The Red Ensign Group Technical Forum, being held on 9-10 October in Southampton, UK, and including delegates from the Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey and the UK, is discussing the mechanics of sharing surveyor resources and exploring challenges of regulation.
The Forum is expected to work on updates on the Electronic Oil Record Book trial, a review of enhanced authorisation, technical interpretations and electronic certificates. The new Red Ensign Yacht Code which comes into force next January will also get its final sign off before going to the IMO.
The Code, announced in November 2017, consolidates two existing codes, LY3 and the Passenger Yacht Code, into a single user friendly format. As with the existing codes, the Code is an equivalence to the SOLAS, STCW and Loadline Conventions. The new Code will consist of the following sections:
- Part A, an updated version of LY3 (for commercial yachts >24m, certified to carry 12 passengers or less)
- Part B, an updated version of the Passenger Yacht Code (for yachts of any size, certified to carry 13-36 passengers)
- A set of common annexes, to cover subjects such as helicopter landing areas and new designs of battery systems for use in propulsion
A new co-chair of the Forum, Greg Evans, global director for the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry will be alongside longstanding chair Richard Pellew, from the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency.
As the Red Ensign Group continues to push forward with pioneering the use of technology, many of the discussions between the REG experts in the room this week will not only benefit the members of the REG but to others in the wider maritime industry,
…he said.
The Red Ensign Group is comprised of the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies (Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey) and UK Overseas Territories (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St Helena and the Turks & Caicos Islands) which operate shipping registers.
