Whilst touching on events, I’d like to confirm the dates of two Annual General Meetings. First up is the online only Canada Branch 2023 AGM (followed by some free seminars) on 1 April. The second is the hybrid IIMS 2023 Annual General Meeting scheduled to take place on 7 June from 08.30 (London, UK time). Watch for further details about both events.
The number of maritime accidents and incidents occurring during January, many of which are highlighted in brief in this bulletin, seems exceptionally high. You know how keen I am to share this type of information for I believe it is important that surveyors can see and understand the scale of the accidents and incidents that are frequently occurring. The challenge of keeping people and assets safe at sea remains huge. There have certainly been some harrowing events to record too, some of them sadly involving loss of life. Just four examples you will read about are “Four missing after tug sank in the Caribbean,” “Chinese general cargo ship sank off Jeju with large numbers of crew missing,” “Seven missing following tanker explosion in Thailand” and “Tanker split in half after explosion with two missing.” The loss of human life is incalculable, of course. Our thoughts, as always, are with the bereaved loved ones and families. Who knows what the combined financial loss of these valuable marine assets will amount to and the ensuing insurance claims. We all know that accidents frequently happen at seas and lives are lost, but this is something to ponder on and we should never lose sight of it.
Lithium-ion batteries remain one of the hottest topics of discussion in the marine world right now, and justly so given there has been a spate of accidents last year linked to this rapidly emerging technology. So, it is interesting to learn that Havila Kystruten, the specialist Norwegian cruise ship operator, has recently decided that only cars and motor vehicles that use fossil fuel can be transported on board the company’s ships in selected ports along the Norwegian coastal route. The full article can be read elsewhere in this bulletin, but at a time when it seems we are full steam ahead with this technology, one company appears to have slammed on the brakes. I find that intriguing. It would seem to be a bold move but is purely motivated by their safety concerns. As Havila Kystruten CEO, Bent Martini, says, “The company reached this decision after a pure safety assessment, and the conclusion of the risk analysis shows that a possible fire in fossil vehicles will be able to be handled by the systems and the crew we have on board.” It is hard to disagree with his statement and we should applaud it. One wonders if others will follow this initiative and make similar decisions until the technology is proven.
Survey well.
Mike Schwarz Chief Executive Officer
OUT NOW: Report Magazine March - edition 103
Edition 103 of the Report Magazine has been published and is now available to download and read. Extending to well over 100 pages, there is something to interest marine surveyors from all areas of the profession. Here’s a short overview of some of the articles and features that await you:
- Minimum steel thickness for narrowboats: Special feature - The opportunities and challenges presented by report writing software
- Is lithium-ion the ideal battery? - State the facts and only the facts in post incident reporting - Volvo Penta unveils their vision and future concept of boating for everyone
- Key trends driving marine insurance claims activity from fire to inflation
- Beware of the danger of in-transit fumigation - Automation and situational awareness: Key considerations - Firefighting at sea – Towards a safe ship concept - What lessons could be learned by the Suez Canal Authorities from the Ever Given grounding? - Finding the cracks before they appear
Download The Report Magazine in pdf or view the publication in eReader format at
https://bit.ly/2WQTosu
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