The Maritime & Coastguard Agency begins a second public consultation today on proposed new new safety requirements for older UK passenger ships.
The planned changes aim to make sure older ships more closely match the safety standards of newer vessels.
Feedback on the initial consultation has been used to modify the proposals in the areas relating to lifejacket provision, fire safety and the vessels in scope of damage stability requirements.
IMO’s Sub-Committee on Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping (HTW 6) considered matters relating to the list of STCW Parties (“White List”) and its review, as required by the STCW Convention. The Sub-committee found that the white list of top-rated flag states would be decimated if requirements to report information were strictly enforced.
IMO holds a ‘White List’ containing countries who have confirmed to the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) to be following the relevant provisions of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 (STCW Convention).
Continue reading “Over 50% of flag states could be removed from STCW White List”
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published a digest and analyses of twenty five marine recent incidents and accidents with short descriptions about each involving vessels from the merchant, fishing and recreational sectors. The 70 page report can be accessed and downloaded here or at the foot of this page.
In his introduction to the Digest, Andrew Moll says, “I’d like to thank this edition’s introduction writers. I am delighted that Captain Nick Nash, Andrew Locker and Steve Gravells have agreed to write the introductions to the merchant, commercial fishing and recreational craft sections of this digest. All three have written from both their professional and own personal perspectives, and their words are very powerful. If you read nothing else in this issue, I would encourage you to read the section introductions.
Continue reading “MAIB safety digest volume 1 2019 published with analyses of 25 accidents”
As part of its work to make ships mooring safer, IMO’s Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC 6), which took place on 4-8 February 2019, has introduced new requirements for appropriate and safe-to-use designs of mooring arrangements, a maintenance and inspection regime, as well as proper documentation.
The submissions at the meeting highlighted that mooring operations continue to pose a risk to ships’ crews, but also shore-based mooring personnel.
It is also one of the work situations where crew members are exposed to excessive dynamic forces (snap-back), detrimental heavy manual Continue reading “IMO SDC 6 introduces SOLAS amendment for safer mooring”
Maritime 2050 is a collaboration between the Department of Transport and Maritime UK, the body for the UK maritime sector. This is the first ever long-term strategy for the UK maritime sector.
Maritime UK Chair Harry Theochari said: “For the first time the maritime sector has a real long-term strategy – setting out what government and industry will do to position the UK as the world’s leading maritime nation over the coming decades in an increasingly competitive global context. The global ocean economy will double in value to $3trn by 2030. Competitor maritime nations are hungry for the prize, and Maritime 2050 will ensure that the UK is best-placed to capitalise.
Continue reading “UK Department for Transport has launched Maritime 2050”
A former Coastguard with a wealth of experience has been appointed to the vital role of Secretary of State’s Representative (SOSREP) for Maritime Salvage & Intervention, which oversees the response to accidents at sea.
Stephan Hennig had previously been working with the Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s Counter Pollution Branch since 2012 and was appointed Deputy to the SOSREP in 2017.
The SOSREP is responsible for reducing the risk to safety and the environment arising from accidents at sea. Incidents which were overseen by previous SOSREPs include the Transocean Winner rig grounding off the Isle of Lewis in 2016 and the Hoegh Osaka car carrier incident in the Solent in 2015. Continue reading “New SOSREP at the helm to oversee response to accidents at sea”
A crewman from the Liberian registered general cargo vessel, SMN Explorer, died when he was crushed by a falling hatch cover. The crewman was part of a working party stowing cargo slings used for the discharge of the ship’s cargo. The accident occurred when the crewman climbed up the inside of the open hatch cover after its locking pins had been removed.
The accident was the result of procedural inadequacies and a lapse of supervision. The investigation identified that the vessel’s safety management system was immature and the safety culture on board the vessel was weak. Risk assessments had not been conducted for routine tasks and a safe system of work had not been developed for opening and closing the forecastle (fo’c’s’le) stowage space hatch cover.
