NEW marine repor ts and guides
Canal & River Trust Vital Connector for Nature and People report published
A major new report has highlighted how the UK’s historic canal network — the nation’s longest and most connected corridor of freshwater habitat — is one of Britain’s most important yet under-recognised assets for nature recovery, public wellbeing and community connection.
The Vital Connector for Nature and People report, published by the Canal & River Trust and supported by environmental leaders including Dr Tony Juniper CBE, chair of Natural England, shows how canals can play a unique role in tackling three converging national challenges: biodiversity loss, declining connection with nature, and widening health and wellbeing inequalities.
Originally engineered as transport routes during the 18th and 19th centuries, canals today support a remarkable range of wildlife, including bats, kingfishers, otters, aquatic plants, pollinating insects and rare invertebrates. As linear corridors, canals allow species to move across urban and rural landscapes, a role that is particularly important in post- industrial and intensively farmed regions of central England where natural habitats have been heavily reduced.
The report explains that canals now function as one of the UK’s most effective wildlife corridors, linking landscapes in ways that other green spaces cannot. By running directly through urban areas, canals bring nature into daily life, allowing people to experience wildlife close to where they live and work. Canals are also increasingly important for people’s health and wellbeing. Research shows that access to green and blue spaces is a key determinant of physical and mental health, yet access remains unequal, particularly in urban and minority communities. Many of these communities have limited access to traditional green spaces and experience poorer health outcomes.
Download the report at
https://bit.ly/3NvdxRA.
AMSA marine incident annual report 2024
Each year, vessel owners, operators and crew report marine incidents to AMSA. They analyse this data to understand the safety risks affecting domestic commercial vessels (DCVs), regulated Australian vessels (RAVs) and foreign-flagged vessels operating in Australian waters.
The Marine Incident Annual Report 2024 presents key findings from the past year and identifies trends over the last 5 years, including common incident types, their impacts, and some of the contributing safety factors. These insights directly inform the development of AMSA’s 2025–26 National Compliance Plan, our targeted strategy to improve vessel safety across the sector.
In 2024 - 5,625 marine incidents reported (up 2.8% from 2023). - Larger DCVs (12 m and over) made up nearly 70% of marine incident reports, despite comprising only 20.6% of the DCV fleet. - Bulk carriers accounted for the most marine incidents among foreign-flagged vessels.
- 5 fatalities were reported across all vessel types. - Over 500 reported injuries with 157 of these serious. - Most serious crew injuries were linked to navigation (DCVs) or maintenance and cargo handling (RAVs/ foreign-flagged vessels).
- Collisions, groundings, and propulsion or system failures were the most common marine incident types with engineering system failures rising across all vessel types.
- Person overboard incidents on DCVs dropped by 12.9%. - Common contributing factors included poor lookout, equipment failures, and gaps in risk assessments or risk management procedures.
Download the report at
https://bit.ly/4a0ZSJR.
THE REPORT | MAR 2026 | ISSUE 115 | 61
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