News archive | Boat Safety Scheme

Barry Sheerman MP urges boaters to safeguard against carbon monoxide poisoning, following suspected case in Cumbria

The All Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group and BSS reaction to the news of a mother and daughter dying from suspected carbon monoxide poisoining in a boat on Lake Windermere.

Beko Alert for Boating Community 2014

The BSS is supporting Beko, in its on-going campaign to find and fix dangerous older models of Beko, Flavel and Leisure gas cookers that can produce potentially fatal levels of carbon monoxide, if used incorrectly with the grill door closed.

BSS Alerts Boaters to Calor Lite® Gas Cylinder Recall

The Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) is supporting Calor Gas Ltd to alert any boaters to the immediate product recall on all 6kg Calor Lite® cylinders manufactured between 2008-2011 inclusive following concerns regarding the potential deterioration of the cylinder.

BSS COVID-19 Suspension - Planning for Changes

It is our firm intention to re-start Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) Examinations as soon as possible, and following the Government announcements about the next phase of the lockdown, expected on Sunday 10 May, we will be working with stakeholders on a plan to re-start while continuing to protect and support boat owners, examiners and other people such as those working in marinas.

BSS points boaters to important safety issues highlighted by Windermere’s Eastertragedy

On the eve of Boat Fire Safety Week, the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) is pointing UK boaters to the safety issues identified today in the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) Safety Bulletin concerning the death of mother and her 10-year old daughter aboard the motor cruiser Arniston on Lake Windermere at Easter.

CO Advice Feb14

In the space of a few days, three people on two vessels have died from suspected carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and the Boat Safety Scheme is pointing boat owners to its advice to help stay safe.

COVID-19 News BSS Examinations Temporary Suspension Further Extended

The joint owners of the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) are extending the temporary extension to safety certificates for those craft requiring an examination to 11th May.

Enjoy your barbecues this summer, safely off the boat

As the barbeque summer finally arrives, the BSS has simple request, 'If you see or hear of it happening, please advise your fellow boaters to never use a barbecue (BBQ) on board a boat - take it ashore, enjoy it safely and avoid the twin risks of fire and carbon monoxide.

Hirer Safety Review 2013

The UK’s inland waterway navigation authorities are inviting boat hire operators and other interested parties to participate in a general review of hirer safety, and especially to attend regional open forums for hire operators across the UK.

MAIB Diamond Emblem Report

12 May 2022

The MAIB (Marine Accident Investigation Branch), an independent unit within the Department for Transport, published (05/05/2022) its investigation report into the fatal person-overboard incident involving the motor cruiser Diamond Emblem 1 at the Broads Authority’s Great Yarmouth Yacht Station, on the River Bure, 19 August 2020.

Navigation Authority Extended Recognition of BSS Certifications Due To COVID-19 Ends Today

Inland waterway navigation authorities that have extended their recognition of existing Boat Safety Scheme Certifications (BSSC) beyond their expiry dates because of COVID-19 restrictions, are now ending this extended recognition today (31 July) as stated in previous advice.

NR15-001 BSS Welcomes MAIB Windermere CO Report

The report into the deaths of the mother and daughter from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning on a boat on Lake Windermere was published today by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).

NR15-002 Triple-Whammy wood fuel risk warning

Boaters using damp wood and logs in their stoves could be risking a triple whammy including increased costs, stove damage and carbon monoxide poisoning says the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS).

NR15-003 New LPG hose standard statement

The BSS checks have changed with immediate effect as the BSS requirements now recognise two new classes of hose following the recent publication of a new European LPG hose standard.

NR15-004 Use BBQs safely off boats Jun 15

It’s time to dust off the barbeque and so the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) has a simple message, ‘We love barbecues, but never on a boat – use them ashore, enjoy them safely and avoid the twin risks of fire and carbon monoxide poisoning.

NR15-005 Never use LPG camping equipment aboard

Boat owners are being reminded of the risk from using portable gas camping stoves, lamps and heaters on board boats because of the danger from explosion, fire and carbon monoxide poisoning.

NR15-006 Petrol Demands Respect Aug

The use of petrol demands huge respect and extreme caution, not least when refuelling is the succinct advice from the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS).

NR15-007 BSS consults on hire boat requirements Sept

A consultation on proposals to modernise the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) requirements for hire boats, opens today 4 September and will run to 13 November 2015.

NR15-008 BSS: use generators correctly, ashore - NOV

Televisions, laptops, mobile phones, power tools, heaters or simply charging the boat’s batteries, whatever the electrical need, the stark warning from a leading boat safety body is that petrol generators will continue to cost lives and cause misery unless boaters use them correctly.

NR16-001 BSS response to hire craft reqirements consultation FINAL Feb

Following the public consultation in Autumn 2015 on proposed changes to the Boat Safety Scheme for holiday and day hire boats, the BSS has published the agreed outcomes, and actions.

NR16-002b Clesse Novacomet LPG Regulator Recall Support UPDATE Oct

The Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) is supporting Clesse Industries to make boaters aware of the immediate product recall on its Novacomet branded BP1803 LPG regulators The date range has now been widened to include items manufactured between June 2006 and September 2015.

