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Year: 2013

Upcoming IMCA section meetings, seminars and workshops

There are several section meetings, seminars and workshops coming up in the IMCA Calendar. For more information on these, please see the list below. Workshops and seminars require prior registration, registration information can be found on the more information link for the event below. Date Event 19 September Central & North America section meeting. Click here for more information. 19 September Competence Seminar – Building for the future: advancing competence assurance. Houston, USA. Click here for more information. 30 September Middle East and India section meeting. Click here for more information. 8 October Wire Rope Workshop: Lubrication of Subsea Wire

Call for papers for 2014 safety seminar

IMCA has issued a call for papers for the IMCA Annual Safety Seminar, taking place on 18-19 March, 2014 in Houston, USA, on the theme Opportunities & Exposure in Marine Operations. The deadline for papers is 20 September 2013, for more infomation including guidance on submitting a paper please see the Safety seminar page.

IMCA annual seminar – the story so far

Bookings for the IMCA Annual Seminar 2013, taking place at the Shangri-la Hotel in Singapore on 5-6 November on the theme Addressing the Challenges of New Frontiers are coming in steadily with many people taking advantage of the IMCA Early Bird booking offer, with tickets for the two day seminar and three social events priced at £500 per individual from member organisations and £700 for non-members. The early bird special offer ends on 15 September 2013, so book now and don’t miss out! Please see the seminar page for more information on the seminar including an updated programme.

IMCA seeks a Technical Adviser

Job description IMCA, the influential international trade association representing offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies is seeking a technical adviser to join the technical team supporting and implementing IMCA’s wide-ranging work programme. The role would suit an offshore professional such as a master or DPO, deck officer, engineer, offshore diving supervisor or someone with extensive experience and knowledge of offshore marine construction or diving operations wishing to be shore based. Experience of dynamic positioning in any of these roles would be an advantage. Having responsibility for developing technical guidance, briefing members and co-ordinating committee work, the technical adviser will work

IMCA launches new freelance competence materials

Raising the profile of the competence of offshore personnel, and the value of company competence schemes, across the marine construction industry is one of the core activities of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) Following the development of freelance materials for its Offshore Survey and Remote Systems & ROV divisions, and a revision of core Marine and Diving competence frameworks in 2012, IMCA has now launched freelance materials for its Marine and Diving divisions. This means that IMCA now offers a full suite of competence assurance frameworks tailored specifically for freelance workers. “Our message to all individual freelancers is simple,”

IMCA consultation on international offshore diving code of practice

The ‘International Code of Practice for Offshore Diving’ (IMCA D 014), published by the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), provides advice on ways in which diving operations can be carried out safely and efficiently. Risk management lies at its heart as it outlines minimum requirements, creating a safe ‘level playing field’ for all diving contractors. It also recommends how clients and contractors may analyse the safety implications of commercial requirements. Updated in 2007 from the original 1998 version, the latest updated text has now been widely circulated in draft form for international input and comment before the revised and updated

August – a crucial month for vessel operators

The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006) enters into force on 20 August 2013; and the International Marine Contractors Association is doing all that it can to ensure that its members are fully in the picture by means of Information Notes; new information on its website; use of social media; and involvement with a key offshore support vessel (OSV) conference. The MLC will affect all companies that operate ships or employ personnel who work on board. The MLC establishes international standards for the living and working conditions of seafarers. However, the MLC defines ‘seafarer’ as ‘any person

Busy autumn ahead for IMCA's DP specialist

Providing guidance on all aspects of dynamic positioning; technical reports and annual incident reports and analysis plays an important role in the work programme of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA). Speaking at conferences, communicating valuable messages that lead to ever-greater levels of efficiency and safety are also key to the association’s work. Marine Technical Adviser Ian Giddings has a busy autumn ahead of him as he will taking part in four events in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Houston; as well as being at the IMCA Annual Seminar, being held in Singapore (6-7 November), where he will be facilitating a

Updating the IMCA Diver Medic Scheme programme

Work is under way on reviewing the International Marine Contractors Association’s (IMCA) Diver Medic Scheme which is widely used and taught by IMCA recognized schools around the world. The scheme has changed little since its development in 1999, although there have been some significant improvements in training as a result of changes in technology and recent experience in trauma medicine. In addition, the problem of skill fade amongst Diver Medics, especially with some of the more complex procedures, has become an increasing cause for concern. “Initial work on reviewing the scheme will include the establishment of a workgroup later this

ROV statistics 2012

Newly released remotely operated vehicle (ROV) statistics from the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) show there has been an increase of members’ ROV-based construction, drill support and cable laying activities since IMCA started collecting figures on a worldwide basis in 2009. Additionally, cable laying activity, though a relatively minor part of members’ work overall, has more than doubled since 2009. Inspection activity has stayed on much the same level as in 2009. The 2012 world-wide ROV personnel and vehicle statistics issued by IMCA reflect personnel and vehicle levels at two specific times of the year, roughly six months apart –

Plans well advanced for IMCA's annual seminar – in Singapore this year

‘Addressing the Challenges of New Frontiers’ is the highly topical theme for the International Marine Contractors Association’s (IMCA) Annual Seminar being held in Singapore 6-7 November 2013. The programme for the 18th seminar in the annual series is now online at legacy.imca-int.com/events/imca-annual-seminar.aspx and registration is open. Open to members and non-members alike, the seminar features keynote addresses, presentations, workshops, and discussions on diving including key developments and advances in diving equipment and operations; marine and subsea operations including DP operations; marine operations, technology and equipment; offshore surveying in remote and harsh environments; ROV and AUV resources and developments in technology.

