Throughout 2025, work continued on Recreational Craft Directive (RCD), Recreational Craft Regulations (RCR) and Post Construction Assessment (PCA) research, with a newly drafted paper by Tom Keeling – known as PCA 2 – receiving an encouraging response from Graham Russell MBE, Chief Executive of OPSS (Office for Product Safety & Standards). The paper is due for wider release in early 2026.
Since the release of the PCA 1 paper in 2024, IIMS has remained engaged with Continue reading “Post Construction Assessment papers trigger official policy review”
You don’t need me to remind you of the catastrophic incident in March 2024, which resulted in the MV Dali totally destroying the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, killing six highway workers in the process. It really is one of the most spectacular and tragic maritime accidents in recent times, witnessed around the world by millions. We have covered the story in more detail elsewhere in this news bulletin, 
Dear colleague
You don’t need me to remind you of the safety concerns and issues surrounding lithium-ion battery technology. My views are well known! But this is the first instance I am aware of a narrowboat on the UK canal network exploding as a result of this battery technology. Reports suggest that debris was thrown 40ft across the canal and witnesses said the explosion was very loud and shook their boats. Fortunately, there were no injuries. This is yet another wake up call, but sadly, I suspect we will never know what caused the batteries to blow given the total destruction of the boat. 
Edition IV of the IIMS Safety & Loss Prevention Briefings Compendium has been published and is available for download. This is an essential addition to every marine surveyor’s online library. As you read and browse the 172-page publication you will discover:
When I read this story in December 2024 despite the report coming out in October, it did not shock me, but it certainly saddened me. I guess we all know the inherent dangers that fishers the world over face. So, I read that a global safety charity is calling for urgent change and investment after its latest report named fishing as the world’s most dangerous occupation.
The first artwork on water by Alex Chinneck, the sculpture celebrates Sheffield’s historic waterways and industrial heritage. It takes the form of a full-size canal boat, whose body behaves in an extraordinary way, performing a six metre-high, gravity-defying, loop-the-loop.
It seems we have gone full circle. Cargo ships powered by sail were lost to us a century or more ago, and to the current generation such vessels are regarded as outmoded transportation from a bygone era. But now they are back, more sophisticated and sustainable than ever. Recently I read about the Anemos, which has claimed the title of the world’s largest sailing cargo ship as she made her inaugural voyage from Concarneau, South Brittany, France. 
