On board the vessel “Ocean Scene” at the Seawork pontoons in Southampton on 14 June, some 60 plus surveyors and interested parties were treated to presentations associated with surveys on the smaller vessels in the industry.
Opening the seminar, Mike Schwarz, CEO of IIMS (International Institute of Marine Surveying), spoke of the need to enhance surveyor standards. He said we need to be aiming higher than the minimum standard. Why does it matter? We need to rid the industry of incompetent surveyors and to nurture, help, and mentor the young and aspiring surveyors to develop and maintain higher standards. To set yourself apart from the incompetent surveyors, of which there are many, you need to invest time, money and commitment. Enhancing standards can be accomplished by addressing areas of weakness in knowledge and by developing other skills e.g. photographic and word processing to present better reports. Professional bodies can help by holding conferences, training days and events to keep your CPD current and provide networking opportunities; by providing mentoring services; by cascading information and regulatory news and sharing best practices and knowledge.
After Mike introduced the IIMS Course for CMID (The Common Marine Inspection Document), Chris Baldwin, IMCA Technical Adviser, continued on the subject of adding value not cost to small vessel safety management system inspections and gave an update on the eCMID. This gives an assurance and competence assessment, and a means of making sure vessels comply with international and national requirements of coastal and flag states. It should be very obvious to the inspector/auditor when the Master and crew are engaged in the SMS. It is in a standardised format for vessel inspection reports – to reduce the frequency of inspections with the aim to enable an assessment of a vessel’s operating safety status, by examining all aspects of the SMS. It includes observations on internal structural integrity; safety of the personnel; and compliance with environmental protection requirements.
From 1st January 2018 it is intended that only Accredited Vessel Inspectors will have authorised access to the eCMID database. To maintain standards and competence levels, IMCA and IIMS endorse CPD for all professionals.
Chris Baker from Marine Data Isle of Man talked on working with cranes on workboats. Stability criteria are defined in MGN 280 with the worst condition being at 7° of heel with a freeboard of 250mm. He highlighted that structural criteria is missing from the LY2 and LY3 yacht codes – there is no written standard for cranes on superyachts and it is very much up to the surveyors interpretation for these craft. Chris then moved to describe how structures are designed, using software modelling. The focus is on the load path and how the load is distributed and dissipated. He then presented case studies including one in which the crane on a large yacht was shifted from the centre to starboard side. The yacht owners had strict requirements, which presented severe technical challenges as the crane move had to fit within the existing envelope. The software modelling focussed on the old/new structure interface and gave the audience an insight into the extremely technical operations on modifying large yachts.
Finally, Heather Morton, Production Co-ordinator at Jeremy Rogers Design Ltd told of the importance of surveying workboat coatings. She described some of the main types of paint used in the industry and reasons for different use – to look nice (in the leisure industry), gives protection from corrosion etc., and functionality e.g. anti-slip coating and insulation. Epoxy paints dominate – they are easily applied, adhere well and are readily available.
Paint protects by adhering to the surface, with at least a 75 micron profile. A number of coats are applied to give optimal thickness – too many will give adhesive problems. Heather completed her presentation with a description of the fouling encountered on different materials and the types of anti-fouling to mitigate them. Regulations on biocides limit some of the traditional ingredients of anti-fouling paint, and new non biocidal developments have been developed. These are very effective when the vessel is moving at speed, but are less effective if the vessel spend a lot of time stationary or slow speed.
This seminar disseminated a lot of very useful information to small boat surveyors and the relevance was reflected in the large attendance.
Artile written by Harry Gale, Nautical Institute
Member of the Small Craft Surveyors Forum
