Author: admin

The MCA have finally got round to updating and revising the Loadline Regulations – as one of the basic pieces of marine legislation applying to almost all craft, you should be aware of these changes – and give your comments as they will affect your business going forward. This is a substantial piece of legislation […]

The National Workboat Association (NWA) would like to thank everyone who attended our most recent Safety Forum, Towage: Reducing the Risks – Raising the Standards, on the 16th June at Seawork 2017.   The forum drew on the expertise of workboat operators and safety specialists for an examination of the causes of prominent towage incidents, […]

As many of you will have seen, last month we sent out a questionnaire to all of our members, designed to measure your satisfaction with our activities, and establish your priorities as we continue to act on your behalf. With a response rate of just under 50%, results showed 80% of participants were satisfied with […]

The Maritime Skills Alliance (MSA) is reforming the current ‘Diploma in Maritime Studies: Boatmaster, Tidal Inland Waterways’ into 3 stages to make it more accessible for candidates. It also means that if desired a candidate can study stage 1&2 and achieve a recognisable deck qualification, even if he is not able to go on to […]

The towage sector continues to suffer serious incidents that could be avoided. This is according to the National Workboat Association (NWA), which maintains that there is no room for complacency when it comes to the further development and implementation of good practice guidelines and competence standards for port, coastal and ship-assist operations. In the wake […]

On June 15th, the NWA will be hosting a forum entitled Towage: Reducing the Risks – Raising the Standards in the Upper Deck Conference Room, from 10:30 – 13:30. Members are strongly encouraged to join – but all are welcome. With input from the MAIB and Shipowners P&I Club specialists, we’ll consider some of the […]

At the MSA BML working group meeting this week, it was decided to proceed with the new proposed 3-stage Maritime Skills Qualification (MSQ) approach for obtaining the revised Certificate in Maritime Studies: Boatmaster, Tidal Inland Waterways. Whilst candidates can still complete the whole Boatmaster licence as one larger unit, they may, if they so wish, […]

Following last year’s public consultation, we’re pleased to announce that the MCA has now published an updated version of the High Speed – Offshore Service Craft Code for vessels under 500 tonnes. The revised HS-OSC code can now be found online here, and has been published alongside responses to the comments received during the consultation. […]

Manchester, 14th March 2017 – Existing procedural approaches to safety management and incident analysis may be failing to enable effective handling of risk, and hindering efforts both to establish accountability for, and to learn from, maritime accidents.   This is the provocative theme of a workshop to be held next week by the National Workboat […]

Further courses are now planned at JPMA Hoylake Sailing School and Stream Marine Training, Glasgow as follows;- JPMA Hoylake Sailing School Monday 20th February – Friday 3rd March. – For bookings/enquiries, contact: purser@hss.ac.uk or Tel. No. 0151 632 4664. Stream Marine Training Monday 27th February – Friday 10th March – Contact: bookings@streammarinetraining.com or Tel. No. […]

2017-01-13 09:00:00.0

This 'Use of Workboats for Towage -Good Practice Guide' has been produced by NWA members actively involved in towage.  The intent is in part to give guidance to underpin the principles of towage which are contained in the revised Workboat Code due to be published shortly by the MCA, as well as answering the recommendation […]