Canal & River Trust is the charity that cares for 2,000 miles of waterways across England and Wales. The Canal & River Trust 2025/6 Annual Report has published and is available to read. The Report highlights a year in which extreme weather tested the resilience of the nation’s canal network while underlining the increasingly important role waterways play in supporting nature, communities and the management of water in a changing climate. The year 2025/26 was dominated by a summer of drought. Despite the UK’s warmest and sunniest year on record and the driest spring since 1974, the Trust was able to keep over 80% of the network fully open and operational. Colleagues and volunteers worked tirelessly to manage water supplies, keep boats afloat, and protect wildlife. Continue reading “Canal & River Trust 2025/6 Annual Report published”
Three little, but often misunderstood words – safety management system, or SMS for short – have been everywhere in the maritime news recently. Yes, SMS seems to be the current buzz phrase of the day! I have seen an alarming increase in incident and accident reporting that references SMS failures and non-adherence as the primary causes.