Welcome

Welcome to this our first newsletter for 2021. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 challenges, we have already got off to an impressive start, firstly with the addition of US based marine consultancy 3D Marine. The company is a perfect complement to the range of services we offer and increases Brookes Bell’s global reach with new offices in Houston and Miami. Our multi-disciplinary teams look forward to working together, offering our clients an even greater service and enhanced skill set.

Secondly, hopefully you will all be aware that earlier this week we officially opened our new industry leading laboratory. Equipped to the highest level, we now have the resources and capacity to expand and develop many of our growing business areas. I would like to thank all the many people involved in helping this project come to fruition, this really is a game-changer and an exciting future lies ahead.

On the same note, I would like to congratulate six members of our team who have been promoted in recognition for their hard work, professional and academic excellence and contribution to our business. It is thanks to all our staff that Brookes Bell maintains its reputation as the leading multi-disciplinary technical and scientific consultancy serving the marine and energy sectors.

The global pandemic is still with us and we continue to face many challenges, and with this in mind in this newsletter Dr Martin Jonas talks about recent work on wide range of commodities that have experienced delays, leading to quality issues.

Last but not least, we meet Ken Kirby, Director of metallurgy and non-destructive testing, who has led the team behind the successful completion of the new laboratory and hear about his role and the challenges behind this significant achievement.

Wishing you a safe and healthy month,
Anthony York, Chief Operating Officer

Brookes Bell opens new metallurgy, fuel testing and non-destructive testing laboratory

Brookes Bell – the global technical and scientific consultancy – has (27 January 2021) officially opened its new high-end laboratory.

The virtual opening which was shared with over 50 online attendees included a walk-through introduction with the technical leads of the Brookes Bell’s enhanced and new departments – metallurgy, fuel testing, non-destructive testing and paint sample inspections.

The new 8,000sq ft facility has been developed in Bidston, Wirral, Nr Liverpool in the UK and includes advanced testing and inspection facilities, a modern laboratory, engineering workshop space, flexible training facilities and offices. The new laboratory will help to reinforce the multi-disciplinary technical and scientific services Brookes Bell currently offers, allowing the company to develop business opportunities beyond its existing marine and energy clients, responding to interest and enquiries from new customers.

Ken Kirby, Director of Metallurgy and NDT says: “With the development of this high-end facility, we can now provide laboratory services to local industry, as well as providing our existing clients with an alternative service that has been built cognisant of the requirements of the marine and energy industry for forensic investigations. With the support of a large, diverse team of consultant Engineers, Naval Architects, Master Mariners and Scientists from a whole range of different backgrounds, we believe we can offer a first-class laboratory service to clients, as well as creating a centre of excellence for training and development.”

Matt Calveley, Laboratory Manager and Technical Lead for Metallurgical Services added: “With increasing demand coming from within and outside the maritime industry, this new testing facility will help us provide a greater range of services to support our clients in sectors such as traditional maritime, superyachts and energy. With our advanced investigative laboratory equipment, such as Scanning Electron Microscope, Portable LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) analyser and Olympus DSX-1000 digital optical microscope (one of the leading, industrial light microscopes), we can offer clients a cutting-edge service in forensic and metallurgy failure investigations.”

Arron Jackaman, Technical Lead for NDT Services at the laboratory also added: “The laboratory will be a centre of excellence for the exciting range of cutting-edge and unique NDT applications we have been developing over the past 18 months. The facility here will enable us to continue to work with collaborative industrial partners and clients alike to deliver state-of-the-art NDT services and world-first applications”.

Jenny Davies, Fuel Services Lead said; “The new laboratory houses a state of the art, fuel-testing facility which will allow Brookes Bell to meet the increasing demand and complex nature of fuel-related investigations and claims. We will be able to test fuel samples in accordance with table 2 of ISO 8217, highlighting substandard samples and helping to identify the causes and origins of any fuel-related problems. Our advanced analytical equipment will enable us to provide more exploratory and detailed analysis options over and above table 2 of ISO 8217.”

Ray Luukas, Chief Technical Officer at Brookes Bell, said: “Brookes Bell has been providing multi-disciplinary marine consultancy services to the marine and energy sectors since 1903, this significant investment will enable us to grow the business in new areas by applying our expertise to deliver more complex and technical services alongside our casualty investigation, forensic analysis, technical dispute resolution and expert witness work, assuring the company’s market-leading position for many more decades.”

The full video of the new Brookes Bell laboratory opening can be viewed here.

Brookes Bell grows international reach with the addition of 3D Marine

Brookes Bell – the global technical and scientific consultancy – has today (18 January 2021) announced the addition of US based marine consultancy firm 3D Marine USA Inc.

3D Marine is a full-service consulting group, specialising in all aspects of marine transportation, offering vessel and cargo surveys, casualty and marine engineering consultancy.

The addition of 3D Marine is part of Brookes Bells’ long-term strategy to service clients across the globe, giving the company an additional presence in Houston and Miami alongside its current offices in Liverpool, London, Glasgow, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Brookes Bell is widely regarded as the ‘go to’ firm for casualty investigation, forensic analysis, technical dispute resolution and expert witness work for a broad range of marine and energy matters.

3D Marine was established in 1988. In common with Brookes Bell, the 13-stong workforce comprises experienced master mariners and senior officers, marine engineers and naval architects, with well-established expert witness services. Ray Luukas, CTO, Brookes Bell says: “Brookes Bell is a leading multi-disciplinary technical and scientific consultancy serving the marine and energy sectors, so this is a natural fit for us, complementing the services we offer and significantly increasing our geographical reach. Our business growth is steady and consistent despite the challenges of the last year and the global pandemic, this is an exciting development for all of us going into 2021”.

“Our teams around the world already work together on different multi-discipline projects, pulling in specialist expertise as and when needed. Our new laboratory in the UK provides metallurgy, comprehensive fuel testing, advanced NDT and paint testing services that will be made easily accessible to our new US colleagues, offering customers a more rapid and bespoke service.”

David Scruton, CEO, 3D Marine added: “We have grown steadily over the last twenty years and this partnership now takes us to the next level. By joining with Brookes Bell, we can offer our clients an enhanced range of services and a truly international response, while our team can benefit from new and exciting synergies as a result of being part of a larger organisation. I moved from Liverpool to Houston in 1992, and in many ways this merger with Brookes Bell actually feels like going home.”

