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Year: 2012

IMCA to hold competence seminar in Dubai

There has been an increasing global emphasis on the importance of using competent personnel – something that is continuing despite economic swings in the last few years. The offshore construction industry needs a lot more personnel and the emphasis on them being, or gaining further training to become, competent is growing all the time. Contractors are called upon by clients, regulators and others to demonstrate that the individuals working for them, particularly in safety-critical roles, are competent. The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), working through and in consultation with its members, has developed an extensive framework of guidance that its

IMCA produces lifting operations DVD

Almost no work can be carried out in any marine environment without a lifting process being involved. It is an essential component of all offshore operations. And, just as in good seamanship, the skills and knowledge required for lifting operations have to be gained through experience and training as well as from the study of written guidance. The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has produced a DVD entitled ‘Safe Lifting’ (IMCA SEL 030) to illustrate essential components of successful and safe lifting operations, and provide yet another step on the all-important road to ‘zero incidents’. The DVD is based on

eCMID Update #5 – August 2012

CMID Update is a quarterly newsletter related to the IMCA M 149 CMID inspection and the associated eCMID database, www.imcacmid.com. The newsletter keeps readers up to date with changes to the CMID, changes to the eCMID database and other developments, such as CMID workshops.

IMCA's New guidance on mooring practice

Ships enter and leave ports regularly. Tying up a ship when alongside a berth or another vessel is potentially a very hazardous operation, unless simple and effective safety procedures are followed. ‘Mooring Practice Safety Guidance for Offshore Vessels when Alongside in Ports and Harbours’ (IMCA SEL 029/M 214), the latest publication from the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) is designed to ensure safe mooring with zero incidents. “Mooring accidents are always on the list of personal injury accidents, often resulting in severe injuries or even fatalities,” explains Jane Bugler, IMCA’s Technical Director. “Indeed, many people who read this guidance will

IMCA publishes updated guidance on the use of simulators

The use of simulators for training and education purposes is common practice in certain areas of the oil and gas industry, particularly in equipment familiarisation and emergency response exercises, so it is vital that information on their use is regularly updated. The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has just issued ‘Guidance on the Use of Simulators’ (IMCA C 014 Rev. 2) in order to ensure that all users of simulators have access to the most up-to-date information. IMCA C 014 was originally published in 2010 and updated in August 2011. “The use of a simulator in a structured training programme

Offshore survey personnel – statistics for 2010

For many years the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has published information on how many people were working offshore in ROV and diving roles, now for the first time they have published similar information on offshore survey personnel. “In early 2011 our Offshore Survey Division Management Committee decided that it would be beneficial to collect information on how many personnel were working offshore in survey-related roles, and how many of them were freelance personnel,” explains IMCA’s Chief Executive, Hugh Williams. “The data represents the responses of just 28 offshore survey contractor members of IMCA, and as it is the first

Competence – IMCA workshop update and news of freelance materials

The competence agenda is growing rapidly in both profile and pace around the globe. The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has done much to promote competence and the adoption of its framework over the past 12 years. One method is by means of workshops – one earlier this year in Aberdeen, which looked at different aspects of competence, had a record attendance; it was followed by one in Houston in mid-June where the emphasis was on the US government’s Safety Environmental Management System (SEMS) requirements which includes competence; and a further competence workshop will be held in Dubai on 25

Programme for IMCA's annual seminar published

The 20th International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) Annual Seminar being held Wednesday 28 – Thursday 29 November at the Okura Hotel, Amsterdam, Netherlands will get off to a flying start when keynote speakers including Jan Peter Balkenende, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands; Andy Woolgar of Subsea 7 and IMCA’s current President; Ronnie Bonnar, Managing Director of Repsol Nuevas Energias; Cato Hordnes, Advisor Subsea and Diving Intervention of Statoil; and Ruud Zoon, Managing Director GDF Suez address the conference theme ‘Marine and subsea operations: a culture of sustainability’. Both days feature morning plenary sessions with ‘Safety thinking and operational practice

IMCA publishes safety statistics for members for 2011

Every year the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) produces an annual report of safety statistics (covering fatalities and injuries) supplied by members. “Safety statistics are a useful insight into the performance of a company and industry sector in the areas of health, safety and environment,” explains Hugh Williams, Chief Executive of IMCA. We publish the figures to record the safety performance of IMCA contractor members each year and to enable them to benchmark their performance. “Our statistics for the period 1 January-31 December 2011 were provided by 195 companies and organisations, representing around 60% of our marine contractor membership, and

Call for papers published for IMCAs Dubai-based safety, environment and legislation seminar

A call for papers has been published for the 2013 International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) safety, environment and legislation seminar, which will be held on 19 – 20 February 2013 in Dubai, UAE with the theme ‘Major incident prevention in marine operations’. A template for submissions is available from events@legacy.imca-int.com, and the deadline for submissions is 7 September. “Our theme provides plenty of scope for would-be presenters,” explains IMCA’s Technical Director, Jane Bugler. “Topics may include a wide range of safety, environmental, health and legislation issues, including successful initiatives to improve company/industry performance, current issues and lessons learnt from incidents