IMCA publications available in Chinese

Six IMCA publications have been translated into Chinese and can be downloaded via the IMCA website, reflecting the increasing internationalisation of the association and the growing number of IMCA members working in the Asia-Pacific region. The publications are: IMCA D 014 Rev. 1 – IMCA international code of practice for offshore diving IMCA D 015 – Mobile/portable surface supplied systems IMCA D 018 – Code of practice on the initial and periodic examination, testing and certification of diving plant and equipment IMCA D 030 Rev. 1 – Surface supplied mixed gas diving operations IMCA D 035 – The selection of

Mooring safety poster published

A new safety poster, ‘Mooring Safety’, from the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) explains graphically the hazards that can be incurred during mooring operations. Eight key messages including ‘Always look where you walk’; ‘Don’t lose your head! Beware of snap back zones’; ‘Make sure that all grating and supports are in good condition’; ‘Always wear the proper PPE’ have cartoon-style illustrations alongside the messages so they can be easily understood in any language. The twelfth in the series of safety posters, the ‘Mooring Safety’ poster is designed to complement IMCA’s existing document ‘Mooring Practice Safety Guidance’ (IMCA SEL 029 and

Guidance on Hyperbaric Evacuation Systems from IMCA

When a vessel is severely damaged there may come a time when it has to be abandoned. For such a situation vessels are required to have adequate lifeboats (or life rafts) on board for all personnel. In such an emergency, the evacuation of divers in saturation represents a particular problem as they cannot be readily decompressed in order to be evacuated in the same way as other crew members. The divers need to be transferred to a pressurised compartment which can be detached from the diving system on the vessel and launched or floated into the sea. “This means that

IMCA publishes Guidance on Occupational Health

Occupational health programmes aim to anticipate and prevent health problems caused by work. All companies should have in place appropriate arrangements for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of the necessary preventive and protective measures for workers, taking into account the activities the worker will be undertaking. The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has published high level guidance on this vital issue – ‘Guidance on Occupational Health’ (IMCA SEL 033) – which provides guidance on the physical and mental condition of all people at the workplace be they employees, contractors or visitors, and their protection from harm in

From the President – July 2013

The offshore industry is remembering the Piper Alpha tragedy of 6 July 1988, as we approach 25 years since the fateful incident. Our thoughts return to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives. The memories we have of the disaster should continuously be used to work toward prevention of anything similar. As with wars, the past must be utilised to inform the future. Following Piper Alpha there was a change in the UK regulatory regime offshore to a more general goal setting approach, with the focus on major accident prevention. Similar approaches in legislation have been

Making Waves #67 – July 2013

Making Waves 67 (PDF)Highlights from issue 67 of Making Waves Include:FPSOs & Renewables: contracting issues addressedWebsite & social media updateNew competence initiativesIMCA Diver Medic Scheme revisionSpotlight On Gavin Smith

IMCA dives into social media

Here at IMCA, we have recognised that it is time to start using new channels and we’d like to invite you to ‘like’, ‘follow’ and ‘connect’ with us so you can stay up to date with all the latest news and information we share. An overwhelming number our member companies (and the individuals working for them) are already active on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, so we have started using these channels too. We will be sharing information and announcing IMCA news, industry news, stories about events and useful links. Use the following links to connect with us. like us on

IMCA publishes Crane Specification Document

Helping to make marine contractors aware of the various options available for consideration from crane providers is one of the key intentions of the newly published ‘Crane specification document’ IMCA M 171 Rev.1 from the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) The document was originally published in July 2003, and having been recently reviewed now contains updated sections on man-riding and personnel lifting, and the certification and documentation of multi-layer winches. “In IMCA M 171 we discuss the various aspects of crane design and performance in general terms,” explains IMCA’s Technical Director, Jane Bugler.”This document can equally be used by customers

Dive technician competence and training published by IMCA

Competent and well trained technicians are vital for safe offshore diving operations. Equipment used to support and conduct diving operations requires technicians for its installation, maintenance, inspection, testing and repair. The correct functioning of the equipment is essential to the well-being of the divers and other members of the dive team. Contractors who use the services of dive technicians have an obligation to ensure that personnel are correctly trained and have the required level of competence for the equipment, and in the operations they are conducting. With this in mind, the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has published ‘Dive Technician

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