Brookes Bell announces internal promotions

We are delighted to announce six internal promotions, recognising outstanding performance, ongoing academic achievement, and demonstrable commitment to professional development.

Alistair Roaf has been promoted to Principal Master Mariner. Tom Ainsley, Conan O’Driscoll and Andy Page have all been promoted to Senior Marine Engineer, and Marcelo Rodrigues and Bryan Ward have all been promoted to Managing Scientist.

We would like to congratulate them all on this significant achievement, and to thank them for their commitment, hard work and for clearly demonstrating Brookes Bell’s desired corporate behaviours.

As an employer Brookes Bell is committed to continuing professional development and the opportunity for advancement and promotion is an important part of our staff retention strategy. Each member of staff has a regular review with their line manager to discuss their goals and long-term career plans to ensure they can make the most of training opportunities both in house and externally.

Above all, we want to ensure that our teams can deliver the highest quality professional expertise and tailored consultancy services in every case for our clients.

Once again, our sincere congratulations go to Alistair Roaf, Tom Ainsley, Conan O’Driscoll, Andy Page, Marcelo Rodrigues and Bryan Ward.

Global pandemic leads to cargo delays and quality issues

Dr Martin Jonas is Director of Science UK, leading a team of cargo scientists who specialise in the ocean carriage and storage of a wide range of commodities, everything from grain and oilseeds to sugar, fertilisers, liquid cargoes, coal, ores, minerals and chemicals, fruit and vegetables. The team – located all around the world - investigate the cause and extent of cargo deterioration, quality disputes, cargo fires and many other marine claims.

The department is seeing a significant increase in commodity and contractual quality disputes between buyers and sellers of cargoes at the moment, with many arising as a result of the global pandemic and vessels being detained in port or unable to berth as a result of national border restrictions, and other disruptions to supply chains.

We cover a huge range of commodity disputes – often far wider than many of our clients realise. It’s something we have specialised in for many decades with our team regularly providing expert opinion or specialist litigation advice for GAFTA or FOSFA arbitrations as well as P&I cargo claims. All the team are qualified to PhD level and the core of the team, including the regional Directors of Science heading the teams in the UK and in the Far East, have been working together for more than 20 years, offering industry-leading specialist expertise with unrivalled continuity and experience.

There are many different cargoes and issues that we commonly advise on, but the transport by sea of foodstuffs can be particularly complex, as damage may arise from factors inherent to the cargo, or from the specific circumstances of the voyage or the vessel.

Grains and oilseeds are shipped in large quantities on bulk carriers and are sampled and tested for quality to verify that the cargo is of the required contractual or regulatory standards to meet the specifications in the sales contract. On delayed voyages, complaints may arise in respect of quality or a deterioration in condition. Investigating quality complaints requires close attention to representative sampling procedures and appropriate laboratory test methods. We assist with arranging sampling and testing and provide expert advice on the findings. In cases of cargo damage or deterioration, comprehensive survey evidence during discharge is essential. Where COVID restrictions prevent our attendance on the vessel, we can provide comprehensive remote guidance and expert evidence on causation, quantum and mitigation.

Seed cakes are the solid remnants of processed grains and oilseeds, commonly used as animal feed components. As they retain a significant oil content, they can be hazardous and liable to self-heating, in some cases to the point of combustion. Seed cakes are valuable cargoes but misdeclaration is not uncommon and there are plenty of new forms offered for shipping but without the appropriate declaration. Understanding which of these cargoes is hazardous and high risk is complex, needing a scientific approach and comprehensive knowledge of past and present regulations.

Edible oils of a plant or animal origin are normally shipped in liquid form on tankers. They can deteriorate for a number of reasons, such as voyage delays or contamination. Sometimes, edible oils need to be carried at a higher temperature which can lead to problems resulting from heat damage or they may get contaminated with water or other cargoes during loading or discharge. Our scientists work closely together with our in-house coatings and tanker experts to allocate the appropriate expertise to each dispute.

The team can offer advice on sampling from ships’ tanks and shore tanks, on sample storage and analysis, we may review cargo temperature and pumping logs, analyse the causes and effect of deterioration or investigate any contamination, providing detailed advice on mitigation. Our coatings experts can investigate the condition of tank coatings that may be associated with contamination claims.

The team may be tasked with providing the correct and accurate declaration of the products, with the regulatory assessment of new processed commodities, the loading and carriage conditions. Similarly, we have extensive experience relating to firefighting, and handling claims involving nutrition effects, quality disparity and taint.

Another aspect of our work is advising on infestation and fumigation. Agricultural materials carried by sea are always at risk of becoming infected by storage pests, and with delays in transit this can become more of an issue. We have extensive experience in identifying insects and rodent infestations. Most cargoes of grain and animal foodstuffs are fumigated onboard once loaded and the fumigation exposure can last for most or all the voyage. Fumigants can be extremely dangerous if used inappropriately, we have investigated many claims and incidents relating to fumigation and have experience of fires, explosions and even deaths caused by inadvertent fumigant inhalation.

Our team can provide the very latest technical advice on insects present in cargoes and their safe, efficient fumigation, advising on the nature and extent of an infestation, its origin, and the IMO safety guidelines for fumigation. We have extensive knowledge and experience and are located all around the world, able to advise on any cargo claim dispute as and when needed.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-martin-jonas/
http://www.brookesbell.com/service/scientific-cargo-expertise

Meet the team - Ken Kirby

Ken Kirby is the Director of metallurgy and non-destructive testing (NDT), based in Liverpool. He joined Brookes Bell in 2006 and became partner in 2011. He has led the team involved in the development, design and build and successful opening of Brookes Bell’s new laboratory. Here he tells us a bit more about the last few years planning the new development, his background and role within the organisation.

The core of my day to day routine is failure investigations of marine casualties or land-based incidents for clients. As director, I am responsible for coordinating the strategic planning and development of the department and managing our ongoing work stream. As part of this I’m constantly working with our technical experts to develop our services, and this is where the Brookes Bell Laboratory and Technology Centre fits in – by enabling us to develop new technologies and novel applications.

I am also responsible for the strategic planning, development and growth of the Brookes Bell Laboratory and Technology Centre and ensuring the delivery of the new state of the art facility which we officially opened on Thursday (27 January 2021). I am not involved in the day-to-day running, but instead the overall strategic development of the laboratory and its service lines to ensure that we meet our clients’ requirements and expectations.