NR16-003 Recall Alert: Kidde Fire Blankets FEB

The Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) is supporting Kidde Safety Europe Ltd to alert any boaters to the immediate product recall on its “Kidde” or “Lifesaver” fire blankets following concerns regarding their effectiveness in the event of an oil pan fire.

NR16-004 Statement following deaths of two boaters from CO Jun 16

BSS asks: “Boaters, are you wise to carbon monoxide poisoning?” this follows the discovery of two bodies on a private boat on the Norfolk Broads.

NR16-005 Don't ignore exhaust fumes in the cabin - Aug

“If you can smell exhaust fumes in your boat, don’t ignore this sign that there could be a potential killer in the cabin!”

NR16-006 BSS Publishes Hire Boat Specifc Checks Dec

New and revised checks for hire boats have been published by the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS).

NR17-001 Ignore CO At Your Peril

NR 001.17 Ignore petrol-engine exhaust fumes inside boats at your peril - it’s indicating your boat may be filling with carbon monoxide

NR18-001 BSS 4-Yr Business Plan and Certification Price Rise

The Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) Management Committee has agreed a new four-year business plan to resource its work to 2022 and invest in improvements that will have an even longer-term benefit.

NR18-002 Blunt CO warning for petrol-engine users

Put bluntly, if you can smell petrol-engine exhaust fumes in the boat, kill the engine(s) and get out fast before you inhale any further toxic fumes!

NR18-003 Alert - Choose the right CO alarm, the best purchase you can make, but be aware of false claims!

Following media reports this June about non-working imported carbon monoxide (CO) alarms sold on internet shopping sites, the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) is cautioning boaters, that choosing the right CO alarm is an especially critical decision as boats can fill in minutes, sometimes seconds, with lethal levels of the highly toxic gas.

NR18-004 Consultation opens on mandatory new CO alarm BSS Requirements

A public consultation on a proposal to introduce mandatory new Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) Requirements for carbon monoxide (CO) alarms on boats opens today Friday 17 August and will run to Friday 9 November 2018.

NR18-005 New BSS requirements for suitable certified CO alarms to BS EN 50291

Following the public consultation in Autumn 2018 on proposed changes to the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) the BSS Management Committee has decided that new BSS Requirements for carbon monoxide (CO) alarms on boats will be introduced from next April.

NR19-001 Carbon Monoxide Alarms Are Now Madatory on Boats

From 1 April at least one carbon monoxide (CO) alarm became a requirement on nearly all private and non-private boats in scope of the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) Requirements.

NR20-001 COVID-19 BSS Temporary Suspension

Following the most recent announcement from the Prime Minister regarding the UK’s response to the coronavirus crisis, the joint owners of the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) are allowing a temporary extension to safety certificates for those craft requiring an examination in the period until the 14th April.

NR20-003 COVID-19 BSS Temporary Suspension Extended

The joint owners of the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) are extending the temporary extension to safety certificates for those craft requiring an examination to 30th April.

NR20-006 BSS Examination COVID-19 Suspension Lifted

Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) Examinations, suspended in the COVID-19 related lockdown, have now resumed for most boat owners, but they will happen in a ‘new normal’ framework based on the latest Government guidance.

NR22-001 BSS Launches Public Consultation on Revisions to the Examination Checks

A public consultation by the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) on proposals within a clarified and improved set of BSS Examination Checking Procedures (ECP) opened today Monday 7 March and will run to Tuesday 31 May 2022 and is available on its website

Portable gas equipment safety warning

An exploding gas stove that injured two teenage campers in North Wales prompted the BSS to remind boat owners that portable gas equipment is not suitable for use in a boat, because should something go wrong in the confines of a cabin space, the results could be very serious.

Report on carbon monoxide poisoning of two friends in York – learn the lessons from this repeated story

The Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) is asking boaters to learn the lessons when two friends died aboard a vessel using a DIY installed heater with improvised and unsuitable exhaust system, together with no working carbon monoxide (CO) alarm.

Revised Examination Checking Procedures being implemented 1 Jan 2013

The various small changes to the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) Examination Checking Procedures for privately owned and privately managed boats was implemented on 1 January 2013.

Take the lessons from the death from carbon monoxide poisoning of two friends in York

Following the deaths of two friends from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in a boat called Diversion in York in December 2019, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) published a safety flyer with the lessons learnt from its initial findings and the BSS urges boaters to read it and adopt lessons without exception.

You can't afford to put gas safety on the back burner in Gas Safety Week '14

‘Let there be no repeat, boaters must respect their gas appliances’; says the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) during national Gas Safety Week 2014 in remembering last winter’s twin fatalities from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning on a small commercial fishing boat in Whitby harbour.

Your BSS Certificate is changing

The process of sending the blue copy of the Boat Safety Scheme Certificate (BSSC) to the boats registration or licensing body ended on the 31 March 2012 with the launch of a new-look, receipt-style certificate.