– the crewman walked under, and climbed up an unsecured hatch cover;
– the accident occurred because the Continue reading “Crush incident report on SMN Explorer”
On 31st December 2018, the Spanish Yacht registration tax relief, which was established in the General Budgets Law passed on 4th July 2018, will come to an end.
The provisions for the Spanish Touristic Registration tax regime are laid down in Royal Decree 1571/1993. It is a sort of Temporary Admission customs regime whereby non-Spanish residents could register a yacht under Spanish flag exempt from VAT (Non-EU residents) or Matriculation Tax (EU residents but not Spanish).
Matriculation Tax is a tax applicable to leisure yachts, new or used, when registered under Spanish flag or when they are intended for use in Spanish territory by individuals or entities residing in Spain or holding establishments located in Spain. The tax levied is 12% of the yacht’s value.
According to the preamble of the Spanish General Budgets Law 2018, the regime would no longer Continue reading “Yacht registration tax relief to end before 2019 in Spain”
Canal & River Trust will move resource from its centrally based roles into its six regional customer-facing teams to improve customer service and engage with local communities.
The changes will be made as part of the trust’s waterways and well being strategy and will see operational management roles adapted to meet the requirements of the new regions.
Richard Parry, CEO, commented: “The Canal & River Trust has been repositioning as a charity for the waterways and well being, with a new structure that has seen us move from ten waterways to six larger regions, with some activities previously managed centrally now devolved to these regional teams, and a reduction in senior manager numbers overall.
Continue reading “CRT to create regional teams to improve customer service”
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada released its investigation report into the collision of the dredger FRPD 309 with the loaded barge Evco 60, on 5 December 2017, in the Fraser River.
On 04 December 2017, the dredger FRPD 309 departed a shipyard in Delta, BC, to begin dredging in the Fraser River. The vessel is a conventional trailing arm suction dredger, with the bridge and accommodation located forward and machinery space located aft. Before departure, the crew had carried out pre-departure checks, a safety meeting, and emergency drills.
After arriving at the dredging location, the vessel started dredging sand and sediment from the river bed into the hopper using the 2 trailing arms and a dredging pump. When the hopper was filled, the sand and sediment was pumped ashore via a pipeline. The master left the bridge, handing over the command of the vessel to the officer of the watch (OOW). Two engineers, 2 deckhands, and a pipe operator were also on duty.
As the vessel was turning and the pipe operator was raising the trailing arms to the deck level, the vessel experienced Continue reading “Loss of propulsion led FRPD 309 to collide with loaded barge”
252 complaints were received by the Canal & River Trust in 2017/18, according to the latest Waterways Ombudsman report.
The report show that the number of complaints is above the average of 225 over the past five years. During the year the Ombudsman received 35 enquiries about the Trust, down on 39 last year. Fifteen new investigations were opened, which was one more than the previous year and the number of completed investigations was 14, three lower than the previous year.
Of the 14 investigations completed, one was upheld, while in a further four investigations the complaint was either upheld in part, or elements of it were upheld. Goodwill awards were proposed in three cases, although in one case the complainant did not accept it.
There was a very diverse range of complaints. The majority were about Continue reading “Complaints received by the Canal & River Trust are on the up”
From 1 September 2018, owners of human-powered and sailing vessels less than 7.5 metres can be exempt from having to get a unique identifier for each vessel, if a certificate of operation covers the vessels.
Alternatively, owners may choose to continue to apply for a unique identifier for each vessel and remain exempt from having a certificate of operation. The unique identifier does not need to be displayed on the vessel.
AMSA recognised that requiring a unique identifier for every human-powered vessel and sailing vessels less than 7.5 metres, may not be practical for some operators, particularly operators with a high number of unpowered vessels that are replaced frequently.
Exemption 1 allows greater flexibility around the unique identifier requirements for human-powered and small sailing vessels covered by a certificate of operation
The change to Exemption 1 means that owners of human-powered vessels and sailing vessels less than 7.5 metres will have now have Continue reading “Unique identifiers for human-powered vessels can be exempt”
Instagram Posts from the IIMS @iimsmarine