The new laboratory is a success story, it really is a wonderful facility, but it’s a vision that has been many years in the making. We started thinking about the concept of the laboratory within the metallurgy department about four years ago in 2017/18, and it was from there that we developed the ideas, which culminated in an ambitious business plan.

Before the development of our new facility, we had a small inspection centre that was operated out of convenience as a site that housed a lot of our existing samples while allowing basic inspection services. The slow, yet incremental growth of that facility eventually resulted in the service becoming difficult to manage on a day-to-day basis, and this led us to review our entire business model and we decided that the best way forward was to significantly increase the range of services we offered and build an entirely new facility from scratch.

A big change in the plans came when we employed a specialist NDT engineer. After working together on a number of projects related to our core work at Brookes Bell, we quickly realised the development opportunities that could be available if we had access to a well-equipped facility. Brookes Bell already used some advanced NDT techniques and inspection methods, but we needed a way to develop our more innovative ideas further.

We concluded that we needed a plan to develop our ideas and evolve as a department if we were to deliver the services we wanted, and provide the expertise needed by the market. Concurrently, Brookes Bell’s fuel consultancy services had also developed and grown in direct response to customers’ needs and the demands for testing in that industry. Metallurgy, NDT and the fuel testing complement each other enormously in many ways, and there is considerable overlap in the testing requirements needed to facilitate the investigations that fall within these services. It was this growth and need to meet the new challenges of 21st century consultancy services that came together in the business plan that has now delivered the Brookes Bell Laboratory and Technology Centre.

It’s been hard work managing the new laboratory project during the global pandemic, not least managing the COVID-19 guidelines and juggling limited and varied resource availability as a result of that pandemic. At times it has felt like the sword of Damocles hanging over all of us, but early in December 2020 we were finally handed the keys to the Laboratory and we could open the doors and see the realisation of that vision and several years of hard work.

Since December, we’ve been working hard on implementing and validating all our operational procedures and tests, it’s an onerous task but it’s the vital background work that must happen, to support the services we will offer moving forward. It involves fine tuning of our operations and processes that will enable the laboratory to achieve ISO/IEC 17025 laboratory accreditation, which we are working very hard towards. I’m so proud of what the team has achieved, to see the vison, for the concept to be realised - it’s a real testament to all the hard work and dedication of everyone involved.

So, what next? Now the real work begins, we’re open and ready for business! Initially we will work to grow and expand the range of services we offer, but we are always looking to diversify too, diversification is in our DNA! Why just stop at NDT, metallurgy and fuel? We’ve already started growing our paint testing services, but will it stop there – who knows, but there’s so much more that we can do, now that we have this amazing facility.

For myself, I can only remember wanting to be a metallurgist; my first degree is in metallurgy and I worked in industry for over ten years in production and as a research and development metallurgist, working in a specialist alloy foundry in the production magnetic materials and other exotic alloys. It was during my time in industry that I completed my PhD in metallurgy and materials science, working with magnetic alloys.

It was only once I’d finished my PhD that I began to think about a new challenge. I’d never considered consultancy and forensic investigations, but I saw this opportunity come up and thought why not.

I joined Brookes Bell in 2006 and started out as a fee earner and worked my way up, eventually becoming an equity partner in 2011. Now I am Director of metallurgy and NDT services and I can honestly say, I’ve never looked back. In an engineering career, the chance to build a new laboratory from scratch is a bit of a dream, it’s been two-three years of challenges, but would I do it again? Yes, I would!

Outside of work, what do I like doing? Well, in common with most of the population – life outside of work is somewhat limited these days because of the national COVID-19 lockdown. I was born and bred in Liverpool and have never felt the desire to live away from Merseyside. I live on the Wirral, which sits between Liverpool and North Wales, known for its walks and outdoor activities. I am a keen golfer in my spare time and an enthusiastic fan of Everton football club and season ticket holder – I rarely missed a game before the Pandemic. I look forward to a return to a sense of normality, swinging the golf clubs once more and cheering on my favourite football team.

Brookes Bell – the global technical and scientific consultancy – has today (18 January 2021) announced the addition of US based marine consultancy firm 3D Marine USA Inc.

3D Marine is a full-service consulting group, specialising in all aspects of marine transportation, offering vessel and cargo surveys, casualty and marine engineering consultancy.

The addition of 3D Marine is part of Brookes Bells’ long-term strategy to service clients across the globe, giving the company an additional presence in Houston and Miami alongside its current offices in Liverpool, London, Glasgow, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Brookes Bell is widely regarded as the ‘go to’ firm for casualty investigation, forensic analysis, technical dispute resolution and expert witness work for a broad range of marine and energy matters.

3D Marine was established in 1988. In common with Brookes Bell, the 13-stong workforce comprises experienced master mariners and senior officers, marine engineers and naval architects, with well-established expert witness services.

Ray Luukas, CTO, Brookes Bell says: “Brookes Bell is a leading multi-disciplinary technical and scientific consultancy serving the marine and energy sectors, so this is a natural fit for us, complementing the services we offer and significantly increasing our geographical reach. Our business growth is steady and consistent despite the challenges of the last year and the global pandemic, this is an exciting development for all of us going into 2021”.

“Our teams around the world already work together on different multi-discipline projects, pulling in specialist expertise as and when needed. Our new laboratory in the UK provides metallurgy, comprehensive fuel testing, advanced NDT and paint testing services that will be made easily accessible to our new US colleagues, offering customers a more rapid and bespoke service.”

David Scruton, CEO, 3D Marine added: “We have grown steadily over the last twenty years and this partnership now takes us to the next level. By joining with Brookes Bell, we can offer our clients an enhanced range of services and a truly international response, while our team can benefit from new and exciting synergies as a result of being part of a larger organisation. I moved from Liverpool to Houston in 1992, and in many ways this merger with Brookes Bell actually feels like going home.”

Welcome

Welcome to the November newsletter.

Despite the continued coronavirus disruption, here at Brookes Bell, it is very much business as usual; our teams are busy attending surveys and advising clients all around the world on a variety of issues.

In this month's newsletter we look at some of the work of our marine consulting services team including the restoration of the Clyde's largest passenger steam turbine ship and the installation of cofferdams in Canada. Kim Chua discusses examining frayed wire ends for clues when crane wire ropes have failed, and excitement is building as equipment arrives for our new state-of-the-art laboratory. This equipment will allow us to provide comprehensive metallurgy, fuel testing, paint analysis and non-destructive testing widen the specialist services we can offer clients.

We also get to know a bit more about Karwei So, one of our scientists based in Hong Kong.