IMCA produces anti-piracy and hostage situation awareness DVD

Piracy is a threat to all sizes of vessels in some parts of the world. The more we know, the more we can minimise the risks and react to dangerous situations – or avoid them altogether. To this end the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has produced an Anti-Piracy & Hostage Situation Awareness DVD (IMCA SEL 028) in five languages on the one DVD (English, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese) as guidance for personnel working on board vessels operating in high risk areas. “The DVD runs for just over 15 minutes and covers a range of measures intended to compliment

IMCA to hold competence seminar in Dubai

There has been an increasing global emphasis on the importance of using competent personnel – something that is continuing despite economic swings in the last few years. The offshore construction industry needs a lot more personnel and the emphasis on them being, or gaining further training to become, competent is growing all the time. Contractors are called upon by clients, regulators and others to demonstrate that the individuals working for them, particularly in safety-critical roles, are competent. The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), working through and in consultation with its members, has developed an extensive framework of guidance that its

IMCA's Marine Construction Contract revised and re-issued

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has published a variety of guides, templates and discussion documents aimed at raising awareness on contracting issues (including liability and insurance), promoting discussion and providing tools that may be useful for its contractor members, their clients and sub-contractors. All are subject to revision to ensure usefulness to all stakeholders and that it just what has happened to a key document – ‘IMCA Marine Construction Contract’, with revision to others relating to offshore survey and ROV work in the pipeline. All are designed to aid clients and contractors alongside their in-house standard contracts and other

Safe Management of Survey and Inspection Data – new IMCA publication

There is not a computer user alive who has not experienced the frustration of losing data – however, when talking about the safe handling and management of large volumes of valuable or significant survey and inspection data in the offshore industry, this escalates the problem from annoying to crucial and potentially costly. Technical developments have led to a rapid increase in the volume of data being collected, and more complex data handling via onboard networks. Data management strategies have changed to meet these new requirements and conditions. The International Marine Contractors Association has published ‘Guidelines on the Safe Management of

IMCA guidance on Minimum Quantities of Gas Required Offshore

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has published ‘Minimum quantities of gas required offshore’ (IMCA D 050) to address the minimum amount of emergency breathing medium (air or mixed gas) required to be kept at an offshore dive site before the dive commences, and during it. Helpfully , the new publication includes a useful equation for determining the minimum quantity of oxygen required to maintain the desired oxygen partial pressure levels in a system during decompression. “In preparing this document, which supersedes AODC 014 which has been in existence since July 1983 we had four objectives in mind,” explains IMCA’s

IMCA publishes revised Marine Inspection for Small Workboats

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) Common Marine Inspection Document (CMID) is well used throughout the industry, now, with smaller vessels in mind, a revised edition of ‘Marine inspection for small workboats (Common marine inspection document for small workboats)’ (IMCA M 189 Rev 2) has been published. As IMCA’s Technical Director, Jane Bugler explains: “The revision is largely to do with providing a new layout to reflect the CMID layout and to facilitate its subsequent electronic completion and inclusion on the CMID database. The checklist provided in the new publication aims to help members ensure that the small workboats they

Making Waves #63 – June 2012

Making Waves 63 (PDF)Highlights from issue 63 of Making Waves Include:Report from our safety and environment seminarSpotlight on Dave ForsythNew MLC guidanceDESIGN updateBridge team management

Nitrox – IMCA publishes guidance on surface supplied diving ops

One of the most recent publications from the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) is ‘Surface Supplied Diving Operations Using Nitrox’ (IMCA D 048). Surface supplied diving is sometimes carried out using a breathing gas mix of nitrogen and oxygen, with a higher percentage of oxygen in the mix than in natural compressed air. The common industry terminology for such a gas mix is nitrox. “Diving while breathing nitrox reduces the required decompression time for any particular dive in comparison to the same dive using natural compressed air,” explains IMCA’s Technical Director, Jane Bugler. “The technique is normally used to ensure

Search starts for new IMCA CEO

The search has started for a new Chief Executive for the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), following Hugh Williams’s decision to retire at the end of 2012 after ten years in post. “One of my roles as President is to chair the Overall Management Committee that the Chief Executive reports to. I will be working with OMC and Hugh to seek a new Chief Executive to continue his good work,” says Andy Woolgar, Subsea 7, IMCA President. “As ever, there remains a lot to do in increasing IMCA’s standing, delivering benefits to members and furthering the work programme – an

IMCA guidance on hold-back vessels during DP diving operations

New guidance has been produced by the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) on the use of ‘hold-back’ vessels during diving operations. These are towing (or other) vessels that provoke additional security for DP (dynamically positioned) vessels engaged in critical operations by means of attachment by wire rope. “Our new publication (IMCA M 185 Rev 1) is intended to assist vessel operators who are considering using such a system of operation by discussing the issues involved and highlighting the minimum precautions that would need to be taken in the planning, execution and monitoring of the operation,” explains IMCA’s Technical Director, Jane

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