News Bulletins

I am grateful to Vice President, Geoff Waddington, for his assistance in putting together an open letter to the yacht and boat manufacturing industry on the subject of latent defects. Since its recent publication via the various IIMS social media channels and online news portals, a number of supportive comments have been received. I have chosen to publish the letter in full in this news bulletin. I will let you make up your own mind on its contents!

IIMS has launched its first WhatsApp group, this one for UK based canal narrowboat surveyors – a niche grouping. I hope over the coming months we can develop this platform further with the launch of a number of specialist interest surveying WhatsApp groups around the world.

This month sees the tenth Anniversary since the inauguration of the IIMS UAE branch. This landmark is to be celebrated at a wonderful event and one day conference onboard the QE2 in Dubai on 20 November. The theme of the conference is Safe Ships, Safe Cargo – The Insurers Perspective. A full report and photographs will follow next month. Details of how to reserve your place at this prestigious event can be found in this bulletin.

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

Regulation changes are afoot again. In reality they are never far away as the sector is forever changing to meet the evolving needs of the modern boating and shipping world. Work is now well underway by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency  in the UK to update the “colour codes” that are used by coding examiners on vessels under 24 metres in commercial use. Presentations have been given to the UK based Certifying Authorities in recent weeks and a roll out of the first phase is not too far away I suspect. The codes are long overdue for a refresh, and this is to welcomed when the current codes are finally updated. In my role as Chair of the Certifying Authority Professional Standards Working Group, I have a special interest in seeing what the outcome is.

The other significant looming regulation change is the IMO 2020 Sulphur Cap which is set to hit the shipping sector and to be enforced from January. Disruptive change for the industry for sure, the word on the street amongst those in the know is that many ship and vessel owners/operators are struggling to be ready to meet the new regulations for a variety of reasons. The new regulation will see marine sector emissions in international waters slashed. The marine sector will have to reduce sulphur emissions by over 80% by switching to lower sulphur fuels. Clearly this is a challenge and not without significant cost for some, so it will be interesting to see how Flag States react in their local waters to non-compliant vessels.

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

Marine surveyors it seems face similar challenges the world over. That is my conclusion having recently met members in Brisbane and Singapore. OK maritime regulations differ around the world, but the fundamentals of the job are essentially the same, not restricted by geographical location. Put simply, it is a requirement to have enough technical competency to carry out the survey or inspection assignment, write a factual and concise report whilst having a range of business skills to enable your surveying practice to flourish. When put like that it appears to be straightforward enough. Something to think about perhaps?

I was quite overwhelmed by the number of surveyors (not all of whom are members) who turned up for the two-day IIMS Brisbane workshop on 1st and 2nd August – 50 plus in total. My thanks to all those who came along for what was an excellent event. We plan to return! From there I travelled to Singapore and was pleased to catch up with many of those who have attended previous Institute events in that area before. More details on both seminars can be found elsewhere in this bulletin.

Sad news has reached me about the death of two long standing, stalwart members of IIMS. Caroline Rostant based in Trinidad passed away unexpectedly in Austria and Tony McGrail (located in the UK) succumbed to a serious illness.

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

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.

We all love to knock new technology it seems don’t we? For many of us, technology can be something of an Achilles heel and because we do not understand it, we go slightly negative and on the defensive! However, I have been genuinely taken aback by the initial feedback following the launch of the IIMS Marine Surveyor Search App last month. Comments received such as “Simplicity itself” and “Fabulous cutting-edge initiative IIMS” have certainly buoyed me up. One gets so close to these projects during the development phase, so it is pleasing to get positive early feedback from real users who see instant benefit. Interestingly only a handful of IIMS members have yet to download the App. I urge you to do so. This is a helpful link to help you do that.

Our first push PR campaign has seen 18 publications pick up and run the story about the new App, including titles as diverse as Boating Business to The Digital Ship and Sea Technology. The early stats are encouraging too with over one hundred App downloads in the first ten days and some activity between those looking for a marine surveyor and the members listed on the App already taking place. I will keep you up-to-date as it develops.

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

The first quarter of 2019 is proving to be exceptionally busy at IIMS and the Marine Surveying Academy. We are hard at work with several significant initiatives under development and you can expect to see various announcements over the year. The first initiative of the year, however, is launched today. After more than a year of planning and detailed development work, I am delighted to announce the launch of the Marine Surveyor Search App, the third App to be produced for us by eDot solutions in Goa.

All practicing IIMS members will appear on the App free. It is not designed to replace the web site search facility, but in this modern world where people use many methods to find the information they need, it offers another essential marketing route for surveyors to allow potential clients to find you. I would urge you to download the App and check your listing to ensure it is correct and as you wish it to appear. The launch of this exciting new App is being backed by a substantial PR campaign to the marine industry.

And finally, The Report Magazine has been published today and is available to read online as a pdf or in eReader format at . I recommend you to access the 88 page publication and have a read. There are some fascinating articles covering a variety of surveying subjects.

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

Two new items of regulation have been released by the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency in the form of the Workboat Code: Edition 2 and the Intended Pleasure Vessels (IPV) code. The new Workboat Code, in particular, has been eagerly awaited and it is good to see it finally surface. There is more information on both codes in this bulletin and details of how to access and download them both.

I had the absolute pleasure to attend the IIMS Baltimore Conference at the MITAGS Conference Centre alongside James Renn on 17 and 18 January. It proved to be a great event with a detailed and varied programme, delivered by some highly experienced and capable presenters. The event attracted a good number of delegates, many of whom are members of other surveying organisations in America. My personal thanks to James Renn for his considerable efforts to put together such a good programme.

The IIMS social media channels are worth checking out having had a lot of fresh content added in recent days. We have published 30 new videos to the IIMS YouTube Channel – all freely available. In addition, there are now 44 audio podcasts available to listen to as you ‘Train as you Travel’.

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

Welcome to the January IIMS News Bulletin, the first of 2019. On behalf of my colleagues and I, let me wish you all the best for a successful and prosperous year ahead.

Almost immediately upon us is the IIMS Baltimore Conference on 18/19 January in North America. James “Randy” Renn has lined up a special looking range of speakers this year across the two days for your benefit. It is worth a look – click here for details of the programme and how to join as a real time or online only delegate.

After a gap, the IIMS London Conference takes centre stage this year once again, being held on 17/18 June. Put this date in your diary now and prepare your travel plans in good time, especially if you need a VISA. The Conference Dinner will take place on Monday 17th June and the AGM on the afternoon of Tuesday 18th June commencing at 14.00. For distant members, the Conference and AGM will be broadcast online.

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

As many members know, preparing the Report Magazine is a job I love and being able to call on 30 plus years of publishing experience is my excuse! However, the December Report Magazine takes things to a new level. This issue is the biggest ever that IIMS has ever published at 92 pages. Staying with the Report for a moment, I have written a candid review of 2018 in this edition. This year has seen highs and lows that have stretched me mentally and physically, but as my article states, ultimately it has been a year of progress with some key decisions taken by members to reflect upon.

The past couple of months have seen IIMS out on the road running various training events. It is remarkable to discover that over the past eleven months I have met well over 200 members personally. The events we have run this year have been very varied with a wealth of diverse content. I am pleased to announce our provisional events schedule for 2019 in this bulletin.

HOT NEWS just reaching me comes from your President in Dubai, UAE. Capt Zarir Irani has informed me that the next UAE branch conference (the 10th anniversary edition) taking place towards the end of 2019 will be held on board the famous QE2, now permanently moored in Dubai. Now there’s a mouth-watering prospect.

View the bulletin to continue reading: IIMS-News-Bulletin-December-2018 (pdf format) or click to read it in eReader format.