Trinity House News

The International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF) has launched its #SARyouOK? Guidance and Best Practice Framework.The #SARyouOK? initiative is supported by the Trinity House DFT Maritime Safety Fund and aims to promote awareness of mental health and wellbeing issues and break down the attached stigma for those working in the maritime search and rescue (SAR) sector.This initiative provides comprehensive guidance on mental health and wellbeing for maritime SAR services. The aim…

Marcus Cheesman started his maritime training in 1987 at the early age of 13, attending Trinity House Navigation School, the UK’s only Nautical school. Upon graduation he was selected for a deck cadet apprenticeship with P&O Cruises and continued to progress through the ranks with P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line (including Windstar Cruises) and Disney Cruise Line, ultimately obtaining his Master Mariners license in 2002. He has piloted vessels on the busy River Humber based in his home town Hull…

International maritime welfare charity Sailors' Society has launched a dedicated helpline for seafarers and their families.The confidential, 24 hour service is there to offer support and welfare to those worried or adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.Sandra Welch, the charity's COO and director of program, said: “We’ve seen an increase in calls for help and advice of late and there’s a lot of uncertainty, so our new dedicated Covid-19 helpline is a welcome addition to our services.“Many seafarers don’t know when they will sign-off and return home…

The UK’s Department for Transport is to acquire a new ship for the General Lighthouse Authority Trinity House to replace THV Patricia, which has been in service since 1982, to ensure other vessels continue safe and smooth operations in UK waters and overseas. The General Lighthouse Authority is responsible for providing more than 600 aids a year to navigation around UK waters, including ships, lighthouses and buoys. The as yet unnamed vessel will deliver critical navigation aids to ships in some of the most dangerous waters in the world…

Ambitious plans are being launched for a $184 million training and disaster relief ship with cutting-edge British technology.Britannia Maritime Aid (BMA), a registered charity, aims to build the futuristic vessel in Britain. It is officially launching its plans at the UK Chamber of Shipping on Monday September 9 during London International Shipping Week.Maritime professionals and training experts have joined forces for project with backing from former First Sea Lords, the Lord West of Spithead and Admiral Sir Nigel Essenhigh.Others supporters include members of the Houses of Lords and Commons, shipbuilder Cammell Laird, ship designers Leadship…

UK-based ship repairers and marine engineering services provider SMS Group has secured two very important contracts with Trinity House."The culmination of many months work has seen the SMS team in Lowestoft secure both the refit of the Trinity House Vessel (THV) Alert and three publicly tendered ‘Lots’ with regards to mechanical and electrical maintenance," said a press release from the firm.James Grala, the General Manager of SMS Lowestoft, said “We’ve won both the mechanical repair, maintenance and service contracts for vessels located on the East Coast and the West Coast.“We’ve also won the electrical repair, maintenance and service contract for vessels on the East Coast. The former contract covers Harwich and Swansea and the later just Harwich.

Anne, Princess Royal, visited International Maritime Organization (IMO) Headquarters in London (5 December).The Princess Royal was received by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim and addressed the 100th session of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and took a keen interest in the proceedings, as the Committee discussed measures to enhance maritime security and piracy and armed robbery against ships.The Princess Royal, who is Master of Trinity House and President of the Mission to Seafarers, then met delegates from a number of Member States and non-governmental organizations. Photos here. The visit was organised as part of a series of events commemorating IMO’s 70th anniversary and the World Maritime Day theme - “IMO 70: Our Heritage: Better Shipping for a Better Future".In March 1948…

Today many of us take aids to navigation for granted, and until they need to be replaced, we don’t realize how much we depend on them. Most marine navigation aids only require a routine inspection and maintenance after installation. Then they effectively continue their job so that mariners, harbor masters and other seafarers have one less thing to manage. However, it wasn’t always that way. The first marine aids to navigation were very different. Early mariners were guided into port by fires lit on hillsides to denote where the safe passage lay.

Salvage operations are expected to commence shortly in order to remove the wreck of the MV Ella which sank in July off Lowestoft, England. MV Ella formerly served as a floating restaurant and was unmanned and under tow from Hartlepool to Rochester when she began to take on water. The tow was cut and the vessel sank approximately 3.5 nautical miles southeast off the Port of Lowestoft on July 6, 2017, resulting in a hazard to navigation and a danger to shipping. The Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention (SOSREP), established a Temporary Exclusion Zone (TEZ) of 500 meters around the wreck, and Trinity House has marked the site with Emergency Wreck Marking Buoys.

The Thames Tideway Tunnel project, London’s new ‘super sewer’, which will upgrade the city’s 19th century sewerage system for today’s eight million plus inhabitants, requires excavation on an enormous scale. Creating a tunnel 25 kilometers in length, and running up to 65 meters beneath the River Thames, will generate immense volumes of spoil, right in the heart of London. To minimize the impact of transporting this on the capital’s roads, Tideway plans to transport around 4 million metric tons of this material by river.

The Maritime & Coastguard Agency has made a new appointment to the role of Secretary of State’s Representative (SOSRep) Maritime Salvage & Intervention, which oversees the response to accidents at sea. Les Chapman has been appointed to the role and will join the Agency on Monday 21 August. He will work alongside the existing SOSRep Hugh Shaw OBE for several months, to allow a substantial transition period in this important role, and will not assume the role and responsibilities of the SOSRep until an agreed time later on in the year. The SOSRep is responsible for reducing the risk to safety and the environment arising from accidents at sea.

