As part of the revival of water transportation, plans are underway to launch the first new shipyard in possibly a century or more on the River Thames in London. The Port of London Authority (PLA) is seeking written expressions of interest from shipyard operators with proven maritime repair, maintenance, and build capability to develop and operate a new facility on approximately 3.3 acres located at Albert Island Royal Docks London
According to the PLA, use of the Thames has been growing rapidly in recent years, with increasing passenger services, barge movements, and deep-sea trade. The planned shipyard forms part of Albert Island, London & Regional’s 25-acre, multimillion-pound industrial regeneration scheme in the Royal Docks. The whole area is undergoing significant transformation as London’s only Enterprise Zone and presents a unique opportunity for a skilled maritime operator to develop dedicated facilities and highly skilled jobs for local people, serving the UK’s busiest inland waterway. Continue reading “First new shipyard for more than a century planned for London”
New research from the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has revealed a total of 7,000 miles of waterways in Great Britain; 5,000 of the miles identified are navigable today, with the other 2,000 miles either derelict or under restoration.
An additional 500 miles have been uncovered which come, in the main, from including more significant branches of the Grand Union Canal in the London area and further research in Scotland. IWA’s Waterways Directory is a waterways resource that details all the inland waterways ever brought into navigation and has been updated with detailed research by IWA experts and local volunteers. The research informs the charity’s local campaigning and sprung out of the need to know who was responsible for what waterway. The directory lists Continue reading “500 miles of UK inland waterways uncovered”
Regulation falls under the spotlight as technical experts gather for Red Ensign Group Technical Forum
Maritime experts from across the Red Ensign Group are gathering online on 16 and 17 June in what is expected to be the last meeting before it receives its mandatory audit. The Red Ensign Group Technical Forum will meet to discuss technical regulation and how it affects the work of the British Shipping Registers.
Representatives from Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey and the United Kingdom are attending the event.
MCA to carry out unannounced inspections of fishing vessels
Surveyors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are to carry out unannounced inspections of fishing vessels across the UK. The unannounced inspections are being carried out as part of ongoing work around fishing vessel safety in an industry recognised to be one of the most dangerous in the world.
Since November 2020, there have been eight deaths –that’s more than ten per cent of the total for the previous ten years. Between 2011 to 2020, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), reported 60 fatalities from UK fishing vessels. The MCA says it has worked solidly with the fishing industry, reinforcing the messages about the requirements of legislation around standards of safety for crew and for vessels. Surveyors regularly carry out surveys and inspections of fishing vessels and detain those that do not meet the requirement of the law, until those deficiencies are corrected. Continue reading “MCA to carry out unannounced inspections of fishing vessels”
Traditionally, maritime risks have been relatively predictable such as human error, mechanical failures and natural disasters. The continual growth of international trade and the introduction of new technologies mean that shipping industry risks are evolving fast. But is risk management within the sector evolving to meet these challenges? The industry’s recent experiences, for example in managing the grounding of mv Ever Given in the Suez Canal and the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrate significant embedded resilience within the sector. However this does not mean that there are not opportunities to improve risk management practices in the shipping industry. BDO’s 2020 shipping risk survey results showed that where shipping industry leaders may once have viewed risk Continue reading “Shipping Risk Survey results published by BDO”
Four months after the fishing vessel Nicola Faith went missing with all hands off the coast of Wales, the U.K.’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch confirmed that the vessel was recovered in a unique salvage operation. The effort was undertaken after the families of the three lost crew members arranged for a private search to confirm the identity of the vessel on the seafloor. The MAIB said recovery and analysis of the vessel would help to provide answers to the question of why the fishing vessel was lost.
The vessel departed from Conwy, on the north coast of Wales, on January 27 and was believed to be out to set lobster pots. The vessel was not heard from and the MAIB was alerted to an overdue vessel, prompting the SAR operations. Seven RNLI lifeboats and three HM Coastguard teams searched an area measuring more than 400 square miles but reported no sign of the vessel of its three missing crew members.
In March, an inflatable lifeboat from the vessel was found more than 100 miles away. The bodies of the three missing crew, Captain Carl McGrath, Ross Ballantine, and Alan Minard, were recovered on the shoreline. Only in March did the MAIB locate the sunken vessel less than 100 meters from its last known location and after an initial survey, private searchers were brought in to confirm the identity of the ship. Divers photographed and surveyed the Nicola Faith with the information supplied to the MAIB.
Watch the vessel being raised.
In the first stages of the recovery operation, a remotely operated vehicle was used to conduct a final survey of Nicola Faith on the seabed. Evidence including fishing equipment and outlying debris was mapped and collected from the area around the vessel. MAIB said it believes this information will help the team to understand what led the vessel to capsize.
In preparation for the recovery, anchors were set, and salvage pumps were used to remove a large quantity of seawater from the vessel. The Nicola Faith, which weighed 11 tons was raised using a crane barge capable of lifting up to 150 tons from a depth of 140 feet.
“This operation needed to be meticulously planned and executed to ensure that valuable evidence was conserved,” said Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, Captain Andrew Moll. “The purpose of our investigation is to improve safety. The next phase of the investigation will be to establish what events led to the vessel’s capsize, the mechanics of how the vessel sunk, and why. Once the investigation is complete, a report which details the findings will be prepared and published.”
