provisional plans to hold the AGM in June in the grounds of IIMS Head Office, Murrills House, but for now there remains a question mark over that.


Since I took up my role with IIMS, I have never managed to fully get to grips with the sheer number of accidents that happen at sea. It shocked and horrified me then and still does. I read something recently from Standard Club that said they process 7,500 claims per annum - and that is just one organisation. Multiply that up and the number of annual claims must surely run into tens of thousands. For me this is unacceptable and more must be done. It is with is mind that I decided to publish the first edition of the IIMS 2021 Safety & Loss Prevention Briefings Compendium. It runs to 100 pages and the sole aim is to bring together as many of last year’s incident/accident reports and loss prevention guidance as possible in to one easy to use electronic magazine format. There is content relevant to marine surveyors of all disciplines, and I believe this publication is an essential addition to your online resource library. You can download your free pdf copy at https://bit.ly/3mqDVf4 and I would encourage you to share it with your professional network.


With the likelihood of not being able to travel to in person seminars, we will once again turn to online training this year. Our training calendar is yet to be published but keep an eye open for the announcement of some seminars coming soon.


We are gearing up to run two more Marine Corrosion Professional Qualification live courses in March/April and October/November, although you do not need to attend in person to study for this new standard. The first two courses have proved popular and have been well supported with delegates highly rating the valuable nature of the content produced and


delivered by tutor, Mike Lewus. And we have just awarded the first two certificates to delegates who have gained the qualification. Find out more about this essential course designed to supplement and enhance your surveying skills at https://bit.ly/39PG3qG.


There is content in this news bulletin that I am keen to steer you towards, written by senior members of the Institute. President, Geoff Waddington, has been actively writing. His first article deals with the importance of accurately reading and reporting the HIN of a small craft, something that still challenges some surveyors. The second topic Geoff has covered relates to a fault causing potentially life-threatening fumes from a boat’s diesel heater. Yacht and small craft surveyors please read and note. In the interests of transparency and openness, I have persuaded several Professional Assessment Committee members, including Chairman, Capt Chris Kelly, to explain more about the process they follow when someone applies for membership. There seems to be a myth circulating that all a new applicant needs to do is send in a form with payment and membership is instantly granted. You have my word that this is never the case. Please read their comments to get a thorough understanding of how we go about handling new applications, of which there have been many in recent months. And after all, IIMS is only as strong as its weakest member.


Stay safe and survey well.


Mike Schwarz Chief Executive Officer


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