By Geoff Waddington, HonFIIMS and IIMS Immediate Past President, Mike Schwarz, IIMS Chief Executive Officer with contributions from Craig Norton, President, InspectX
IIMS and its Professional Assessment Committee remain concerned at the quality of reports that it sees, both in general terms, but in particular when assessing a candidate’s suitability for an upgrade.
The emergence of new surveyors into the industry, coupled with their desire (along with more experienced practitioners) to utilise the latest report writing software is creating a concerning trend. In writing this article we want to remind surveyors no matter what method they use to prepare their surveys of the importance of accuracy and giving sufficient meaningful and detailed, factual information to the client. That is and always will be the role of a marine surveyor. To further illustrate this point, the authors have used some verbatim comments taken from legal teams who have been asked to comment and give opinions on surveyors’ report in courts and for insurance companies when assessing claims and considering potential litigation. For obvious reasons, the sources of these comments are not revealed. Continue reading “The opportunities and threats presented by report writing software”
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Lloyd’s Register (LR) has issued an update to its Retrofit Research Programme, with the latest report focusing on the developments in Engine retrofits for alternative fuels.
This is the first of three stories I have chosen to highlight this month, all of which originate from Norway.
Only 1 in 6 shipowners fully understand what a cyber-secure vessel should look like upon delivery, highlighting a critical gap in the industry’s approach to maritime cybersecurity. The report, jointly published by 
Maritime life-saving equipment and ship’s fire safety systems have been the focus of the eleventh session of the
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (
On November 27, 2024, approximately 100 nautical miles off the coast of Virginia, a bulk carrier shipping a type of coal called “Bailey High Vol Coking Coal” experienced consecutive explosions in the two forward cargo holds. While still under investigation, the explosions are likely a result of the accumulation of methane gas that created an explosive atmosphere and resulted in significant damage to the two associated cargo holds. It was soon discovered that the other five cargo holds also had highly elevated levels of methane that were