Programme for IMCA's annual seminar published

Published on 13 July 2012

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 – an airline perspective of the marine contracting industry# (Jarle Gimmestad of Gimmestad AS);’ Claims handling issues for contractors’ (Graeme Baird, Clyde & Co); and ‘3D visualisation in overcoming technical operational challenges’ (Bill Russell-Cargill, DOF Subsea) on Day 1; and ‘Why is 12 considered safer than 13 – the questions arising from the need to operate wind farm crew vessels with more than 12 passengers onboard’ (Philip Woodcock, Workships Contractors); ‘Noteworthy environmental initiatives in Saipem Offshore’ (Chiara Petrella, Saipem); and ‘Development of a modular offshore platform: IHC Supporter TMClass’ (Cor van der Harst, IHC Offshore & Marine BV) on Day 2.

The conference then splits on both days into three parallel sessions – Marine, Diving, and ROV and Survey, with topics under the spotlight as varied as ‘Sustainability through reliability – understanding DP failures’ and ‘A greener ship: reducing emissions through energy efficiency – a manufacturer’s perspective’; ‘Hyperbaric lifeboat mating trials – lessons learnt’ to ‘Breathing gas contamination: the facts, the dangers – the future’; and from ‘Positioning challenges in the Arctic subsea’ to ‘The role of the ROV simulator in subsea repair and leak containment’.

Full range of workshops and networking events
Workshops on Day 1 will deal with GIS – review of applications, data models and guidelines; Noise in diving helmets; Bus tie reliability; SIMOPs (simultaneous operations); and Transport to the worksite; and on Day 2 Affordable marine operations for renewable energy; Green oil in hydraulic systems offshore; Achieving sustainability – in safety and environmental performance; Breathing gas quality monitoring for diving systems; and the long-traditional ‘Delegates’ choice’.

Day 2 also sees a second plenary session in the afternoon when there will be presentations on ‘Linking training and competence to the safety management system’ (Keith Adams, Polaris Learning); and ‘Competence assurance and assessment – the Saipem corporate approach’ (Kostya Tomashpolskyy, Saipem).

“As ever, the IMCA Annual Seminar, which is organised by all four IMCA technical divisions – Marine, Diving, Offshore Survey, and Remote Systems & ROV – combines impressive keynote presentations, plenary sessions, single topic sessions, workshops, a supplier member exhibition, and a full range of social and networking events,” says Hugh Williams, Chief Executive of IMCA for whom this will be his final Annual Seminar as he retires at the end of the year.

“The networking events are key to its continuing success and we have three – a welcome reception on 27 November at the Okura Hotel, the Seminar Dinner on 28 November at Fifteen, and a drinks and buffet reception at the conference venue after the seminar closes, at the Renaissance Hotel in the historic city centre under the copper dome of the 17th century Koepelkerk. We look forward to welcoming members and non-members alike to a highly stimulating event.”

The supplier member exhibition
Exhibitors who have already booked their space include SMP Ltd, IHC Hytech, ABB, Trelleborg Protective Products AB, Petrofac Training Services BV, Inchcape Shipping Services, GL Noble Denton, Nautronix, Divex Ltd, Franklin Offshore, Veripos, Drass Energy, Unique Hydra, Maritime Assurance & Consulting, National Hyperbaric Centre, Babcock International Group, Fugro Seastar AS, Pommec, Oceanos ISC, and Oceanwide Safety at Sea.

The full conference programme is now online at legacy.imca-int.com/events and registration is now open.

Looking back
The 2011 Annual Seminar, held in New Orleans, USA, saw over 350 people attending with 22 companies exhibiting. Delegates included offshore and onshore management and operational staff, together with equipment suppliers, consultants, oil company representatives and regulators.