Marine News

MAIB issues urgent safety bulletin about the death of two men caused by carbon monoxide poisoning

Posted on by News Hound

The Moored Diversion cruiserOn 4 December 2019 two men returned to 9.18m privately owned motor cruiser Diversion, which was moored on the river Ouse in York. The diesel fuelled heater had been leaking exhaust fumes into the boat’s cabin while they were ashore, and both men were overcome by a high level of carbon monoxide poisoning and died shortly after they entered the boat’s cabin.

Safety Issues

1) no carbon monoxide alarm was fitted;

2) the cabin heater had been installed by the vessel’s owner, but the installation had not been professionally checked and no servicing had been carried out. Continue reading “MAIB issues urgent safety bulletin about the death of two men caused by carbon monoxide poisoning”

Loss of towline shackle pin led to tugboat Mangilao sinking reveals NTSB accident report

Posted on by News Hound
Tugboat Mangilao (Photo: Cabras Marine Corporation / NTSB)
Tugboat Mangilao (Photo: Cabras Marine Corporation / NTSB)

The loss of a towline shackle pin and deteriorated watertight fittings caused tugboat Mangilao to sink in the Pacific Ocean about 800 miles northwest of Guam, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has revealed in a Marine Accident Brief.

The 114 foot US flagged tugboat Mangilao sank on August 5, 2019 while being towed to a drydock in Subic Bay, Philippines by the 97 foot US flagged tug Chamorro. Both vessels were owned and operated by Cabras Marine Corporation. No one was aboard tugboat Mangilao and there were 10 crew members aboard the Chamorro.

No pollution nor injuries were reported in connection with the sinking. The 1982-built tugboat Mangilao, which was estimated to be worth Continue reading “Loss of towline shackle pin led to tugboat Mangilao sinking reveals NTSB accident report”

Small Craft Standards Bulletin published by ICOMIA

Posted on by News Hound

ICOMIA Small craft standards Bulletin guideThe International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA) has released its latest Small Craft Standards Bulletin. The bulletin provides industry stakeholders with early notification on changes to existing standards or new work items that are developed and maintained by the ISO Technical Committee for Small Craft Standards (TC 188).

This edition includes an additional appendix at the end which covers various platforms available to use to access the ISO TC 188 Small Craft Standards.

Continue reading “Small Craft Standards Bulletin published by ICOMIA”

900,000 UK boaters set to be hit by post-Brexit travel rules is RYA survey finding

Posted on by News Hound

Two passports and a map showing the UKAlmost 900,000 UK boaters are due to be hit by post-Brexit travel rules on how long they can stay in Europe after the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December 2020, a new survey by the RYA has found.

With the end of the free movement of people, UK citizens, including boaters, will be restricted to spending no more than 90 days in a rolling 180-day period in the Schengen Area (the Schengen rule) before they have to obtain a visa for each Schengen country they plan to visit.

The RYA’s survey shows that of the estimated 1.2 million UK boaters who currently boat in the Schengen Area, 74% spend more than 90 days in 180 in the Area either boating or on other leisure or travel activities. This equates to almost 900,000 UK boaters whose plans will be disrupted by the change in travel rules on 31 December. Responding to specific questions in the survey, 53% of UK boaters boating abroad said they will be ‘greatly affected’ by the limitations of the Schengen rule. Continue reading “900,000 UK boaters set to be hit by post-Brexit travel rules is RYA survey finding”

Two free guide available to download in pdf format published by IIMS

Posted on by News Hound
Free guide available to download in pdf format published by IIMS
Free guide available to download in pdf format published by IIMS

IIMS has published a new 36-page informative free guide called ‘The use of moisture meters on small craft’. Additionally, the Institute has republished another 16-page free guide entitled ‘Biological Attack on Iron & Steel’.  Both guides, authored by Jeffrey Casciani-Wood HonFIIMS, are available in pdf format from the IIMS website.

The use of moisture meters on small craft

The first thing to know about moisture meters is that they do not actually measure moisture. What they do measure is conductivity. The origins of the moisture meter lie in the building and construction industries and the original scale was based on the water content of brick and stonework. The scale has largely remained unchanged. There are a number of these machines available in the market and they were first introduced into the marine industry for checking how an frp hull had dried over time prior to rebuilding for osmosis treatment and for that they remain a useful tool. They are also used to check for moisture below a surface that looks dry. Continue reading “Two free guide available to download in pdf format published by IIMS”

The sad death of IIMS stalwart Captain Barry Thompson is announced

Posted on by News Hound
Captain Barry Thompson addressing dinner guests at the IIMS 25th Anniversary dinner in London in 2016
Captain Barry Thompson addressing dinner guests at the IIMS 25th Anniversary dinner in London in 2016

The world of marine surveying is mourning the death of one of its most admired and respected practitioners of recent times. News has reached the IIMS Head Office of the passing of Captain Barry Thompson HonFIIMS. Barry died on 24 September 2020 aged 92 years old and will be known to many members as well as others in the marine world.

A more detailed obituary will be published in the December Report Magazine, but for now, IIMS CEO, Mike Schwarz, remembers a much-admired and skilful marine surveyor, who was a stalwart of the Institute.

