The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has issued a product recall for 11 models of life jacket sold via the Amazon online platform. The life jackets are being recalled from end users and the listings will be removed by the Amazon platform. Continue reading “OPSS issues product recall on life jacket sold via Amazon”
Dealing with the challenges of maritime and coastal state responsibilities are coming under the spotlight at the annual Red Ensign Group Conference. Challenges of the sector include recovery of maritime following the pandemic, environmental and coastal concerns, as well as commercial competition.
The conference which oversees and upholds maritime safety standards across the thirteen British Shipping Registers is meeting in the Isle of Man to discuss best practice and to look at ways of improving the performance of the British Registers internationally. It is the first time the conference has met in person since the global pandemic took a hold in 2020. Continue reading “Red Ensign Group Conference looks at challenges of maritime”
Plans to update UK law around rules governing the fire safety and protection of vessels as well as fire protection regulations are going out to public consultation as part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s commitment to ensuring seafarer safety.
The new regulations will implement updated international rules on fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction. This includes provision for improvements made to structural fire protection, escape from fire and operational requirements.
There are already stringent rules around protecting seafarers in the event of fire on board vessels and these amendments to the international regulations are in addition to those. Continue reading “MCA Consultation on updates to fire protection regulations”
This year’s Maritime Safety Week commenced on 4 July. Over the course of the week, a series of blogs reiterating safety messages to the industry were published by the MAIB. A few of the highlights are published below.
Andrew Moll OBE
Opening Maritime Safety Week, Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, Andrew Moll OBE, said:
“Today marks the start of Maritime Safety Week 2022, an important moment when the marine industry comes together to focus on how we can collectively continue to improve safety across the sector. As the MAIB has done in previous years, this week we plan to highlight a number of key areas of ongoing concern and reiterate the safety messages that the industry must note. Continue reading “Reflections and highlights from UK Maritime Safety Week”
The UK Canals and Rivers Trust national boat count shows an increase in boaters using the canals across England and Wales over the last three years. The last full annual boat count took place in 2019, with the pandemic affecting the counts scheduled for 2020 and 2021. The count reveals that the number of boaters rose by 3.3 per cent across England and Wales and there was also a licence compliance rate of 94.1 per cent.
Over the course of the last three years the survey shows a slight drop in the percentage of licensed boats, down from 96.5 per cent in 2019 to 94.1 per cent this year, together with an increase in boats taking a licence without a home mooring Continue reading “UK boating numbers on canals and rivers increase”
On 27 January 2021, the whelk potter Nicola Faith capsized and sank 1.9 miles north of Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales with the loss of its three crew members. The vessel had been extensively modified during its life which had significantly reduced its margin of positive stability. On the day of the accident the Nicola Faith had been loaded with catch and retrieved strings of pots to the point of instability, which resulted in the capsize and subsequently sinking of the vessel. Nicola Faith had not been fitted with a mandatory emergency beacon to alert to the capsize, and it was not reported as overdue until 1000 the next day. Following its salvage by the MAIB, a thorough inspection of the vessel was carried out to determine possible modes of capsize Continue reading “Sinking of Nicola Faith with 3 fatalities report published”
Early in the morning on 21 November 2020, the scallop dredger Joanna C capsized south of Newhaven, England; only one of the three crew survived. Joanna C’s crew was hauling the gear when they noticed that the starboard dredge bar had become snagged on a line of whelk pots. The snag caused a heel to starboard from which the vessel could not recover, and it capsized rapidly.
The MAIB’s investigation found that through-life modifications, culminating in extensive alterations in 2019, had reduced Joanna C’s previously good stability to a state where it had very low reserves of positive stability and increased vulnerability to capsize. The detrimental effect of the modifications was unknown to the crew and regulator alike because, Continue reading “MAIB issues report into fatal sinking of Joanna C”
In his introduction to this report, Remi Eriksen, Group president and CEO of DNV, writes as follows:
Welcome to DNV’s first standalone forecast of hydrogen in the energy transition through to 2050. While there are ambitious statements about the prominent role that hydrogen could play in the energy transition, the amount of low-carbon and renewable hydrogen currently being produced is negligible.
That, of course, will change. But the key questions are, when and by how much? We find that hydrogen is likely to satisfy just 5% of global energy demand by 2050 — two thirds less than it should be in a net zero pathway. Clearly, much stronger policies are needed globally to push hydrogen to levels required to meet the Paris Agreement. Continue reading “DNV’s published a forecast and insight about the development and role of hydrogen in the energy transition”
The Department of Business Energy and Industrial strategy (BEIS) has published its amendments to the list of designated standards (the ISO standards which, if followed, give an automatic presumption of conformity). The notice is split into two annexes. Annex one has two parts. Part one shows the new standards which are now being designated (and part two gives the full list of all designated standards) recreation craft regulations.
The new standards being designated for Recreation Craft Regulations are as follows: Continue reading “BEIS updates the list of designated standards for the Recreation Craft Regulations”
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published its 2021 annual report. One of the main findings to note is the number of fatalities in the fishing vessel fleet, which hit a 20-year high. In his annual report statement, Chief Inspector of Accidents, Capt. Andrew Moll OBE, says, “I am pleased to introduce MAIB’s annual report 2021. It was another busy and successful year for the branch improving safety at sea by our sustained output of safety investigation reports, safety digests, and safety bulletins despite lockdown conditions affecting work early in the year. The branch raised 1530 reports of marine accidents and commenced 22 investigations in 2021. Continue reading “MAIB Annual Report 2021 published”
After a break of two years, the Association of Average Adjusters triumphantly resumed hosting one of the most celebrated events in the global marine and legal calendar – the annual black-tie dinner at London’s Savoy Hotel. The Association proved itself to be in robust health, overcoming the disappointment of pandemic cancellations including what was to have been the annual gathering during 2020, its 150th anniversary year.
Throughout that interlude of ‘virtual’ activity, practitioners remained undaunted, it was clear from the confident tone of more than 200 adjusters, underwriters, insurance brokers, members of the legal profession and representatives of the London and international shipping community who dined on May 12, 2022, in the illustrious setting of the hotel’s Lancaster Ballroom. Continue reading “Speakers at Savoy dinner praise resilience of Association of Average Adjusters”
The fire that destroyed a luxury yacht near Key West in March 2021 most likely started from an electric source within the sound enclosure for the vessel’s starboard generators, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report has determined. However, due to the extent of the fire damage, investigators were unable to conclusively determine the source of the fire.
The crew unsuccessfully attempted to extinguish the fire and abandoned along with two passengers using the vessel’s tender boat. They were then picked by two U.S. Coast Guard boats without injury. Continue reading “NTSB: Luxury yacht fire most likely caused by electrical fault”
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