News Bulletins

A busy month completed and another one looms. Yes, June sees the IIMS 2018 Annual General Meeting being held by Heathrow Airport, London on 26 June. For the first time, we are streaming the AGM, which is free to attend, live. I urge you to read my CEO AGM Report ahead of the meeting as it gives details on some of the important activities you are being asked to vote on and to register your vote subsequently if you are a full Member. There are some important matters that I hope you will be of sufficient concern to engage you in this process. Full details of how to do that and how to get involved with the AGM are included in this news bulletin. Remember, it is your Institute and you can help to shape our future.

I alluded to May being a busy month and it was. As you know, I relish the chance to meet members. Both the recent tonnage measurement and Certifying Authority training days gave me ample opportunity to greet a number of members. Hard on the heels of these two events was the third eCMId AVI seminar, which we presented and held close to London. It was a great success and once again highlights the Institute’s ability to get involved in some key, associated industry sectors through its subsidiary, the Marine Surveying Academy, which is continuing to grow in stature and importance.

View the bulletin to continue reading: News-Bulletin-June-2018 (pdf format) or click to read it in e-reader format

Rules and regulations – love them or hate them – seem to be very much the flavour of this month. The three recent ones I’d like to draw your attention to particularly and mention in a bit more detail in this news bulletin are the looming EU General data protection Regulation, International Maritime Organization’s strategy on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships and the new Yacht Code under development by the Red Ensign Group. And whilst not all three launch this month, it is the fact that such diverse bits of regulation should be in the news together reminding me of the wide range of skills a marine surveyor needs to master (or at least have a grip on) as business knowledge combines with technical knowledge and maritime regulation to potentially create the perfect storm.

Let me start with the new EU General data protection Regulation (GDPR) that comes into force on 25 May. Quite simply, it is a major overhaul on the way a business gathers, stores and uses personal data. In view of the recent Facebook revelations that have shaken the world, most would say this is a good thing. Importantly, however, it is not just EU based organisations that will need to comply.

View the bulletin to continue reading: News Bulletin May 2018 (pdf format) or click to read it in e-reader format

The past month has been an eventful one, to say the least. When is that ever not the case? There have been a number of key deadlines, preparation for the quarterly management board meeting and training seminars to prepare and deliver. Whoever said deadlines did not focus one’s mind?

It has been great to get out and meet IIMS members and a number of non-members too both in Baltimore at the IIMS North American two day Conference held at MITAGS, as well as at what turned out to be a truly informative one day course entitled ‘How to conduct a complete mast and rigging survey’, expertly delivered by Kim Skov-Nielsen in Southampton. Full reports on both events can be found elsewhere in this news bulletin.

We are delighted to welcome five new members from South Korea and there is an article about them written by IIMS member, Peter Broad. There is also news about the sale of Geoff Waddington’s business as our Deputy Vice President seeks a quieter surveying life in semi-retirement in Portugal.

View the bulletin to continue reading: News Bulletin April 2018 (pdf format) or click to read it in e-reader format.

The IIMS means different things to its many members, but two areas where I think the Institute can really make a positive impact are in the area of raising surveyor standards globally and training. Whilst raising standards is a desirable goal, it needs a bit more thinking time still. However, the training plan that has come together for 2018 is, I believe, remarkable and full of impact.

The formation of an IIMS Inland Waterways Working Group is an important step and development – their first training event takes place in April – through to the IIMS Conference in Sydney in early August; or the 24 hour Marine Surveying International fest 2018, or the eCMId seminar in London in May perhaps? There really is something in the coming months for surveyors practising in most areas of the business. I hope you will choose to get involved as the year progresses.

View the bulletin to continue reading: News Bulletin March 2018 (pdf format) or click to read it in e-reader format.

The marine year got off to a troubled and sombre start. I am referring to the tragic accident and substantial loss of life and potential environmental meltdown caused by the collision between the Iranian owned tanker MV Sanchi and the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship CF Crystal, leading to the subsequent sinking of the former. That such a shocking event can still occur in 2018 seems hard to understand. It is not known yet if the cause will ever be discovered. What can we learn from this awful incident?

So, continuing on a downbeat theme, news has reached me of the death of two well respected, senior IIMS full members. New Zealand Surveyor, Terry Reynolds MIIMS, tragically lost his life in a work-related incident at the end of 2017. Another tragedy has recently resulted in the death of Peter Green MIIMS. Although located in Germany, Peter spent a good deal of his time surveying in Spain and the Balearic Islands and was well known in that area.

View the bulletin to continue reading: News Bulletin February 2018 (pdf format) or click to read it in e-reader format.