Last week’s Nautical Institute London Command Seminar saw the appointment of Captain John Lloyd RD MBA FNI as the Institute’s new chief executive officer, succeeding Philip Wake OBE RD MSc FNI, who is retiring after 14 years in post. Speaking at Trinity House, the venue for the third of the Institute’s 2017 command seminar series, Captain Lloyd said, “I am delighted to be leading the next phase of development at The Nautical Institute, at a time of great change for our industry.

The Merchant Navy Medal (MNM) has been awarded by the industry for meritorious service since it was established in 2005. Last year it was elevated to a State award, with presentations conducted by HRH The Princess Royal at Trinity House on 15 November. This year, the closing date for the receipt of nominations is Friday 19 May. Details of the awards ceremony will be promulgated in due course. Eligibility for the MNM is limited to those who have served, or are serving, in the Merchant Navy or Fishing Fleets of the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands who have shown devotion to duty and exemplary service, which has been of particular value and has constituted an outstanding example to others.

Mr Philip Wake OBE RD MSc FNI has been appointed an Ordinary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the UK’s New Year’s Honours’ List for his services to the maritime industry. Philip was elected a Fellow of The Nautical Institute in 1996, and became Chairman of the voluntary London Branch soon after. Having served in the Secretariat since November 1999, he became the Chief Executive of The Nautical Institute in May 2003. During his time as Chief Executive, The Nautical Institute has developed its reach as a professional membership organisation, now serving members in 120 countries. The Nautical Institute continues to promote professionalism, safety and best practice to the industry as a whole, through a range of publications and free resources, including the Alert!

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has received an order from TraPac, Inc. to deliver two new 5th generation Kalmar automatic stacking cranes (ASCs) for the expansion of TraPac's automated terminal in Los Angeles. The cranes will join a fleet of 27 Kalmar ASCs and 28 Kalmar automated straddle carriers managed by the Kalmar TLS equipment control system. The new ASCs will be delivered in 2016 and they are expected to be commissioned by the end of 2016. Troy Thompson, Vice President, Ports and Terminals, at Kalmar Americas, commented, "Our partnership with TraPac has led to the development of the 5th generation Kalmar ASC, which combines together all the experience gained during the first phase of the project.

Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) advises ship owners and managers that the rate governing the collection of UK Light Dues is set to reduce from April 1, 2015. As advised by Trinity House in Circular No 533, for vessels other than those where periodic payments apply, the charge will be 39p per Net Registered Tonne (NRT). Rates for the coming year (2015/16) have been reduced from 40p in 2014/15, which is a further penny less per NRT than the previous year. The reduction follows efficiency savings by the GLAs and reflect a UK Government commitment to “create the right conditions to support one of the UK’s most important industries”. The 39p rate applies up to a cap of 40,000 NRT (i.e. a maximum charge of £15,600) for vessels with and International Tonnage Certificate.

Remote monitoring enables early detection of problems and correction of system faults. Imtech Marine has been awarded a three-year contract by Northern Lighthouse Board to provide VSAT systems with connectivity and value added services. The contract also includes maintenance services for the five vessels operated by Northern Lighthouse Board and Trinity House in the U.K. The five vessels maintain safe shipping lanes around the Scottish and English sectors of the British Isles coastline.

In the UK, Captain Duncan Glass OBE, chairman of the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, has been awarded the Merchant Navy Medal for exceptional services to navigational safety and to seafarers’ charities. The award focuses on outstanding contribution made to merchant shipping, its operations, development, personnel, welfare or safety, or on those who have performed an act of courage afloat. Captain Duncan Glass was awarded the medal by Admiral Lord West of Spithead at a ceremony attended by many senior figures from across the industry including the minister Mike Penning MP.

Charity Launches New, Online Resource for Former Mariners Who Suffer in Silence. As the country comes together to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Atlantic this month - the longest continuous military campaign of the second world war - a Surrey care home which specializes in the care of former mariners has said too many veterans of both the Royal and Merchant Navy are prone to suffer in isolation during their twilight years, rather than seeking the specialist support often available to them.

Ships are becoming increasingly dependent on complex electronic equipment and electrical power systems, with incidence of engine failure and blackouts increasing. Safety and reliability are paramount, as will be discussed and debated at a new conference taking place in early October. With just over a week before the inaugural Marine Electrical and Control Systems Safety Conference (MECSS 2013) organized by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) opens in Amsterdam, speakers from Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, U.K. and U.S.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe T.D., announced today that he has agreed arrangements with his U.K. counterpart, Minister John Hayes MP, for light dues paid by ships coming into ports in Ireland and the United Kingdom from April 2015. Light dues fund the Aids to Navigation (lighthouses, buoys, beacons and radio aids) operated by the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) in Ireland, and by Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board in the U.K. The three lighthouse authorities, their integrated working arrangements and the single operating system for light dues represents a long standing cooperation between Ireland and the United Kingdom. A joint Ireland-U.K.

The General Lighthouse Authorities (GLA) will be undertaking a review of Aids to Navigation provision around the coasts of Ireland and Great Britain during 2014. The GLA consider good quality user input to be an essential component of this review. The Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention requires the provision of “such aids to navigation as the volume of traffic justifies and the degree of risk requires”. The 2015 review will consider all AtoN provided by the GLA on the coasts of Ireland and Great Britain both individually and as AtoN systems.

ACCSEAS, an EU-funded project to support improved maritime access to the North Sea Region through minimizing navigational risk, welcomed over 80 regional and international shipping experts to Edinburgh for its second annual conference, held last week. The ACCSEAS Conference presented an array of e-Navigation test-bed solutions, all of which are aimed at increasing accessibility and improving navigational safety in the increasingly busy shipping waters of the North Sea Region.