Chris Charman
The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) is to hold a half day briefing meeting of its Europe & Africa Section for the first time in Luanda, Angola on Wednesday 4 March 2015, and looks forward to welcoming members and non-members alike. It is aimed at IMCA members, oil company representatives, contractors, consultants and any organisation interested in potential IMCA membership.
“I am pleased that IMCA is at last visiting Angola, ” says Chris Charman, IMCA’s Chief Executive. “This is a first for us, but we anticipate strengthening our ties and relationships in this region in the future. The high risk deepwater areas offshore Angola present special safety challenges and IMCA needs to better understand these issues. Working to ensure ever safer and more efficient offshore operations lies at the very heart of our ethos, so I know we have an important role to play, ensuring that we have the right guidance in place to help our member companies working in Angolan waters. We’ve an interesting and highly relevant programme in place, and look forward to many return visits to Luanda.”
The briefing, which is free to attend, is being co-ordinated by Pascal Grosjean of Technip, the IMCA Europe & Africa Section Chairman, who, following a networking lunch, will welcome members and guests to the meeting and give an overview of IMCA; Chris Charman will then explain the IMCA vision and strategy, and lead a group discussion on the trade association’s involvement in local issues.
Attention will then turn to ‘Air diving systems and daughtercraft applications for remote areas’ (Bob Elshove, Unique Hydra); ‘Medical aspects, evacuation, company/DMT responsibilities’ (Bridget Thomson, C-DOC); and ‘Anti-bribery and corruption issues affecting the industry’ (Chris Charman).
Following a networking coffee break, other technical topics will come under the briefing spotlight before Nick Hough, IMCA Technical Adviser speaks about ‘IMCA technical updates’, which will be followed by ‘Matters affecting members in the region’ – a second group discussion, once again led by Chris Charman.
Registration before the event is essential via www.imca-int.com/events/
IMCA is the international trade association representing companies and organisations engaged in delivering offshore, marine and underwater solutions – there are over a thousand member companies in more than 60 countries. Its core purpose is improving performance in the marine contracting industry by championing better regulation and enhancing operational integrity. The Europe & Africa Section is one of five regional sections, the others being Asia-Pacific, Central & North America, Middle East & India, and South America. It has two core divisions Competence & Training, and Safety, Environment and Legislation – and four technical divisions – Diving, Marine, Offshore Survey, and Remote Systems & ROV.
About IMCA
- IMCA is an international association with well over a thousand 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 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.
- 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.
About the industry IMCA serves
The marine contracting industry plays a vital global role. Its vessels account for 4% of the world’s maritime fleet. Collectively IMCA members employ some 350, 000 people and have an annual turnover of around $150bn. They work in all the world’s major offshore areas, delivering large offshore oil and gas and marine renewables projects around the globe that quite literally fuel the global economy.
