On 24 and 25 April 2018, various working groups of the ISO TC8 SC12 sub-committee focusing on marine technology in large yachts over 24m, were held at the Marina Barcelona 92 (MB92) facility. The timing of these meetings coincided with the 30th MYBA Charter Show held at OneOcean Port Vell in Barcelona.
Over 25 industry experts from across the world, including mast manufacturers, surveyors and insurance brokers etc. as well as representatives from various industry bodies, attended the two-day meeting programme in order to further develop existing approved ISO work items and revise published large yacht standards.
ISO TC8 SC12 is managed by Secretary Mr Paolo Santato (From UNI in Italy) and is co-funded by the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA) – the trade association representing the recreational marine industry worldwide – and Italian marine industry association Confindustria Nautica (UCINA).
To kick-start the meetings, Mary Clara Batchelor, MB92’s Commercial Manager, gave all participants an informative tour of the yard’s facilities and highlighted some of the yachts currently under repair or refit there.
A founding member of the ICOMIA Superyacht Refit Group – which represents quality refit, repair and maintenance yards globally – MB92 services more than 100 superyachts per-year with a length from 35 up to 200m, over a total facility area of 124,000m2 .
The tour was followed by a formal welcome from TC8 SC12 Chair, Mr Jo Assael from BSI in the UK and the newly appointed Vice-Chair, Mr Allen Leng from the Standardization Administration of the People`s Republic of China (SAC), before participants engaged in meetings for Working Groups #3 and #5.
Working Group #3 The newly ‘re-opened’ Working Group 3 (WG3) named ‘Equipment’, was led by appointed convenor Mr Edward Tuite from BSI with ICOMIA’s Technical Consultant Mr Patrick Hemp as project leader. Two new items were added to the programme:
1) ISO/AWI 22820 Large yachts — Elevators and lifting platforms
The key to further development of this work item is to document current industry practice and formulate a harmonised approach amongst marine elevators or lift suppliers. Some challenges in the past related to lack of suitable clear maintenance and inspection protocols. Since many large yacht installations do not currently have escape hatches the feedback from industry so far was to clarify the requirements needed in terms of power failure with one option being for the lift to default to the muster station and open the doors. The next steps will be to review the current text of ISO/TC 178 – Lifts, escalators and moving walks – ISO 8383:1985 Lifts on ships — Specific requirements and make key additions from other sources such as EN 81-20:2014.
2) ISO/AWI 22832 Large yachts — Rescue Boat Launching Appliance
This work item was proposed in order to cover cranes and davits that were not within the scope of the IMO Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) code and therefore could not currently be certified by Class Societies. The initial draft was based on the LSA Code but would include details such as using the running rigging (on a sailing yacht) for lifting purposes and also maintenance or inspection procedures as well as details to be included in an owner’s or handover manual.
Working Group #5 Meanwhile Working Group 5 (WG5), dealing with quality assessment and acceptance criteria and led by newly appointed convenor, Mr Joe Reisinger from ANSI in the US, agreed four new items be added to the existing programme:
1) ISO/AWI 22833 Large yachts — Assessment of composite rigging installation
This item has Mr Ken Hickling from BSI as the project leader and revolves around the challenges involved with assessing the condition and quality of a composite rig (Mast/Spars/Rigging/Attachment Points) and the currently high failure rate in this sector. Key elements in terms of defining the survey requirements will include production quality, quality of installation as well as in-service monitoring.
2) ISO/AWI 22834 Large yachts — Quality assessment of life onboard — Part 1: Stabilization/sea keeping
This item has Mr Enrico Della Valentina from NEN as project leader. His background in working for the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) has been to study hydrodynamic design for comfort in more detail. Experts within this group would work on drafting the requirements needed to develop an assessment index.
3) ISO/AWI 22822 Large Yachts — Dynamic positioning
This item has Mr Hans Cozijn, also from MARIN, as project leader and would cover various thruster types and DP systems specifically installed on large yachts which did not need the high-level of redundancy or accuracy regulated by current IMO requirements which covered commercial vessels such as dive platforms etc.
4) ISO/AWI 22828 Large Yachts — Management of health and safety risks associated with the storage, handling, generation and use of isocyanates in the workplace
This last item was included in the current work programme of industry paint and coatings experts (including some from ISO TC 35 Paints and varnishes) with the group being led by ICOMIA’s Environment Consultant Mr Albert Willemsen. The initial draft would seek to cover guidance on the best possible use of management tools to mitigate the risks associated with the storage, handling, generation and use of isocyanates in the workplace but may also be consulted in all areas where workers are likely to be exposed to Isocyanates.
In addition to the new work item covering Isocyanates the group of experts spent two days further progressing the revision of ISO 11347 Large yachts — Measurement and assessment of the visual appearance of coatings. Although this standard was published in 2012 it was agreed that due to lessons learned during the previous six years, new coatings products becoming available (acrylic, pearlescent and metallic finishes) and an expected new ISO standard related to the calibration of measuring equipment, a full revision was required. ISO 19494 Large yachts — Coatings: Exterior application processes and inspection methods, which had been previously updated by the Working Group and would hopefully be published soon.
“ISO Standards developed by TC8 SC12 are beneficial to superyacht construction” explains Patrick Hemp, ICOMIA Technical Consultant, “As they deal with areas not covered by class rules, or where class rules are not appropriate for superyachts”.
ICOMIA welcomes any input or queries regarding ISO standards for large yachts.
Please contact Patrick Hemp (patrick@icomia.com) for more information on how industry experts can contribute to the valuable work being completed within the ISO TC 8 SC 12 working groups.