Jane Bugler
The South America Section of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) will hold one of its regular section meetings in Rio de Janeiro at Novotel Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont Hotel on Monday 27 January, members and non-members alike are welcome to the afternoon meeting which will include two enlightening presentations. The meeting is preceded by a networking lunch. Registration at committees@imca-int.com ahead of the event is essential.
In November 2013 IMCA unveiled its five year vision and strategy, and it is on this that the association’s Technical Director, Jane Bugler, will be speaking and answering questions.
“It is a salutary thought that investigations indicate the collective annual turnover of IMCA members is in excess of $150bn per year and that they directly employ almost 350, 000 staff across the planet, ” she explains. “Indeed, the fleet of specialist vessels operated by those members account for some 4% of the world’s shipping tonnage. Yes, collectively our members are a big player!
“Set against these facts, IMCA’s Council undertook a strategic review of the association’s direction, and developed ‘over the horizon planning’ which involved taking opinion and inputs from a wide section of the membership to provide feedback on IMCA’s current activities and to look forward to the future.
“It is this vision of the future that I will be sharing at the section meeting. It will see us raising the public profile of IMCA, refining our primary and core purpose to be ‘improving performance in the marine contracting industry’ and looking at four core activities – championing better regulation; enhancing operational integrity; engaging and developing members and stakeholders; and developing our people and organisations. We are proud of all that has been achieved and will continue to build on it, working with our members to set and achieve high level aspirations and goals for the future, while continuing to respond and deliver globally to the current needs of the industry.”
The second presentation is on the all-important topic of ‘International Maritime Rules’ which will see IMCA Technical Adviser for regulatory affairs, Emily Comyn describe IMCA’s role. She spends up a good deal of her time each year at IMO – the International Maritime Organization – on behalf of offshore marine contractors from all over the world, for IMCA is the only association at IMO representing offshore marine contracting interests. IMCA has had consultative (often referred to as ‘observer’) status at IMO since 1999, and this is a status that is given only to truly international organisations with interests in maritime affairs that can make expert contributions to IMO’s work.
A third presentation will be on ROV operations, to be given by Davi Lima, Chief Operating Officer with DOF Subsea Brasil and the IMCA ROV South America Section representative.
In addition to the two presentations the meeting will cover general IMCA updates including publication of recent guidance and other documents; section status – with an update from other organisations including IBP, ABESPetro, ABEAM, IADC and IBAMA; an update on the IMCA work programme, which includes personnel shortages; and Brazilian requirements on transfer baskets.
The South America Section is one of five IMCA sections, the others being Asia-Pacific; Central & North America; Europe & Africa; and Middle East & India.
About IMCA
- IMCA is an international association with some 950 members in over 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 Vision & Strategy. As a result of work and collective input in 2013, IMCA has redefined its stated core purpose to be “Improving performance in the marine contracting industry”. To achieve this goal, IMCA’s Vision & Strategy has been devised with two elements in mind: Core activities and ways of working. Targets and objectives against which the association will measure progress in 2014 have been established. Note to Editors: We are more than happy to expand on this in tailor-made articles – just put us to the test, email judithpatten@jppr.uk.com or phone her on+44(0)20 8241 1912 to explain what you would like covered, length, and deadline.
- 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 eCMID, safety recommendations, 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.