Anthony York, Chief Operating Office

Metallurgy developments in the new laboratory

Matthew Calveley, Senior Metallurgist at Brookes Bell talks about the new metallurgy resources which will widen the team’s capabilities and the progress of the new laboratory as its opening date gets closer.

Work on our new laboratory continues apace with the opening scheduled for the new year. As the date gets closer, we’ve been taking delivery of some of the impressive equipment which will take our metallurgical investigations to another level.

In the course of our work, we provide technical consultancy service to shipyards, manufacturers and vessel owners. Our investigations might cover anything from a metal failure, to an enquiry about construction quality or an investigation into manufacturing processes. Our work might involve very large components right down to very small delicate samples such as paint flakes, but the first step is a thorough visual examination of the sample.

Metallurgy is a branch of science and engineering, describing the study of metals and materials. By understanding the fundamental behaviour of metals, our metallurgists can determine how a component or structure should react in a specific environment or under certain mechanical loads.

In order to assist with our investigations, we prepare samples to examine the materials in more detail. Some of these samples are soft, others can be very hard. To help with preparation of a range of materials, we have invested in a new metallographic precision cut off saw which has three automatic axes and automatic feed control which can adjust to the thickness and hardness of the material, producing very, very thin cuts. We then use our new grinding and polishing stations to prepare the sample with a final mirror polish before examining it using microscopy. Although these items may not be as immediately intriguing as some of our other new analytical equipment, our saw and grinding/polishing equipment enable the team to significantly streamline and automate the existing preparation process for samples.

Using our high definition digital microscopes, we can assess a sample as part of our inspections including fractographic analysis, weld analysis, microstructural inspection, high precision measurements and joint witnessed analysis.

Our new DSX1000 High-Resolution microscope and Omni full HD digital microscope offer flexibility over a wide range of inspection types, moving swiftly between different observation modes including darkfield, brightfield and polarised viewing options and providing a magnification range from low magnification right up to x2800. Our optical microscopes include long working distance lenses for uneven samples and material lenses for close up microstructural work. This equipment can generate 3D images of specific points of interest and can stack multiple images taken at different focal lengths to create fully in focus images.

If the team needs to examine something at high magnification while retaining a high amount of resolution, they can use scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This is a much higher level of magnification using a focused beam of electrons generating high resolution and high magnification while retaining depth of field.

SEM has a wide range of uses, including for forensic engineering, contamination and corrosion analysis, coating inspection, fuel investigations, research applications and for product development. It is particularly useful at identifying mechanisms of failure and generating elemental energy-dispersive x-rays (EDX) which can be used as a quick sample analysis tool. Brookes Bell’s microscope also contains an advanced live EDX function which generates elemental data in real time while imaging the areas of interest. Our new JSM-IT200 InTouchScope Scanning Electron Microscope will allow for inspection at magnifications in the magnitude of x10,000 all the way up to x100,000.

To confirm whether a particular metal component meets a specific standard or specification, the base properties of the metal need to be examined. This could involve chemical analysis or mechanical testing, where a sample is tested in the laboratory using destructive methods. However, this destructive analysis is not always feasible, and so Brookes Bell can now offer a range of portable chemical analysis equipment including LIBS (laser induced breakdown spectrometry) and PMI-OES (positive material identification - optical emission spectroscopy) using new equipment – the Hitachi handheld LIBS analyser or Hitachi PMI-MASTER Smart OES analyser.

LIBS is a portable method for chemical analysis of metal alloys, particularly magnesium and aluminium alloys and its used for hard to access areas on large scale engineering structures. The PMI unit is a portable version of OES and can provide a full chemistry of alloy materials down to low detection limits. It includes UVTOUCH technology and gives a reliable analysis of ferrous materials such as steels and stainless steel, as well as aluminium, nickel and copper. Both sets of equipment offers all the benefits of laboratory quality chemical analysis, but on site and in situ - benefiting any investigations enormously.

Brookes Bell has invested significantly in its new laboratory, when it opens in the New Year it will be fully equipped with the latest technology, dramatically boosting the teams flexibility and the range of specialist service on offer.

Marine Consulting Services helps restore the Clyde’s largest passenger steam turbine ship

Brookes Bell offers a range of marine consultancy services, delivered by a multi-disciplinary team tailored to suit the requirements of the job in hand. Led by Dr Luis Guarin, the division arose from the corporate acquisition of Safety at Sea Ltd, in 2011.

Safety at Sea was established in 1997 by the University of Strathclyde with a team of specialists focused on improving ship stability following the tragic losses of the RORO ferry MV Herald of Free Enterprise (1987) and the ropax ferry MS Estonia (1994).

Following these two passenger vessel disasters, Northern European countries undertook a retrospective upgrade of all ferries to improve ship stability and prevent accidents like this from happening in the future. The Safety at Sea team were instrumental in helping ship operators to navigate the new ship safety requirements.

Today, the Brookes Bell marine consultancy services team has seven members and pulls in other experts from across the company as needed. They provide specialist safety advice to designers and owners, and a wide range of clients, including suppliers of equipment for both newbuilds and conversions. They also provide safety engineering services, quantitative risk assessment and formal safety risk assessment for the offshore industry.

Because the team has such unrivalled expertise in this area, it has contributed to the industry’s development of ship safety standards. Note-worthy is the team’s involvement in a recent appraisal of damaged ship stability standards on behalf of EMSA (European Maritime Safety Agency) and its significant contribution to the IMO (International Maritime Organization) work on the safety of bulk carriers in the early 2000s.

The division has built a strong reputation for advising on passenger ship new builds, alternative designs and cruise ship safety assessments, using detailed performance analysis and computational fluid dynamics to enhance the safety, performance and functionality of each vessel. Such is the quality of the software developed, that the Company has now a separate team charged with the commercialisation of these tools.

While much of their work has been focused on the cruise industry, the team is currently working on the restoration of a Clyde steamer, the TS Queen Mary. Originally launched in 1933 the TS Queen Mary measured 871 gross registered tons, was powered by three direct-drive steam turbines, carried 2,086 passengers and was the largest steamship on the River Clyde.

The vessel was taken out of service in 1976 and was taken to the river Thames in London where she operated as a static restaurant, before being scheduled for the scrapyard in 2015. The charity, Friends of TS Queen Mary, was set to rescue the vessel and she returned to the Clyde in 2016. Since returning home, the charity has been busy fundraising to preserve and restore the vessel as a static attraction at its new home berth at the Glasgow Science Centre. (Click here to find out more about the project).

