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