Hazardous materials consultancy Lucion Marine was appointed to assist a major cruise line with work on a 2008-built cruise vessel. In this particular case a shipyard, on a pre-refit visit, claimed that an area where a new scrubber installation was planned contained asbestos in the bulkhead fire insulation. There are always hidden benefits of a shipboard asbestos survey.
‘…The ship wherein Theseus {ref.2} and the youth of Athens returned had 30 oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their place…’
per Plutarch in Life of Theseus {ref.3}
Like their predecessors of ancient times, the marine surveyor of today inspect and make recommendations in respect of the state of seaworthiness (or lack thereof) of a vessel. Unlike their predecessors, and unsurprisingly, their role has expanded. Continue reading “The role of the marine surveyor – a P&I club’s perspective”
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) carried out a second public consultation, which ran from 29 May 2019 to 10 July 2019, on proposals resulting from a review of the standards relating to older domestic passenger vessels, which are currently less stringent in some areas than those which are applied to newbuild vessels. Some proposals had been revised in the light of comments received during the first consultation, which ran from 6 November 2018 to 29 January 2019.
In some cases, there is a safety gap between the standards for new ships and those for older vessels. The review seeks to bring the standards applied to existing vessels into line, wherever possible, with those which apply to new vessels in key safetyareas.
Transport Canada Marine Safety and Security (TCMSS) has published a policy on the acceptance of the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) standards as an approved alternative method for small vessel compliance in Canada. The policy is effective as of October 30, 2019.
“Having one set of standards throughout North America is a huge benefit for engineering, manufacturing, and trade for the marine industry,” said Craig Scholten, ABYC Technical VP. “Being able to design, certify, and produce product to one standard will streamline and simplify everyone’s efforts.”
TCMSS will accept the equivalent standards published by ABYC with some Canadian modifications. The policy affects pleasure craft less than 24 meters and other craft of not more than 15 gross tonnage constructed, manufactured or rebuilt in, or imported into Canada. Continue reading “ABYC and TCMSS announce one set of marine safety standards”
A naval architect has warned that as European offshore wind growth continue to expand with larger and more ambitious projects, there is a looming shortage of Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV).
Chartwell Marine said that expedient investment in new builds will be required to tackle a shortage of 22m – 24m offshore wind crew transfer vessels, especially as build slots at yards are limited. Many of these existing vessels, commonly used for UK CTV operations, have reached retirement or require a refit following over 10 Continue reading “CTV shortage as offshore wind growth accelerates”
Liftboat, Ram XVIII, overturned in the Gulf of Mexico
The US National Transportation Safety Board published its report on the liftboat Ram XVIII, that overturned in the Gulf of Mexico, on November 18. Due to the incident, three personnel suffered minor injuries, while about 1,000 gallons of hydraulic oil were released. The vessel was declared a constructive total loss at an estimated $1,140,000.
Evolution of flying drone technology fueled by microprocessor, video and communication technology has been a great enabler for Marine Surveyors. These same advances in microprocessors, video and communications has enabled remotely operated subsea vehicle technology which can be utilised in marine surveying and further enable the capability of the Marine SurveyorMicro ROV graph
An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) operates independently from the ship and has no connecting cables while Micro ROVs are connected to an operator on the surface host ship by a load-carrying umbilical cable which provides communication and control.
Tyger of London keel matrix photo taken from the MAIB report
At 0930 on 7 December 2017, the skippered charter yacht Tyger of London departed San Sebastian, La Gomera, bound for Marina San Miguel, Tenerife, with four paying passengers acting as crew on board.
At about 1700, 1 nautical mile south of Punta Rasca, the crew heard a loud bang. Tyger of London immediately heeled to starboard, capsized and inverted. The crew released their lifelines, fell from the cockpit into the water and their lifejackets automatically inflated. One crew member was briefly trapped below the yacht but managed to swim clear.
The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) is located in Braga, north Portugal.
Leading European scientists have released details of a study on the potential of ‘Nanotechnology Marine Applications’ as part of the two-year KETmaritime project.
The International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) is the lead partner in the €1million initiative backed by the European Regional Development Fund.
Project coordinator Ana Vila said, “Humidity and salinity levels at sea cause around 30% of all vessel failures, repair needs and equipment malfunctions. Corrosion and biofouling are two major by-products impacting vessel materials, durability and performance.”
At a Ministerial Conference held in Torremolinos, Spain, 48 states signed a public declaration to indicate their determination to ratify the 2012 Cape Town Agreement on fishing vessel safety. This is a significant regime to create much-needed safety standards for fishing vessels.
During the Torremolinos Ministerial Conference on Fishing Vessel Safety and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing (21-23 October), nearly 50 states signed the Torremolinos Declaration. By doing so they have publicly indicated their determination to make sure that the 2012 Cape Town Agreement on fishing vessel safety will enter into force by the tenth anniversary of its adoption, on Continue reading “Fishing vessel safety public declaration signed by nearly 50 States”
Guidance to help surveyors interpret rules governing Safe Return to Port has been published by the Red Ensign Group. It follows work done by individual members of the REG and its Technical Forum which has now signed off the guidance for publication.
Safe Return to Port requires passenger vessels which are 120 metres or longer or with three or more main vertical zones to be designed for improved survivability. The rules are designed to make sure cruise ships and large yachts can get back to Continue reading “Safe Return to Port: Surveyor expertise produces guidance”
BDO survey results: BDO show shipping must improve its risk management procedures. Michael Simms, Partner, Shipping & Transport at BDO
Respondents to the BDO survey rated the extent to which enterprise and business risk management is contributing to the success of their organisation at an average 6.4 out of a possible maximum score of 10.0, compared to 5.9 in the 2018 survey. The BDO survey was launched in 2015 with a rating of 6.9. The survey also showed that shipping must improve its risk management procedures.
Owners posted the highest score of all main respondents, followed by managers, but the ratings for charterers and brokers were significantly down on last year. Asia was ahead of Europe in terms of geographical sentiment, but both were behind the Middle East.
