Earlier this year, IMES opened new premises at Portsmouth’s Voyager Park on Portfield Road. The office took the lead on this latest project, which they carried out in their own time, on behalf of the JST as well as advising the charity on its legal and regulatory position.

As a result of the successful completion of this project, IMES has been awarded Gold status by the Jubilee Sailing Trust, which is the only organisation in the world which helps both able-bodied and disabled people experience the challenge of tall ship sailing.

Jason Smith, chief operating officer at IMES, said: “We are pleased to have been able to support a worthy cause like the Jubilee Sailing Trust, which provides an invaluable service to thousands of people.

“The project also demonstrated our company’s marine expertise and the capabilities possessed by our team to deliver challenging inspection projects, which has led to the Gold status award by the charity.”

Andy Spark, ship operations manager at the Jubilee Sailing Trust, said: “Without the technical assurance of experts such as IMES we simply wouldn’t be in a position to operate our training voyages safely.

“From the outset, it was evident they were very keen to support our charitable aims and to provide our lifting gear testing and inspection. IMES has since rebuilt our lifting gear registers and inspected and tested every item we have on board both ships – which is no mean feat as much of the equipment is up a mast.”

Richard Cruse, chief mate and safety officer at the Jubilee Sailing Trust, said: “I should like to thank IMES for their professional, knowledgeable and courteous service. They worked to support, rather than drive the company, in the implementation of its lifting register and went to great effort in seeking a legal, safe and efficient solution to ensure we were compliant with LOLER.”

The Jubilee Sailing Trust offers people of all abilities the chance to form an equal part of a working tall ship crew. To date, it has taken more than 42,500 people to sea, of which over 16,000 individuals have had a disability – including nearly 5,500 wheelchair users. For further information visit http://jst.org.uk