Minister over the past year I have had the privilege to see first-hand the extraordinary work done across the sector. I am delighted to say that this period has seen Government deliver ground breaking work, and this report shines
a spotlight on a number of these outstanding achievements.

This year we have published Maritime 2050, a long-term strategy that lays out our ambitions for the sector. It is the first strategy of its kind in a generation, and it is indicative of the type of ambitious, original Continue reading “Maritime Annual Report 2018-2019 published by the UK Government”

Norway plans to eliminate accidents involving recreational boats

Posted on July 18, 2019May 8, 2025 by News Hound

Norway plans to eliminate recreational boat accidents

The Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry Torbjørn Røe has initiated an action plan to reduce the number of serious accidents related with the use of recreational boats in Norwegian waters. The government has a zero-accidents vision for boat traffic.

The target is to achieve zero accidents associated with recreational boats at sea. For this reason, the Norwegian Maritime Directorate was tasked to prepare the plan, which covers the period from 2019 to 2023.

In addition to the zero vision, an ambitious milestone for the first period has been set: 50% reduction in the number of fatalities associated with use of recreational boats before the end of the planning period.

“We want everyone to come home safely when they have been on the sea, Continue reading “Norway plans to eliminate accidents involving recreational boats”

Tiger One report by MAIB says impact of collision lessened by the use of a kill cord and robust construction

Posted on July 18, 2019April 10, 2025 by News Hound

The MAIB has published its report into the incident on the River Thames involving Tiger One. At 1738 on 17 January 2019, the commercially operated rigid inflatable boat Tiger One hit a mooring buoy on the River Thames in London, England, at a speed of about 26 knots in darkness. Two passengers and the boat’s two crew were taken to hospital with minor injuries. Tiger One was severely damaged.

Tiger One was one of two 12m RIBs owned and Continue reading “Tiger One report by MAIB says impact of collision lessened by the use of a kill cord and robust construction”

Murrills House set to become the Institute’s permanent home as IIMS opens crowdfunding opportunity

Posted on July 18, 2019July 18, 2019 by News Hound

Murrills House is set to become the permanent home for IIMS

In a strange turn of events, Murrills House in Portchester, UK, is set to become the new Head Quarters of the IIMS. But wait a minute I hear you say. IIMS is already headquartered in Murrills House isn’t it? Yes you are right of course. IIMS has been renting these offices for the past decade since its move from Gosport. But with the end of the lease looming, IIMS entered into talks with the landlord earlier this year with a view to the Institute acquiring the freehold of the property and adjacent land. The outright purchase of suitable office accommodation rather than renting one was something that the membership voted in favour of at the 2018 AGM.

So now IIMS would like your help. We are reaching out to the members and supporters of the Institute to invite them to make a financial donation towards the essential maintenance we would like to undertake upon completion of the deal to secure Murrills House as the Continue reading “Murrills House set to become the Institute’s permanent home as IIMS opens crowdfunding opportunity”

Mega box ships bulletin published by Standard Club

Posted on July 17, 2019July 17, 2019 by News Hound

Standard Club has published an invaluable bulletin about mega box ships

As the size of mega box ships has steadily increased, so has the level of difficulty in handling casualties involving them. A special 32 page edition of the Standard Club bulletin has been published and looks at the different legal, technical and practical considerations.

Ultra large container ships, or mega box ships as they are commonly called, can have a carrying capacity in excess of 20,000 TEU (twenty foot equivalent units) and are frequently in excess of 14,500 TEU. This can have a considerable impact in the event of a casualty. In particular, the global shipping and insurance markets have expressed concern regarding the firefighting capability of these ships, which has not necessarily kept pace with their increasing size. It can be extremely difficult to find suitable ports of refuge to accommodate these ships and which have infrastructure capable of handling the number of containers on board.

Continue reading “Mega box ships bulletin published by Standard Club”

MAIB Annual Report 2018 and review published

Posted on July 17, 2019May 20, 2025 by News Hound

MAIB Annual Report 2018 has been published

The MAIB 2018 Annual Report has been published and is available to read in full as a 104 page pdf document which can be downloaded below.

Captain Andrew Moll, Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, says in the MAIB Annual Report 2018 introduction:

“2018 was a challenging year for the MAIB, though to some extent it was business as usual. The year saw 1227 accidents reported, just a few less than the previous year; and 23 investigations started, up from 21 in 2017 but still lower than 2016 when the Branch started 29 Continue reading “MAIB Annual Report 2018 and review published”

Zero emission ships in UK waters given ambitious deadline of 2025

Posted on July 15, 2019May 8, 2025 by News Hound

Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani plans for zero emission

All new ships for UK waters ordered from 2025 should be zero emission ships designed with ‘zero-emission capable technologies’, in ambitious plans set out by Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani to cut pollution from the country’s maritime sector.

The commitment is set out in the Clean Maritime Plan published in early July. The government is also looking at ways to incentivise the transition to zero-emission shipping and will consult on this next year.

The plan also includes a £1 million competition to find innovative ways to reduce maritime emissions and is published alongside a call for evidence to reduce emissions on UK waterways and domestic vessels.

Continue reading “Zero emission ships in UK waters given ambitious deadline of 2025”

Name	Provider	Purpose	Expiration
wordpress_[hash]	WordPress	Used by WordPress to store your authentication details upon login and is limited to the admin area.	Just under 1 year
wordpress_logged_in_[hash]	WordPress	Used by WordPress to enable the interface to recognize you as a logged-in user and determine which account and preferences to use for various features.	Just under 1 year
wp-settings-{time}-[UID]	WordPress	Used by WordPress to facilitates customizing your view of the admin interface and the main site interface. The number UID is the individual user ID from the user database table.	1 year
wordpress_test_cookie	WordPress	Used by WordPress to probe the ability of WordPress to set cookies.	15 minutes
_grecaptcha	Google	This cookie is set by Google reCAPTCHA, which protects the site against spam enquiries on contact forms.	6 months
m	Stripe	Used by Stripe Payment Services for fraud prevention and detection.	400 days
__stripe_mid	Stripe	Stripe sets this cookie to process payments.	1 year
__stripe_sid	Stripe	Stripe sets this cookie to process payments.	1 year
wc_fragments_*	WooCommerce	Used by WooCommerce for eCommerce functionality.	1 year
wc_cart_hash_*	WooCommerce	Used by WooCommerce to save items in a shopping cart.	session
woocommerce_items_in_cart	WooCommerce	Used by WooCommerce to save items in a shopping cart.	session
wp_woocommerce_session_	WooCommerce	Used by WooCommerce for eCommerce functionality.	2 days

Name	Provider	Purpose	Expiration
_ga_*	Google Analytics	Contains a unique identifier used by Google Analytics 4 to determine that two distinct hits belong to the same user across browsing sessions. Accepting Marketing and Analytical Cookies allows us to use the data collected by this cookie for marketing and analytical purposes.	1 year
_ga	Google Analytics	Contains a unique identifier used by Google Analytics 4 to determine that two distinct hits belong to the same user across browsing sessions. Accepting Marketing and Analytical Cookies allows us to use the data collected by this cookie for marketing and analytical purposes.	2 years
_gid	Google Analytics	Contains a unique identifier used by Google Analytics to determine that two distinct hits belong to the same user across browsing sessions. Accepting Marketing and Analytical Cookies allows us to use the data collected by this cookie for marketing and analytical purposes.	1 day
_fbp	Facebook	Used by Facebook to deliver a series of advertisement products such as real time bidding from third party advertisers.	90 days