News

Lowestoft, 31st August 2017 – Managing the working and rest hours of crews whilst ensuring the successful completion of technician transfers continues to pose a significant challenge in the safe operation of offshore wind Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs). This is according to the National Workboat Association (NWA), the trade, skills and safety standards association for the […]

Roger Towner, Head of the MCA Seafarer Standards branch recently met section heads and a lawyer from the BG Verkehr in Hamburg. Whilst the BG Verkehr are currently still refusing to accept the UK <200GT Master Code Vessel and <500GT Master Workboat CoCs, issued under article IX of STCW, they did reach a verbal agreement […]

The next NWA Safety Forum will be held at the Orbis Centre, Lowestoft, on 6th September at 10am.  This offshore wind-focused forum will look to involve all stakeholders in the offshore wind supply chain, with representatives from a selection of our members’ wind clients, shore managers and CTV Masters.  Two items to focus on will […]

This month, the NWA launched its LinkedIn profile, with the creation of both a public NWA LinkedIn Page and a members-only NWA LinkedIn Group. This presence on LinkedIn will create two new channels of communication for our members.  The NWA LinkedIn Page will be publicly available, and used to share updates on the NWA’s activity […]

This month, the G+ released a consultation draft of the 2nd edition of their version of the Good Practice Guidelines: “The safe management of small service vessels used in the offshore wind industry”. The consultation period is open now and runs until 9th September 2017.  As we know, this publication has become the offshore wind […]

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 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 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, […]