Professional guide to switching sectors

Maritime educationalist Mike Wall continues his series of books introducing specialist maritime roles with Heavy Lift & Project Cargo Operations, which is intended to fill a gap in the textbook market. The author pays tribute to previous works by Marco J van Daal and Capt DJ House on aspects of the subject, but he felt that there was a need for a reference book bringing together heavy lift and project cargo operations, with all the necessary information in one location.

The result is a thick volume in A4 size, illustrated with diagrams and photographs. The information is grouped into chapters such as 'Dimensions, weights and forces', 'Project planning', 'International standards' and 'Health and safety aspects'; and within each chapter there are dozens of subsections ranging from grounded loadouts to wire ropes, crane inspections and marine insurance.

The book is given extra professional and technical credibility through the involvement of several senior heavy lift and project cargo practitioners, whether providing information or proof-reading and reviewing the author's work.

Individual topics are easy to find in the table of contents, making the book effective as a work of reference that readers can dip in and out of as needed. With a cover price of £140, this is presumably a book intended for libraries – whether onboard ship, in the office or at colleges – but the comprehensive nature of its information means that it is likely to be worth the investment.

Heavy Lift & Project Cargo Operations – An Introduction
By Mike Wall
Self-published (available in the Nautilus Bookshop), £140
ISBN: 978 61659 09341