Brookes Bell’s marine consultancy team is acting as technical lead on the project, providing naval architecture and design services including structural design and stability verification work as well as reverse-engineering the whole vessel (using 3D laser scans) in AVEVA Marine software, to provide the charity with a 3D structural model for the vessel to aid preservation and facilitate steel renewals.

The marine consultancy team and Simon Mackay, senior naval architect have also been working on the installation of cofferdams for our client SeaTec Subsea – scroll down the Brookes Bell newsletter to read more

Spotlight on Asia - Crane wire rope failures

Brookes Bell’s multi-disciplined team of forensic investigators and engineers assist in a wide range of incidents ranging from hull and machinery failures to specialist crane investigations, forensic engineering investigations and technical management and they routinely provide expert witness evidence in court and arbitration proceedings.

Our experts provide prompt and accurate preliminary advice, which is followed up with detailed forensic analytical analysis, combining skills such as engineering, metallurgy and high-end computational analysis as required by each individual case. Here, in a great example of how our departments work together, Kim Chua, a metallurgist with Brookes Bell in Singapore, talks about investigating crane wire rope failures.

When one thinks of crane wire rope failures, you would commonly imagine dangling wires with frayed ends, but wires don’t always fail in a single, straight piece.

At Brookes Bell, we have seen a variety of crane wire failure cases. These failures have resulted in damage to equipment, ship structures and loss of cargoes. Most importantly, wire rope failures can potentially endanger those nearby and may even lead to the tragic loss of life.

Whenever an incident occurs, we always ask our clients to document the casualty and take plenty of photos. If they were present during the incident, it’s best to capture what has happened as soon as possible – from a safe distance, of course! These photos and videos will serve as important evidence and provide valuable details, helping us to determine the root cause of the incident.

Just like forensic investigators, we start by looking for clues when we arrive at the scene. In the example of a crane wire failure, this can be either on board the vessel, in a warehouse if the parted ends have been brought to land, or at a testing facility.

We are most interested in the condition of the parted ends, because this usually tells us what may have happened during the incident. We will also undertake a close-up examination of the broken tips because there will be tell-tale signs of what the rope had experienced just before it failed.

Examples of crane wire rope failures

The overall condition of the wire gives us a good idea of the rope condition: what is the affected length and area of the wire that is broken, are there any deformities, are there signs of a change in diameter or any indications of corrosion? Besides collecting evidence onsite and recording our observations for information, we also carry out further laboratory tests to “diagnose” the root cause. These usually involve a close-up visual examination of the wire, and high magnification microscopic examination using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, as well as mechanical testing to test the physical properties.

For example, when we perform a cross-sectional examination and unravel the wires to check the wire’s internal condition and construction, this provides us with further information about the level of degradation to the wire rope and how well the rope was maintained, since any loss of metal or internal corrosion could reduce the wire rope’s loading capability. It is also important to check the wire’s construction as wires with the same diameter may have different load-bearing capacities as a result of different wire rope construction configuration.

We will then follow up with the examination of the broken tips along the parted ends using stereoscopy, which gives us up to 80- or 100-times magnification, depending on the equipment. This allows us to have a much closer examination of the failed ends so that we can check for wear, corrosion or any visible cracks.

A magnification of up to 80x or 100x can be obtained depending on the stereoscope used

Next, we examine the selected individual wire cross-sections even closer using an optical microscope. Under a magnification of up to 500-times, we can determine whether the material had experienced any fatigue or any tensile overload.

We can also chemically etch the polished cross-sectional surface to reveal its microstructure or the microscopic grain textures, which can reveal any latent defects in the material. It will show any deformation to the grains, particularly if the wire had undergone plastic deformation or a permanent stretch before it failed.

Aside from optical microscopy, we carry out fractography where we examine the fracture surface. Using the scanning electron microscope, we examine the fracture surface at even higher magnifications of over 1,000 times. This allows us to see clearly any features or evidence of mechanisms such as fatigue striations, or shear, where the materials have been overloaded at crossover points between wire to wire contact.

Last but not least, we can carry out hardness and chemical composition tests to confirm the steel material and give additional information about the steel grade to help us determine whether these are factors which contributed to the failure.

From these tests, we can then determine the mechanism of failure. Having determined the mode of failure, using the input of Marine Engineers and/or Master Mariners, we combine the results of our test and examinations with a review of the documents and photographs provided, and from this combined exercise, we can then arrive at a firm conclusion on the likely cause of failure.

Typical failures include fatigue (left) and overload (right)

Installing cofferdams in Canada

Simon Mackay, senior naval architect has recently returned from British Columbia, Canada, where he worked with our client SeaTec Subsea on a project to design and install a cofferdam.

SeaTec Subsea is the marine and offshore industry’s leading IRM (inspections, repairs and maintenance) subsea services provider for all vessels, floaters, rigs and platforms. Brookes Bell has worked with the company on a number of projects – providing design work and onsite assistance - over the last few years.

Simon explains; “Working in cooperation with SeaTec Subsea, the project was to design and oversee the installation of a cofferdam at various locations along a newly constructed quay wall. The client needed a dry environment throughout the large tidal cycle so that support brackets could be welded to the newly installed piles, with fenders subsequently attached to these brackets.”

¹A cofferdam is an enclosure built within or across a body of water, allowing the enclosed area to be pumped out, creating a dry environment for work to be carried out safely.

There were 35 fenders to be installed in total so two cofferdam systems were fabricated, with each used at multiple locations. Brookes Bell’s naval architects Andy McGibbon, David Brown and Simon Mackay had designed the cofferdam system at the beginning of 2020, and the structures were fabricated in China in accordance with the team’s drawings, before being transported to the site. Due to the restrictions on how the cofferdam could be secured in position, a novel ballasting system was devised so that no divers were required during the installation procedure.

As the designer, Simon attended on site with SeaTec Subsea, to prepare the installation procedure, assemble the various components and oversee the successful trial installation. During the preparation phase he also verified a design change to the cofferdam, as a result of a last-minute change in the operational parameters from the client.

He commented: “The Covid-19 restrictions meant that the trip was a bit longer than normal as I had to quarantine for two weeks on arrival into Canada, then I was on site for two weeks, followed by another two week quarantine on my return to the UK. Onsite we were all careful to observe the social distancing measures. The novel design of cofferdam worked very successfully, even with the client’s last minute change to the design. The trip demonstrated that despite the strange times we all find ourselves in as a result of the global pandemic, we have a strong and productive working relationship with SeaTec Subsea.“

The cofferdams are likely to be in use until early spring, and Brookes Bell will continue to be on call to offer remote assistance with any technical queries as the project concludes.

