News & insights

In the last few years there has been a change in bulk cargo ship design relating to Australian ladderways. The ships we have seen were all built in China, with the Australian ladders built as partially enclosed box sections.

There are a number of different factors that could result in a racking collapse. The cause might not be a single factor, but can be a number of combined factors which ultimately weaken the structure to a point where it collapses.

Hawkins has investigated numerous fires where the most probable cause has been the self-heating of rags, cloths or other similar materials that were impregnated with drying oils, such as linseed oil.

Broad estimates put the cost of corrosion to 1 to 4 % of GNP in the USA. Whilst an accurate figure would be elusive to even the most rigorous rational, it is fair to say that repairing the consequences of corrosion is a costly business. Brass and au

Hawkins investigated the cause of a fire and explosion on board a container ship on behalf of an insurer of various cargo interests. One of the key questions, as always, was which occurred first, the fire or the explosion?

The power generation market is complex and frequently changing. There is a wide variety of generating assets ranging from very traditional (steam turbines powered by burning coal), similar turbines powered by nuclear reactors, gas turbines that direc

An Event Data Recorder or EDR is a function or device installed in a vehicle that records technical vehicle and occupant information for a brief period of time (seconds, not minutes) before, during and after a collision, for the purpose of monitoring

In July 2009, a guest at a large hotel in Swansea slipped and fell whilst walking on the surround of the hotel’s swimming pool. Minutes afterwards, after recovering from that fall, the guest fell a second time, sustaining severe personal injuries.

The manufacturer of beef burgers suffered major damage at their factory when a fire broke out in the control panel of a defrosting unit. However, one of the main concerns of the insurers was why the fire managed to spread so quickly.