The UK MAIB has released its MAIB annual report 2024. Last year, the MAIB received 1,515 reports on marine casualties/incidents and started 15 investigations — 7 of which started involved loss of life.
Overall, the MAIB recorded 1,631 reports of accidents to UK vessels worldwide or any vessels within UK coastal waters during 2024. A total of 1,753 vessels were involved. Continue reading “UK MAIB Annual Report 2024 published”
The Isle of Man Ship Registry has released its Isle of Man Ship Registry’s 2024 Casualty report. It contains an analysis of the data and trends identified from casualty reports submitted to the Ship Registry during 2024.
Over the course of last year, the Ship Registry said there were 53 Accidents, 34 incidents and 7 casualty reports. There was one fatality, 8 serious injuries and 22 minor injuries reported. Continue reading “Isle of Man Ship Registry’s 2024 Casualty report”
This year’s Port State Control Concentrated Inspection Campaign (PSC CIC) will focus on ballast water management, DNV has announced.
The CIC is set to take place from 1 September to 30 November 2025.
Every year, PSC regimes determine a specific focus area during regular inspections. For 2025, the Paris and Tokyo MoUs have agreed to run a CIC on the topic of ballast water management (BWM). It is expected that the majority of PSC MoUs will participate in this year’s CIC. Continue reading “PSC CIC on ballast water management”
DNV offers guidance on the matter of corrosion in ballast water & cargo tanks, highlighting that the actual corrosion rate may differ, with factors like temperature and coating condition playing significant roles in the deterioration process.
According to DNV, the actual corrosion rate in ballast and cargo tanks may differ from the assumptions in the rules and the embedded corrosion models. DNV survey data reveals a significant rise in corrosion findings in water ballast and cargo tanks in oil tankers and bulk carriers at the third renewal survey, with a peak at the fourth renewal. That means that for some vessels, the useful life of the effective coating protection may only be about two-thirds of the requirement of the Performance Standard for Protective Coatings (PSPC). Continue reading “Corrosion in ballast water & cargo tanks”
IIMS CEO, Mike Schwarz, has been alarmed at what seems to be a growing number of destructive yacht and boat fires incidents reaching his desk since the start of 2025. Mike has been motivated to write this article so he can set out and catalogue some of the higher profile fire incidents, as well as some of the less well publicised ones.
This is an expanded article following the introduction I wrote for the IIMS June News Bulletin on this subject. It may have passed you by, but there seems to have been a string of eye-catching large yacht and boat fires erupting around the world since the start of 2025 with devastating consequences. So, what is behind this surge in yacht and boat fires? Is there a common thread? Not sure yet, is the simple answer. Continue reading “What’s behind the latest spate of boat fires?”
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are an environmental issue experienced globally, affecting countries and industries. As one of the measures to decarbonise road transportation by reducing GHG emissions from automobiles, car manufacturers have been developing EVs that are powered by lithium-ion batteries (LiB) instead of conventional fuels, which has caused safety issues transporting EV’s. Continue reading “MTF’s report highlights critical safety issues of transporting EV’s”
Operating a maritime business is inherently risky. This is so for inland commerce, open ocean navigation, and everything in between. Not only are maritime professionals subject to the whims of Mother Nature, but much of the work itself is dynamic, involving massive vessels, heavy machinery, and hazardous materials. Accordingly, anyone engaged in the maritime industry – from deckhands, machinery operators, and engineers to captains, shoreside support staff, and corporate officers – must be ready to respond to a crisis at a moment’s notice. Because an ounce of preparation is worth a pound of cure, leaders of maritime businesses should expect that crises will occur and train their workforce for the inevitable, a systematic approach is needed to maritime risks. Continue reading “A systematic approach to maritime risks”
Some offshore wind turbine (OWT) support structures may fall short of required fatigue reliability of offshore wind turbine structures, according to a new Lloyd’s Register (LR) report.
The case study evaluated a North Atlantic offshore wind farm of 60–70 turbines (500–600 MW capacity). Offshore wind turbines are typically designed for 25 years of service, using a fatigue design factor of three—implying a minimum required Continue reading “Lloyd’s Register: Fatigue reliability of offshore wind turbine structures”
A recent INTERCARGO report highlighted cargo liquefaction as the greatest contributor to loss of life at sea in the preceding decade. Despite improved safety, cargo liquefaction incidents continued to occur. Although ship losses due to cargo liquefaction accounted for less than 20% of all vessel casualties during that period, they resulted in the loss of 70 lives, representing over 60% of the total fatalities. In other words, if cargo liquefaction occurs on a bulk carrier, it is more likely to result in loss of life than any other type of incident. It is important we have an understanding in liquefaction and dynamic separation in solid bulk cargoes. Continue reading “Understanding liquefaction and dynamic separation in solid bulk cargoes”
Gard saw five fires originating in the main and auxiliary engines in the first month of 2025 alone. Tragically, some of these engine room fires resulted in fatalities and serious injuries to seafarers. While it is too early to draw any conclusions about how the rest of the year will go, it may be helpful to review experiences from recent years. Although the main cause of these fires may not be identical, there are certain similarities in the underlying patterns of the fires. Every year fires on board ships lead to loss of lives and severe damage to the vessels themselves. Most fires on board ships originate in the engine room Continue reading “Engine room fires are still a major concern”
The IMO has introduced SOLAS Regulation II-1/3-13 through Resolution MSC.532(107), setting new requirements for lifting appliances and anchor handling winches. These updates will take effect on 1 January 2026, ensuring enhanced safety and operational standards across the maritime industry. Class News, released by Lloyd’s Register, covers the requirements for lifting appliances, while a separate publication addressing anchor handling winches will follow. The SOLAS amendments are supplemented by the IMO MSC.1/Circ.1663 Guidelines for Lifting Appliances. Continue reading “New SOLAS requirements for Lifting Appliances”
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) highlighted effective placement of smoke and fire detectors following its investigation of a fire aboard a fishing vessel, Tarka II, last year near Tatoosh Island, Washington. “Installation of smoke and fire detectors in spaces that are typically uncrewed when underway, such as the engine room, allows for the earliest detection and notification of a fire, maximizing the time for operators to respond to the fire or take actions to abandon the vessel,” the marine investigation report said. Continue reading “NTSB highlights fire detector placement after Tarka II”
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