Brookes Bell webinar series: The Bank Effect, 3 December 0900hrs

The next webinar in our monthly series features Nick Doherty, mechanical engineer and expert on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) discussing The Bank Effect - - the tendency of the stern of a ship to swing toward the near bank when operating in a river or constricted waterway.

Nick’s presentation will cover; the concept of the bank effect, CFD as a means of quantifying the forces involved, the accuracy of CFD for bank effect by validation with model test results, reasons for bank effect extracted from the CFD results, real world situations where bank effect can occur and the applicability of CFD for bank effects cases. The presentation will be followed with a Q&A session.

The webinar is taking place on Thursday 3 December at 0900hrs (GMT), to sign up just email: marketing@brookesbell.com

Meet the Team – Karwei So, Scientist

Based in Hong Kong, Karwei has been a scientist with Brookes Bell for almost two years. Having grown up in the UK with parents from Hong Kong, Karwei is not a stranger to the region, having spent many family holidays there.

I graduated with a master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Durham and completed a DPhil in Materials Science at the University of Oxford, but never considered working in the maritime industry. I was keen to remain in science but did not want to pursue a career in academia.

When I was offered the opportunity to work at Brookes Bell Hong Kong, I welcomed the chance to learn about a new industry. Nearly two years on, it’s broadened my perspectives dramatically. Like so many other people, I never understood how vitally important the maritime industry is!

It’s been a steep learning curve as there were so many new shipping concepts that I have had to pick up. Thankfully, everyone has been more than willing to show me the ropes and that gave me confidence to learn quickly.

My first overseas assignment was with my mentor Tim Moss, Director of Science Asia, it was a visit to Taiwan for a vessel that had developed a dangerous list on route to China and had to divert as an emergency. The cargo was one that was liable to liquify and had a dangerously high moisture content. While I was on site and helping take samples, I could actually see the motion from the excavator causing the cargo to liquify underneath.

Since then, I have attended many surveys and investigated claims independently, my scientific knowledge and background in chemistry and materials science gives me a much deeper understanding of the cases I’m working on.

Due to the nature of the job, I have come to understand that not all cases are as straightforward as they seem, and one often has to think on the spot. For example, when coal undergoes oxidation, it consumes oxygen, leading to carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide being released. In such cases, it is important to seal the hatches to prevent oxygen from entering, to prevent further oxidation and/or combustion. However, when methane is emitted, ventilation must be prioritized instead, to remove the potentially explosive gas.

Further complications arise when both methane and carbon monoxide are emitted, as they require apparently contradictory actions. It can be hard for the Master to make a judgement and ensure the safety of the crew and vessel.

This is when Brookes Bell comes in, we can advise on the best course of action depending on the relative levels of the different gases and the nature of the coal, to make an informed decision.

More recently, I have been busy with cargo claims involving soybeans, rice, maize and containerized goods as many vessels have been delayed due to port congestion as a result of Covid-19.

Before the pandemic I was able to travel around the region, visiting countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea to investigate different cases – an aspect I particularly enjoy as I can get to see the world at the same time as doing my job.

I also really value the close-knit team at Brookes Bell, which has guided me a lot since I started my work here. In fact, the staff at Brookes Bell Hong Kong regularly hang out together outside work hours. We have enjoyed occasional BBQ sessions and regularly go on cycling and hiking trips in our free time.

This team spirit is also evident when I go out for surveys; I can always seek advice from the cargo scientists or other disciplines across Brookes Bell if needed, pulling in a whole range of different expertise to suit the requirements of the job.

Welcome

Welcome to the October newsletter, it’s been a strange year for so many of us and I do hope that you and your families remain safe and well.

During these challenging times I have been very impressed with our team’s resilience and determination to continue to deliver the best service for our clients. Despite changing Covid restrictions around the world our teams have continued to travel and visit clients on site, to support and advise wherever needed. Whether in the office or working remotely we continue to be available and ready to assist you, our clients, regardless of the global situation.

In this month’s newsletter Dr Kieran Dodworth talks about the advanced software modelling used in ship handling, Patrick Yeoward discusses how we’re using PEC technology on superyachts, we congratulate Judith Fergus on being elected Fellow of the Institute of Materials Finishing and we learn a bit more about Lea McDonald’s fire investigation work.

Wishing you a safe and healthy month ahead,
Anthony York, Chief Operating Office

Introducing NDT corrosion mapping for superyachts

Brookes Bell has been working in the superyacht sector for over 30 years, our extensive maritime experience and expertise enables us to pull in different experts to identify and maximise opportunities for owners and managers whether that’s for a new build, rebuild or refit.

Our latest development for the sector is the adaptation of Advanced Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) technology for superyachts.

One of the biggest challenges facing superyacht yards and management companies is the difficulty of producing an all-encompassing and accurate quote for works during a refit or rebuild. A superyacht deck - regardless of whether it has a painted finish, is plastic or teak – can hide corrosion and damage as a result of water ingress. The inside of a vessel is very busy, packed with cables and important equipment, similarly the fit out is high quality and expensive. Too often it’s impossible to assess the damage without ripping up and destroying the extremely expensive structure.

But not now, using Brookes Bell’s Advanced NDT techniques it is possible to accurately inspect, assess and accurately estimate the work required. The inspection method is driven by pulsed eddy current (PEC) technology inside a probe which scans a non-ferrous coating to accurately assess the state of the steel plate underneath. It can ‘see through’ a teak deck, through paint, antifouling and cladding to identify any problems underneath.

The technology has been used for some time in the oil and gas industry and by the military. PEC scans have been used to inspect rig legs seeing through the weather jacket, to examine submarines looking through the rubber tiles and to assess the condition of the steel under the insulation on oil and gas pipelines.

On a superyacht, while the technology is complex, conducting a scan is straightforward and the resulting data is easy to understand, clearly displaying any diminution of the steel plate and therefore any areas of concern.

PEC Deck Scans can be done at up to 150mm per second with a scan width up to 450mm, meaning vast areas can be covered in a relatively short time frame. Different sensors are used to detect steel wall thinning and corrosion attack. Depending upon the area to be scanned, a large probe may be used which is the size of a wide headed vacuum cleaner or a smaller ‘mouse like’ probe which allows access to small areas such as tight corners and around fittings.

