Birmingham & Midland Marine Services have been providing a wide portfolio of services to the Inland waterways and rivers sectors; specialising in training personnel working in, on and around the water, including on commercial vessels.
Birmingham & Midland Marine Services have been providing a wide portfolio of services to the Inland waterways and rivers sectors; specialising in training personnel working in, on and around the water, including on commercial vessels.
BMMS also specialise in the provision of specialist training and support to the Civil Engineering, Construction, Maintenance, Rail, Utilities, Environmental, Ecology and Lowland Rescue / Search and Rescue sectors, working in an open water environment since 2013, becoming a Limited Company in 2020 during the Covid 19 pandemic.
Initially a ‘sole trader’ concern from 2013 until 2020, the company now has an established Board of Directors, a bank of specialist instructors and operators, a fleet of vessels ranging from workboat to fast rescue craft, all-terrain vehicles for access and emergency response, plus a vast range of aquatic PPE and rescue equipment for both training and safety / rescue cover purposes.
As Corporate Partners of the ‘Institute of Search and Technical Rescue’ and a fully audited and accredited training provider for Outreach Rescue, the Institute of Search and Technical Rescue (InSTR), the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency, the British Marine Federation, and the Royal Yachting Association, the company’s systems and facilities are audited and inspected annually for our clients peace of mind and to ensure that high standards are maintained.
Trainers and Instructors hail predominantly from Military, Lowland Rescue and Fire & Rescue Service backgrounds. Directors are from commercial vessel, and rescue backgrounds, our chairman is the former Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police.
BMMS are experienced in supporting commercial projects for the likes of High Speed Two (HS2) and National Grid, our services available include.
Companies and organisations working on, beside or above open water are faced with a multitude of logistical complications; in fact, a ‘minefield’; ranging from obtaining workboats, floating welfare vessels, pontoons, safety boats, licences, permissions, marine risk assessments, obtaining suitable aquatic PPE and rescue equipment, plus sourcing the appropriate training specific to the environment in which they will be operating.
Further complications can include being required to provide specialist emergency first aid support, including the potential for drowning or cold-water shock, at locations often inhospitable due to their waterside locations, which are seldom easily accessible by ambulance.
Training requirements can be confusing for Human Resources, Health & Safety and Procurement Managers: The HSE, DEFRA and the CDM Regulations 2015 all have a requirement for training and the levels and types of training required also change depending upon the location of the watercourse, the specific environment and the expected level of water contact those personnel are faced with.
Potentially having to contract a specialist safety team to cover the water margins is a further complication; to what level should the rescue teams be trained? With what equipment, licences, and insurances?
As a small yet niche business servicing the civil engineering, construction, rail, utilities, maintenance environmental & ecology sectors, supporting & training the ‘Search & Rescue’ sector, and ensuring that boatyards, hire-fleets, waterside business operators remain compliant; clients are assured of a one-stop-shop approach to having the project supported from the initial tendering process to completion. Water related compliance ‘Health Checks’ can be undertaken for companies looking at what systems and training is already in place, and what is required going forwards to remain compliant with the statutory legal requirements.
Registered with Achilles on the National Procurement Framework, the Commercial Boat Operators Association, the Inland Waterways Association and British Marine, approved trainers to British Marine, the Institute of Search and Technical Rescue, the Outreach Organisation, the Royal Yachting Association, the Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency, the companies’ credentials are assured.
Procurement and provision of specialist floating equipment, access solutions, and safety management systems and training is available – happily for our clients – all in one package.
Sector specific training can be advised upon, and accredited courses delivered ‘in-house’ by our specialist training team.
Aquatic PPE and safety / rescue equipmet can be procured for clients from our framework of suppliers. Workboat and Rescue boat training a speciality. CPD training to counter skills-fade and to remain compliant in some cases is also within the company’s portfolio.
Recent courses developed by Birmingham & Midland Marine Services include the British Marine Federation ‘Inland Waters Safety Management’ and Marina Water Safety Management, a niche course which is HSE compliant for personnel working in tidally affected marinas; courses which were sorely needed by the sectors but were not available in a format tailored to those sectors.
To address the shortfall in a suitable and relevant safety and rescue boat qualification for both the commercial and Search and Rescue sectors; BMMS Ltd developed the ‘Inland Waters – Rescue Boat Operator’ course, that was given phase #2 approval for accreditation by the Institute of Search and Technical Rescue in August ’25, courses going live from October.
A previous development with the production of a bespoke ‘Small / Inflatable Craft’ course for the Canal & River Trust’s Craft Licencing Department, providing enforcement teams with the skills to operate small and inflatable craft as part of their role.
For those companies looking to provide their personnel with relevant First Aid Marine Environment training, encompassing elements such as the protocol for drowning within CPR, crushing, amputations, use of tourniquets, cold water shock, hydrostatic squeeze and vasoconstriction; elements not found in a ‘standard’ First Aid at Work course, Birmingham & Midland Marine Services host 1, 3 and 5-day courses at both training centres. The higher-level award also covers spinal management and oxygen therapy. From October ’25, a new First Aid course aimed at personnel working within the vegetation management over / in-water sector (National Flood Resilience) goes live. It includes both the water related elements of first aid training plus, the critical ‘+F’ element (Forestry) which covers the likes of catastrophic bleeds and major trauma in more depth.
Royal Yachting Association VHF radio and ‘Small Craft’ (less than 24m) First Aid courses also available at Gailey Wharf Training Centre with our partnering trainers.
Occupational Water Safety & Rescue courses are in the main delivered via the Outreach Rescue and the Institute of Search and Technical Rescue schemes, many of which are compliant with the training requirements set out within the the DEFRA ‘Flood Rescue Concept of Operations’ documentation, and commercial river-based courses are based around the Annex ‘H’ syllabus, satisfying the Environment Agency as well as DEFRA.
Basic DEFRA Module 1), Module 2) Water Rescue First Responder and Module 3) Water Rescue One Technician courses also available in ‘closed course’ format by arrangement. Those clients falling outside the remit of both CDM Regulations 2015, and the DEFRA ‘Con-Ops’ would be required to comply with HSE legislation and the two new British Marine courses, Water safety / Marine Safety Management cover the bases for this type of client
Maritime and Coast Guard ‘Personal Survival and Water Safety’ training can be delivered alongside ‘Fire Safety’ to satisfy the Ancillary course training requirements for Boat Master Licences for operators of Workboats (WB), Passenger boats (+12 passengers – PAX) and Towing and Pushing operations. (TP).
Commercial Boat courses include workboat-oriented RYA Inland Waterways Helmsman Certificate training, commercially oriented RYA Powerboat Level 2, training and bespoke courses for Safety / Rescue Boat Operations.
With the company’s primary base being canalside at Gailey Wharf on the Staffs & Worcester Canal, Base-Two at a privately owned stately home with sixty-acre lake, and with licences and permissions in place for various other venues including National Trust property, our training areas are both diverse and dynamic.
Located centrally 500m from Junction 12 of the M6, north of Birmingham and south of Stafford, the business is ideally placed, with easy access via road, rail, airport, and even by canal! Accommodation is available, our closest hotel being just 500m west of the training centre.
Further information can be found on the company website: www.midlandmarine.co.uk and the Management team are always happy to invite potential clients to their Gailey Wharf canalside depot or our second training centre location at the Chillington Estate in Staffordshire to discuss their requirements.