IMCA’s Arctic diving guidance will come under the conference spotlight on Monday 22 October when Peter Sieniewicz, Technical Adviser – Diving at the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) addresses the 5th Canadian Underwater Conference, being held in St John’s Newfoundland and Labrador.
“The expansion of oil exploration and development into colder climates and Arctic regions has been the trigger for IMCA to look at specific diving guidance, ” explains Peter Sieniewicz. “Routine diving operations in these harsh conditions produce a unique set of challenges not only for the people involved, but for the associated equipment and support logistics. In the conference session at St John’s I will be looking at the work IMCA and its member companies have undertaken to produce guidance in an attempt to identify and address the unique set of problems created by this difficult and challenging environment.
”The guidance is still in preparation, so this conference provides an ideal opportunity for discussion of our proposed content, and I look forward to much stimulating discussion and feedback.”
About IMCA
• IMCA is an international association with over 850 members in more than 60 countries representing offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies. IMCA has four technical divisions, covering marine/specialist vessel operations, offshore diving, hydrographic survey and remote systems and ROVs, plus geographic sections for the Asia-Pacific, Central & North America, Europe & Africa, Middle East & India and South America regions. As well as a core focus on safety, the environment, competence and training. IMCA seeks to promote its members’ common interests, to resolve industry-wide issues and to provide an authoritative voice for its members.
• IMCA publishes some 200 guidance notes and technical reports – many are available for free downloading by members and non-members alike. These have been developed over the years and are extensively distributed. They are a definition of what IMCA stands for, including widely recognised diving and ROV codes of practice, DP documentation, marine good practice guidance, the Common Marine Inspection Document (CMID) – now available electronically as e-CMID, safety recommendation, outline training syllabi and the IMCA competence scheme guidance. In addition to the range of printed guidance documents, IMCA also produces safety promotional materials, circulates information notes and distributes safety flashes.