The data provides a residual thickness reading and calculates wastage due to corrosion. The results are then plotted on to a coloured ‘map’ of the deck, highlighting areas of concern. A simple colour spectrum gives a comprehensive, understandable ‘at a glance’ view as well as the detail needed to assess the size of the issue: with blue (good and sound) through to green, yellow and orange (an area of concern) to red (bad, damaged and needing attention).

The plotted map also shows the structure underneath a superyacht’s deck plate, highlighting the stiffeners, frames etc in the image as heavy dark blue lines and the data can be applied to a 3D model, allowing it to be twisted and turned for inspection by the customer. This really is corrosion mapping at its best.

Launched in November last year, Brookes Bell’s PEC scans have already been used for investigations on numerous small yachts, while the biggest yacht to be examined to date has been 90 metres long. Brookes Bell is also planning to use the technology to help a charitable trust which has been set up to restore the hull structure of an old Clyde steamer from the 1930s, the TS Queen Mary. The scans will offer valuable insight into the condition of the vessel and the work needed to turn it into a museum ship in Glasgow.

Patrick Yeoward, a member of the superyacht team, has worked in the superyacht sector for many years, including as a manager of vessels and so he understands the concerns of the owners, shipyards and management companies.

He explains: “This really is exciting, for the first time, the owner and captain can clearly see the extent of any underlying problem and can accurately plan for the upcoming works – this is good news for both budgets and the environment. The scan produces clear colour coded diagrams showing the areas of concern, so any repairs can be specific, localised and wastage minimised.

“The management company can – with the accurate information – plan the timeframe, budgets and contractors, while the yard knows the scope of the works, the budgets, the manpower needed and any contractor requirements. Everyone involved, really does benefit from the accurate information and insight this technology provides.”

Patrick says that the next step is to develop the technology for use on aluminium, tests are ongoing and the technology should be ready towards the end of this year. It would allow Brookes Bell to offer the service to the larger yachts which have a steel hull with aluminium superstructure, giving a comprehensive overview of the condition of the vessel.

Spotlight on Naval Architecture – Ship Handling

Brookes Bell provides a wide range of naval architecture services for its marine and offshore clients, supported by a varied and highly experienced team with backgrounds in ship design, class and regulatory compliance, ship building and in-service support. Here, Dr Kieran Dodworth talks about the division’s expertise in ship modelling for forensic investigations.

The team is often instructed by lawyers or insurance claims handlers to investigate a ship collision, allision or grounding, to establish what happened, what caused the incident and assess the resulting damage.

To do this, we must first establish the actual route of the ship. This is done using AVENCA’s MADAS software which can accurately plot the ship’s course (from AIS or VDR data) on charts and bathymetric surveys. This is normally done by one of our master mariners who will be instructed to address the actions of the crew, pilots or other operational issues.

Once our investigation has established the ship’s route, we are often asked to examine whether the accident could actually have been avoided; or what the influence of environmental factors were.

And this is where Brookes Bell’s mathematical ship modelling simulator BBSIM (Brookes Bell Simulator) comes in. It has been designed specifically for forensic investigations and to evaluate ship handling related hazards, it’s also a valuable tool in port development and infrastructure projects, where manoeuvres of target vessels can be tested.

Using BBSIM, we can simulate the vessel’s movements over a chart or using a MADAS background, to model how the ship might have behaved in different weather conditions and what might have happened if different actions had been taken. Alternative actions will normally be engine telegraph settings and rudder angles but in practice any series of alternative actions from anchor deployment to the action of tugs can be addressed.

HOEGH OSAKA on Bramble Bank, Solent. Brooke's Bell assisted the MAIB with manoeuvring and stability studies, the details of which can be found in the MAIB report.

Brookes Bell’s ship handling services stands out from its competitors for three reasons – its scientific rigor; the specialist input of our hugely experienced master mariner colleagues; and the incorporation of advanced computational modelling.

In starting our BBSIM development over 10 years ago, we looked at the alternatives offered by our competitors. They often offered simulators in which the scientific background was confidential IP and not drawn from peer-reviewed research. We didn’t think this was the way to go considering our focus on litigious claims where transparency and scientific rigour are demanded. So the background to BBSIM is based almost entirely on publicly available research.

As naval architects we can provide the mathematical modelling and the implications of any action, but a master mariner’s experience tells us the realities of different situations and potential scenarios for the ship’s operations, it’s vital insight and a perspective we wouldn’t be without. Brookes Bell’s master mariners were among some of the first in the industry to use ship handling simulations in litigious claims and our highly experienced nautical team work closely with our hydrodynamics team to offer an unrivalled service.

Our investigations are significantly different in another way too – we incorporate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) into our modelling which has been a development of the last five years. This mathematical solution can solve any manoeuvring problem, breaking it down into a fundamental prediction of fluid flow. It uses powerful computers where hundreds or thousands of processors are bundled, to create the computer equivalent of taking the ship to sea and testing experimenting with it. The advantage here, over our competitor firms is that actual hull form, seabed / channel; ship trajectory can be modelled rather than relying entirely on experimental data for situations which may differ in subtle but important ways. Taking the example of ship-ship interaction, experimental data is available for two bulk carriers passing each other on parallel courses in a limited range of water depths and that can be applied in BBSIM or our competitor’s models. But what happens when one of the ships is a containership, had significant drift due to it making a turn in shallow water varying in depth? These factors can utterly change the nature of the ship interaction but are not quantified in the experimental data – but tackling this in CFD is simple.

We were one of the first commercial firms to offer hull design using CFD, and by incorporating it into our diagnostic technology, we continue to lead our competitors in this area. With these tools and the expertise of our experienced and specialist experts we can offer our insurance and legal clients a level of certainty as a result of our precision modelling rarely offered elsewhere.

It’s business as usual and we’re still travelling…

Around the world, travel restrictions eased somewhat over the summer and our teams have been able to resume site visits and meetings with clients.

Ray Luukas, chief technical officer says;

“This has undoubtedly been a very strange year for all of us. The safety of our staff and clients remains our top priority, but we have been attending client sites throughout the year, whenever a country’s travel restrictions have permitted access.

“This will continue to be our business strategy. Even with the changing situation, it’s very much business as usual for all our people. Brookes Bell will continue to be the ‘go to’ firm for casualty investigation, forensic analysis, technical dispute resolution and expert witness work, wherever our clients are located.”

