News Bulletins

Since announcing the crowdfunding opportunity for members to support the purchase of Murrills House as the Institute’s new permanent home just a month ago, I have been delighted at the initial flurry of support. With online and direct donations, we have already raised over £10,000. A big thank you to those who have made a donation already. It is truly appreciated.

The announcement just a couple of weeks’ ago that approval has been granted with funding for a UK ‘trailblazer’ marine surveyor apprenticeship scheme is excellent news. I have been involved from the outset on this project and it is remarkable to see how it has developed; and I am proud of IIMS’s involvement. None of us know what impact this may, or may not, have on the marine surveying landscape, but it is a positive step in the right direction.

This month I would like to put out a plea to find new markers for the IIMS Diploma Professional Qualifications. Our panel is ageing, and we could do with some new faces and fresh impetus as part of our succession plans! The work is not onerous, and you do not need to leave your office. If you are an expert in an area of marine surveying and are interested in becoming a marker, IIMS is keen to hear from you.

View the bulletin to continue reading: IIMS-News-Bulletin-August-2019 or click to read it in eReader format.

To say June was a month to remember is something of an understatement. As I look back now, it seems barely possible that we got through the sheer volume of work that we did. It started with a Maritime & Coastguard Agency audit of our Certifying Authority. These are never the easiest of days and auditors are always looking for whatever they can find. Next up was the annual Seawork exhibition at Southampton. This is a renowned three-day show for the workboat sector and draws a number of members to the event and to our stand. I was unable to leave the stand due to the number of visitors.

The following week brought new challenges for the head office team as we headed to London to prepare and deliver the three-day IIMS Conference, Annual General Meeting and eCMID seminar. Handing out three Blue Water awards and three Honorary memberships was a great pleasure.

As you may have heard, IIMS is now deep in negotiations to purchase Murrills House from our landlord as the new permanent home for the Institute. This is an extraordinary opportunity and exciting project to be involved with. IIMS has started a crowdfunding campaign which will remain open until 31 March 2020.

View the bulletin to continue reading: IIMS News Bulletin July 2019 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

Halfway through the year already? Extraordinary. The past month for me has been administratively top heavy and burdensome. A few days with the Western Mediterranean LYSCWG was a welcome and much needed escape.

The June Report magazine is published. The centrepiece 12-page article is about our office, Murrills House, Portchester. I am teasing you again by not saying what the significance of this article is, suffice to say this breaking news is highly significant for the Institute and its members. Click to read the latest copy of The Report.

And our latest handy guide has been published, this one entitled What a marine surveyor needs to know about paint failure, corrosion and rectification by Peter Morgan and Roger Weatherhead – and the biggest booklet to date at 224 pages. It is a corker of a publication and as I look back now following the publication of what is the twentieth handy guide in the series since we started three years or so ago, it is with a sense of great pride at this landmark! Click here to view this and 19 other handy guides.

View the bulletin to continue reading: IIMS-News-Bulletin-June-2019 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.

The IIMS London Conference 2019, Dinner and AGM at Regent’s University will be upon us soon, taking place on 17/18 June. The event will draw members together from around the world and offers not only some excellent presentations to learn from, but also the chance to network with other surveyors from all branches of the profession. And remember this year the Conference is open to both real time and online only delegates. Please reserve your place now by clicking here. There have been a couple of tweaks and additions to the speaker schedule. It is perhaps wrong to single out individual speakers, but we are especially interested to hear about cyber security in the marine sector. President, Capt Zarir Irani, and Keith Chappell will address this hot topic in separate presentations on each day. Guest of Honour at the IIMS Conference dinner on Monday 17 June at 10-11 Carlton House Terrace is Capt Andrew Moll, Chief Executive, MAIB, who will speak.

The past month has seen IIMS deliver more quality training activities. In early April a group of surveyors attended our one-day tonnage training course at Itchenor Sailing Club. And just last week, a group of around 20 surveyors took part in what proved to be an excellent two-day event at the Western Mediterranean Large Yacht & Small Craft Working Group in Palma, culminating in a practical sea trial demonstration. There are more detailed reports in this news bulletin about both events.

View the bulletin to continue reading: IIMS News Bulletin May 2019 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.