After the vessel was brought to the surface, it was placed on the deck of an adjacent ship. The Nicola Faith is being moved to a specially adapted location where it will be housed until the investigation is complete. Once it has been secured, the families of the crew will have an opportunity to view the vessel.
The highlights and feature articles of this special 136 page edition of The June 2021 Report (the biggest ever) to mark the 30th anniversary of IIMS include:
– The design of cathodic protection schemes for canal craft
– Seafarers ‘N’ Ever Given respect. What will we do this time so that history is not repeated?
– Containers overboard – is theory overtaking practice?
– Stitch by stitch: The art of sailmaking is alive and flourishing
– Could our ‘old friend’, the wind, be the solution to reducing the fuel consumption of ships?
– Seaman’s Manslaughter: An arcane US statute turned enforcement risk
– Elevators on ships – failures, service, and maintenance
– How well does Cathodic protection negate corrosion when used in seawater filtration?
– A personal account of gender diversity at sea
– A look back at 30 years of IIMS history and articles by a number of Past Presidents
– A day in the life of Nick Parkyn
Report issued by MAIB on fatal crush incident during transfer from workboat Beinn Na Caillich to a feed barge
The MAIB have issued a report into the fatal crush incident involving workboat Beinn Na Caillich. At about 1510 on 18 February 2020, the Ardintoul fish farm assistant manager drowned after falling into the water from a feed barge access ladder during a boat transfer. He stepped from the deck onto the ladder while Beinn Na Caillich was still moving forward and was crushed between the boat and the barge. A fish farm technician on board the barge attempted to stop the injured assistant manager from falling in to the water by holding onto the back of his personal flotation device and oilskin jacket, but the severely injured casualty slipped out of them. Despite the assistant manager being recovered from the water and the determined efforts of the fish farm workers, emergency services, and medical staff, the assistant Continue reading “Report issued by MAIB on fatal crush incident during transfer from workboat Beinn Na Caillich to a feed barge”
River Canal Rescue wins award for Bilgeaway pollution filter
River Canal Rescue has won the British Safety Industry Federation’s Water Pollution Award for its Bilgeaway pollution filter. The British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) is the UK’s leading trade body for the safety sector and its annual Safety & Health Excellence Awards cover four categories; product innovation, safety solutions, customer service and water pollution prevention (the latter added in 2020).
For its entry, River Canal Rescue (RCR) explained how Bilgeaway – the world’s first environmentally-friendly bilge discharge filter – was developed to address a well-known pollution problem. Launched in January 2019, Bilgeaway traps contaminants before they’re discharged overboard by automatic bilge pumps, rendering the filter’s contents non-reactive so they can be safely disposed of, instead of going to landfill. Continue reading “River Canal Rescue wins award for Bilgeaway pollution filter”
MCA launches consultation on entry into enclosed space regulations on ships
This consultation from MCA seeks your views on the proposed merchant shipping and fishing vessels entry into enclosed space regulations 2021, which would replace the merchant shipping (entry into dangerous spaces) regulations 1988. The proposed enclosed space regulations incorporate safety of life at sea (SOLAS) amendments, as outlined within section 2 of the consultation document.
Your views are sought on:
– implementation of SOLAS amendments into UK legislation;
– extending to vessels not currently regulated by SOLAS, and;
extending to fishing vessels
Interim MAIB report on fatal accident between Seadogz and a buoy plus urgent safety recommendation published
The Marine and Accident Branch has issued an interim report and safety recommendation on the investigation of the collision between the high-speed passenger craft Seadogz and a navigation buoy resulting in one fatality in Southampton Water on 22 August 2020.
Seadogz was designed and manufactured by Red Bay Ribs Ltd in 2012 with a high sheer bow, deep ‘v’-shaped hull, and inflatable tubes with seven buoyancy chambers. Seadogz was equipped with twin 300hp Yahama outboard engines that, when first fitted, could drive the RIB at speeds of up to 55kts.
Cygnus Instruments: Famous Face Gets a Lesson on Surveying and UTG (Sir Tony Robinson pictured left)
Cygnus Instruments developed the Multiple Echo technique in the 1980s in conjunction with IACS (International Association of Classification Societies). This special ultrasonic technique uses a “single crystal” probe utilising multiple back wall reflections to both ignore coatings (such as anti-fouling paint) and to give an accurate and reliable result on metal thickness.
Mr John Heath, a highly experienced and respected marine surveyor with over 40 years’ experience is the IIMS Technical Director and a board member. He recalls using his first piece of Cygnus equipment back in the 1980s. “I certainly remember using the very large oscilloscopes, pencil and tracing paper to conduct diminution surveys – and naturally, I recall what a revolution it was for our industry. Continue reading “Cygnus Instruments: Famous Face Gets a Lesson on Surveying and UTG”
As part of the revival of water transportation, plans are underway to launch the first new shipyard in possibly a century or more on the River Thames in London. The Port of London Authority (PLA) is seeking written expressions of interest from shipyard operators with proven maritime repair, maintenance, and build capability to develop and operate a new facility on approximately 3.3 acres located at Albert Island Royal Docks London
New research from the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has revealed a total of 7,000 miles of waterways in Great Britain; 5,000 of the miles identified are navigable today, with the other 2,000 miles either derelict or under restoration.
Read the June 2021 Report Magazine online in 