Over the last few months, our teams have travelled internationally to several locations

The Nautical team have attended in Africa, Brazil and Sweden. Fuel Services have been on site in France and Belgium, while the Naval Architects have been in Brazil and Canada.

Our Scientific team has assisted in Denmark and the middle east, while the Advanced Non-Destructive Testing and the Metallurgy team has been on site in the Netherlands and in Sweden.

But, Marine Engineering has travelled the most, attending on site in Gibraltar, Italy, France, Ireland, Turkey, Reunion Island, Netherlands and Greece.

In everything we do, the safety of our staff and our clients is always our top priority. However, we will continue to liaise closely with our clients supporting them with attendances on site across the globe.

All our offices continue to adapt to the changing conditions arising from the global pandemic, but we are available and ready to assist our clients whenever you need us.

Brookes Bell webinar on ship powering

Brookes Bell is holding a webinar on Ship powering: Understanding performance clauses in ship building contracts and specifications, on Wednesday 11 November 2020.

The webinar will include a presentation given by Dr Kieran Dodworth and Dr Bogdan Ganea, followed by an opportunity for questions and answers.

Dr Dodworth is director of naval architecture at Brookes Bell, an expert in marine structure aero and hydro dynamics, he leads the company’s naval architecture activities in relation to claims and accident investigations.

Dr Bogdan Ganea is a naval architect with a career spanning over 30 years in the field of ship experimental and numerical hydrodynamics.

The event takes place at 12.00 – 13.00hrs GMT on Wednesday 11 November, and will be of interest to P&I Club executives, shipping lawyers (private practice and inhouse) and barristers.

To register for the webinar, please email marketing@brookesbell.com.

The Institute of Materials Finishing welcomes Judith Fergus as Fellow

Judith Fergus, Brookes Bell’s managing coating consultant has been elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Materials Finishing (FIMF). The fellowship accreditation recognises her career and achievements spanning more than 30 years in marine, protective coatings and fire proofing for shipping, oil and gas and infrastructure.

The Institute of Materials Finishing was established in 1925 and is internationally recognised as the premiere source of expert knowledge on all aspects of metal finishing, coating and surface engineering technologies. To be recognised as a Fellow, an individual must have acquired a high level of competence in the science and technology of surface finishing and be able to satisfy the IMF’s Examination and Qualifications Board that they have an established and mature reputation in the field of surface finishing.

Judith’s fellowship was ratified at the beginning of October, shortly after she delivered a presentation to IMF members on the subject of marine coatings.

She says: ‘I am delighted to join the IMF as a fellow, it’s a hugely prestigious professional achievement and recognises my expertise and experience over many years. I think the presentation on marine coatings must have helped too, I spoke alongside Heather Hughes from Lloyds Register. It was all about wet paint and it took place online – because of the pandemic restrictions – 7-9pm.

“Normally at that hour of night you expect people to get tired and log off as it goes on, our presentation only took an hour, but there were so many questions we kept talking for another hour answering everything and everyone stayed right until the end! It is a topic that’s not often discussed and it’s a fairly male dominated industry so to have two women delivering the presentation was quite refreshing”.

Professional fellowships are often welcomed by our clients as they demonstrate exceptional credibility, a high level of expertise and industry leadership.

Meet the team - Lea McDonald, Fire Investigator

Lea McDonald leads Brookes Bell’s fire investigation services. He joined Brookes Bell just over 18 months ago, after a 32-year long career in the UK’s West Midlands fire service, here he tells us a bit more about his expertise and cases he’s worked on.

I have spent 17 years as a fully operational firefighter, including as a watch commander running a watch on a fire station, but for the last eight years -prior to joining Brookes Bell - I worked as a specialist fire investigator with a team of six others. We’ve examined everything from large-scale industrial incidents to small scale domestic fires, and on the larger cases that meant coordinating a multi-agency approach as part of the investigation.

During my time as a dedicated fire investigator I completed a masters’ degree in fire investigation which was quite rare at the time and really made me stand out career-wise. It led to a role where I regularly provided advice, training and support for other fire services and police forces across the UK, specifically tailored for criminal investigation departments and forensic investigations, as well as regularly providing expert witness testimony and evidence in Coroners and Crown Courts.

My work for Brookes Bell’s clients uses this experience and expertise, conducting investigations to identify the origin and cause of any fire, land-based, in warehouses, in machinery or on a vessel. I’m certainly enjoying getting to grips with the maritime industry but essentially a fire is a fire regardless of whether it’s a floating fire or compartment fire, the principles and the scientific approach process is the same.

As soon as I receive the client’s instruction, the priority is to get to the scene as quickly as possible, as there’s more chance that vital evidence will still be visible. Too often people are keen to clean up and potential evidence can be lost and I have to really impress on them the importance of leaving it untouched, until I’ve had a chance to inspect the scene thoroughly.

On arrival I will thoroughly document the scene with digital photos and taking notes, recording everything I can while onsite. I record what I find, how I found it, and I’ll complete any necessary diagnostic tests and check any electrical installations. From this I can quickly establish the ‘area of interest’. I’ll then interview any witnesses, watch any CCTV, I’ll investigate the burn pan and spread patterns, and based on my experience, generally I can quickly narrow down the potential causes and pin point an exact pattern of events.

This has been a bit more challenging during the pandemic, it has affected some of my work in countries where there are travel restrictions, but so far I’ve effectively managed the situation using a local representative to record what I need using facetime, videos and a lot of close coordination and back and forth discussions - thank goodness for today’s technology! In other cases, I’ve been able to operate as normal just socially distanced etc.

My role is endlessly interesting and I enjoy the challenge of an investigation. Quite often though I don’t know the final conclusion, if it all goes to court, it can take several years to be resolved and for a judgement to be reached – that’s a bit strange when you’ve been so heavily involved, you give evidence, or submit your findings and you don’t hear what the final court case outcome was!

There’s one key difference between my work for Brookes Bell’s clients and my former role so far, in almost every case investigated over the last 18 months, a fire has started through accidental ignition – people make mistakes – which was sadly not always the case when I worked for the West Midlands fire service, where sometimes fires were started deliberately.

I’m based in Brookes Bell’s Liverpool office and when I’m not working, I’m a very keen walker. There’s fantastic countryside around here, and during the pandemic and lockdown, I’ve really valued the chance to get out and breathe fresh air. My other passion is travelling… which sadly is somewhat curtailed by the global pandemic at the moment, one day though!