Strange and positive things can and do happen at times of great adversity it seems. And let’s face it, the world is facing adversity like no other most of us will have seen. I repeatedly hear from small craft surveyors around the world that they have had their busiest ever year. Yes, the rules of survey have changed, but many people in the world have decided this is the perfect time to purchase a boat remarkably. Equally cargo and commercial ship surveyors are reporting that they too are busy. But again, the rules of engagement and survey are different now.
A number of members have informed me that they are Continue reading “The IIMS surveyor network is proving its worth”
It’s official – Marine Surveying International Fest III 2020, the ultimate marine surveying online training event, is coming to a screen near you soon! If you are not familiar with the Fest format, now in its third year, it is an annual online only event hosted live by IIMS from Portchester, UK and broadcasting through Zoom with both days starting at 06.00 (London UK time). If you cannot or choose not to join live, there is an option to purchase the entire day’s content in video format to watch at your leisure. The event is open to IIMS members but also to non-members too – all are welcome to join.
For many years, the IIMS Certifying Authority (CA) has pursued a rigid training policy, requiring an examiner to attend one of the two days real-time training that has been arranged annually. This concept now seems somewhat outdated and inflexible. Furthermore, asking an examiner whose specialism is coding motorboats to sit through a presentation on workboats and cranes at a training day is not a great use of anyone’s time, unless it has direct relevance of course!
IIMS has published a new free 36-page informative guide called ‘The use of moisture meters on small craft’. Additionally, the Institute has republished another free 16-page guide entitled ‘Biological Attack on Iron & Steel’. Both guides, authored by Jeffrey Casciani-Wood HonFIIMS, are available in pdf format from the IIMS website.
Of course, we have always known that the sea can be and is a treacherous place at times; but the past few weeks have seen a spate of distressing incidents and accidents, seemingly occurring on an almost daily frequency and resulting in the loss of life with substantial damage to vessels and cargoes around the world. Before I became involved in my role as CEO of IIMS, I was blissfully unaware of the sheer number of lives lost at sea, as indeed are most members of the general public. The reason for that is simply that most marine accidents, apart from the really major ones, never make the general news agendas. When I tell my friends and family about the tragedies that routinely happen at sea, they are disbelieving.
As the Institute has finally taken ownership in recent weeks of Murrills House as its new flagship headquarters, President, Geoff Waddington, arrived (pictured right) to perform the ribbon cutting duties and ceremony to officially mark the completion.
My blog is long overdue for an update and what better time to scribble down a few words than at the start of UK Maritime Safety Week which runs from 6 to 10 July 2020. It seems appropriate to put the IIMS weight behind an awareness campaign of this kind, not least as one of the major roles of any marine surveyor, not just in the UK, is to help to keep lives safe at sea and to help protect vessels, cargoes and maritime assets.
IIMS has released the twenty fourth handy guide in the series ‘What a marine surveyor needs to know about’ and the publication is now 
The International Institute of Marine Surveying’s (IIMS) submission to the Australian Senate, raising members concerns as to the direction and delivery of AMSA’s services for domestic commercial vessels, has been widely agreed with and extensively quoted in the Rural and Regional Affairs committee’s recently published report entitled Performance of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
At the Annual General Meeting of the International Institute of Marine Surveying held at Murrills House, Portchester on 16th June 2020, Geoff Waddington took up the position of President of the Institute, a position he will hold for the next two years. Geoff replaces Dubai based Capt Zarir Irani who has held the position since 2018.