I cannot claim to have known Barry closely, nor indeed for very long – only the past 6 years. But what I learnt immediately upon joining Continue reading “The sad death of IIMS stalwart Captain Barry Thompson is announced”

ROs must inform of non-compliant equipment onboard a Maltese ship

Posted on by News Hound
Transport Malta requires recognised organisations to inform them where it is suspected MED equipment placed onboard a Maltese ship is not compliant
Transport Malta requires recognised organisations to inform them where it is suspected MED equipment placed onboard a Maltese ship is not compliant

Transport Malta has reiterated the need for compliance with the Directive 2014/90/EU on Marine Equipment (MED). The Directive requires recognised organisations to inform the Directorate in cases where it is suspected that MED equipment placed onboard a Maltese ship is not compliant with the applicable requirements.

Market surveillance also includes activities carried out in the course of the Directorate’s recognised organisations auditing and oversight programme with respect to compliance with the MED of equipment placed onboard.

Marine equipment is required to be evaluated after installation onboard a Maltese ship, both by carrying out documentary checks related Continue reading “ROs must inform of non-compliant equipment onboard a Maltese ship”

NTSB releases mass of evidence on deadly Conception dive boat fire ahead of October hearing

Posted on by News Hound
The Conception dive boat hearing is set for 20 October 2020 after which the full report will be published
The Conception dive boat hearing is set for 20 October 2020 after which the full report will be published

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a mass of documentary evidence and factual reporting on the deadly fire aboard the Conception dive boat on 2 September 2019, one of the worst tragedies of its kind in living memory. The docket’s technical reports confirm that there was no assigned roving watch on the night of the fire, and they raise new questions about the level of safety training that the crew received before setting sail. The new material does not include any conclusions or recommendations, which will have to wait for the NTSB’s final report; that document will be released after a hearing scheduled for 20 October.

In multiple witness interviews, former crewmembers told NTSB investigators that they did not recall a designated watch or roving patrol Continue reading “NTSB releases mass of evidence on deadly Conception dive boat fire ahead of October hearing”

Cargo collective publishes a Quick Guide to container packing and the CTU Code

Posted on by News Hound

CTU Code - A Quick Guide PowerPoint Presentation Five international freight transport and cargo handling organisations have published a Quick Guide to the United Nations sponsored Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (the CTU Code), together with a checklist of actions and responsibilities for those involved. It is part of a range of activities to further the adoption and implementation of crucial safety practices by the Container Owners Association, the Global Shippers Forum, the International Cargo Handling Co-ordination Association, the TT Club and the World Shipping Council.

With several container fires aboard ships recently, some of them fatal, the organisations believe that adherence to the CTU Code by all parties would significantly reduce incidents. Continue reading “Cargo collective publishes a Quick Guide to container packing and the CTU Code”

Fixed steel structure underwater surveys needed for North Sea offshore platforms

Posted on by News Hound
Fixed steel structure underwater surveys needed for North Sea offshore platforms
Fixed steel structure underwater surveys needed for North Sea offshore platforms

Dutch-German offshore grid operator TenneT is seeking underwater survey services for its North Sea offshore platforms. TenneT manages the operations of the German and Dutch high voltage cable connections from land to the offshore wind farms, the so-called grid connection systems. The contract covers the underwater inspections of TenneT’s fixed steel structures in the Dutch and the German North Sea. Continue reading “Fixed steel structure underwater surveys needed for North Sea offshore platforms”

Are sustainable flax and basalt fibers the future of marine composites and set to replace glassfibre in boat production?

Posted on by News Hound
The all-electric Voltaire 33 Sky utilizes flax fiber in a bioepoxy resin that can be fully recycled when the power cat is no longer in use.
The all-electric Voltaire 33 Sky utilizes flax and basalt fibers in a bioepoxy resin that can be fully recycled when the power cat is no longer in use.

At last year’s METSTRADE show, the InnovationLab hosted speakers proudly presenting projects which had deliberately moved away from glass fiber and/or polyester resin composites; the kind that have dominated the boat construction market for decades, and still don’t have an environmentally acceptable waste stream solution in order to deal with the ever-increasing volumes coming from end-of-use boats. Instead opting for flax and basalt fibers.

For instance, Amer Yachts announced their intentions to build from a basalt (volcanic fiber) based composite, while Greenboats presented their 27ft day sailer constructed from a flax/bio resin derived matrix. James Starkey from Norco Composites speaking on one of the Sustainability panels, emphasised the importance of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to determine what the real long term environmental impact of any given construction material will be. This means taking its entire life span into account, from raw material harvesting, through to eventual end-of-life impact. Continue reading “Are sustainable flax and basalt fibers the future of marine composites and set to replace glassfibre in boat production?”

Best practice guidelines to reduce the risk of cargo liquefaction before and during loading published

Posted on by News Hound
Cargo liquefaction is a Master's worst nightmare, but new guidance from London P&I Club might help
Cargo liquefaction is a Master’s worst nightmare, but new guidance from London P&I Club might help

The London P&I Club has published a booklet to provide guidance about the risk of cargo liquefaction. It offers practical advice on the loading and the carriage of bulk cargoes which may liquefy and the risks associated with liquefaction, plus the precautions to be taken to minimize these risks.

Cargo liquefaction is described as the phenomenon that is triggered by an increase in water pressure that makes solid bulk cargoes (granular materials that are loaded directly into a ship’s hold) turn from a solid-state into a liquid state, causing a ship to tilt and potentially capsize. It can occur when cargo is loaded into the hold – this often involves a fall from significant heights, or when it is Continue reading “Best practice guidelines to reduce the risk of cargo liquefaction before and during loading published”

Instagram Posts from the IIMS @iimsmarine

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

Show details
Performance & Marketing Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages. This also helps us optimise our marketing campaigns. User data sent to Google Analytics may be used for ad personalization and measurement of our ad campaigns. Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Show details
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance