News Bulletins

As I write this month’s column, my colleagues and I are putting the finishing touches to the Marine Surveying International Fest 2018, which in case you are still not aware, is rapidly approaching now. This 24 hour ONLINE ONLY marathon, undoubtedly one of the most ambitious projects IIMS has ever attempted, starts at 11.00 (UK time) on Tuesday 6th November and concludes at 11.00 (UK time) the following day. One new presentation will start on the hour every hour for 24 hours. I am grateful in advance to my colleagues who will help me host and manage the event round the clock. Black coffee will be on hand!

I was delighted to attend the one-day Symposium in Mumbai in early October. To share a stage with Capt J.C. Anand, Capt. Kapil Dev Bahl and AWJ (Tony) Fernandez, all three of whom are held in the highest esteem and respected for their individual and combined skills, was a special memory. And having the Director General Shipping, Dr Malini Shankar, grace the occasion as our Chief Guest was an honour. The videos made on the day of the presentations will be released for viewing on the IIMS YouTube channel shortly.

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

I have repeatedly tried to avoid the B word – yes you’ve guessed it, Brexit. I am increasingly being asked by members in the UK and continental Europe what it will mean for surveyors on both sides of the English Channel. In truth, I simply have no answer, no crystal ball and am clearly far less informed than those who are currently conducting the protracted negotiations! I have no intention of pre-empting the outcome, but like others I am increasingly drained by the rhetoric coming from both sides of the argument. What is certain is that we are edging towards an outcome, the impact of which on the UK, continental Europe and marine surveyors cannot yet be understood.

It is a fact that surveyors are often the beneficiaries of work as a result of inclement weather as their services are in high demand when people and insurers try to assess and calculate the damage as the clear up begins. Ships blown on to shore, marinas torn apart, small boats planted in trees are all reminders (as if we needed any) of what can happen. But my thoughts go out to all those who have suffered losses recently through the destruction caused by Hurricane Florence which has ripped through the Carolinas on the US east coast and also Typhoon Mangkhut that has had a similar impact in The Philippines and China. No surveyor would surely ever want to get work this way I am certain, but these crazy weather patterns are keeping surveyors busy.

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

The past month has been very revealing! I refer to the outcome and findings from the most detailed IIMS membership survey to have been undertaken for four years. The survey findings provide a snapshot of what members think about their organisation, but the verbatim comments – (of which there were dozens and dozens) – reveal far more. Nearly 300 members responded to the survey, equivalent to almost one-third of the membership, a high percentage indeed. A number of these verbatim comments have been captured and published in the Report Magazine September issue, both positive and negative, together with my own personal interpretation of the results. Whilst it is clear that the overwhelming majority of members are generally content with their professional body, there are a few learnings that we can and must take.

I had the pleasure of spending some time with members in South East Asia last month when I hosted the eCMID and IIMS seminars in Singapore for the second year. Both days were a success and well attended. Personally, I found the range of presentations very apt and of great interest as it seems did those present did too. Travelling to new places gives the opportunity to make new contacts. I had a number of side meetings whilst there with some interesting and influential people and the results of those meetings will be seen in the coming months.

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

The past month has seen the UK basking in record high temperatures with rain a seemingly distant but needed prospect – not what us Brits are used to. This meant that the Seawork exhibition, held at Southampton in early July, was a great success due in part to the amazing weather conditions, if a bit warm inside the tented structures. We met a good number of members, students and others interested in the activities of the Institute. This year, the Small Craft Surveyors Forum presentation, held on the afternoon of the middle day, was one of the best – a resounding success and it attracted a strong audience. Read a brief report elsewhere in this bulletin.

It is several years since we undertook the last membership research study. Over the past few years, much has changed at IIMS and it is now a very different organisation which I would describe as outward looking, forward thinking, operating in niche marine sectors and generally embracing technology. We have developed a range of new products and services from launching a series of handy guides and a specialist App to upscaling our small craft and online training offering, developing an effective social media strategy and generally pushing the profile of the Institute higher in the surveying and wider shipping and boating world. So that is why we are asking for your views again at this time.

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

Last week, the IIMS Annual General Meeting 2018 took place at Heathrow Airport near London. This year we streamed the event live and attracted a good online presence. The AGM is always a time to reflect as well as to look ahead and the term ‘out with the old and in with the new’ springs to mind! I refer of course to the changing of the IIMS Presidents this year, always a symbolic moment. On behalf of members and myself I would like to personally thank Adam Brancher for his work as President over the past two years. He has done a sterling job and he has been required to do a bit more than previous Presidents due to circumstances; and I am grateful to him. I bid Capt Zarir Irani a warm welcome as your new President.

It was heartening to see those eligible to vote overwhelmingly accepting the proposal to develop a non-mandatory accreditation scheme for IIMS members. My colleagues and I will now look in earnest to better understand what this might look like and start to develop a framework.

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

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.

December was an interesting month in the ever-evolving world of IIMS. The phrase ‘all change’ springs to mind once more. A planned and fairly major office move was successfully undertaken. All staff have moved to new offices – the administration team coming together in one space and also the same for the accounts team too. You can read more details elsewhere in this bulletin. All in all I am pleased with the outcome and believe it makes our way of working friendlier and more efficient.

I would also like to reference the outbound team building day that the head office staff undertook in early December – once again more details can be found elsewhere in this bulletin. The team was set a series of challenges and tasks to overcome, both as a group and also in smaller subsets if they were to achieve their goal. All in all a worthwhile day and we learned a lot about each other.

Happy New Year to you if you are reading this. So what will 2018 hold? Well, I am acutely aware that for some members in certain parts of the world, (and in some specific surveying disciplines), the profession is a tough one and sadly likely to remain so.

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

November. Now where did that go? Ah yes I remember – it vanished in something of a whirl. From one training event and seminar to another. Hugely rewarding for me personally though I have to say and I was delighted to meet so many members, both at the recent UK events and at the UAE Branch Conference over the course of the month. I have learnt a great deal, which for a highly non-technical person such as me is probably a dangerous thing! However, it occurred to me that if I did, then so did our members too. Certainly the positive feedback would suggest that to be the case.

View the bulletin to continue reading: News-Bulletin December-2017 (pdf format)