Jane Bugler
The International Marine Contractors Association’s (IMCA) 2014 survey of remotely operated vehicle (ROV)s, and ROV personnel reveals that in February 2014 a total of 3, 369 ROV personnel (superintendents, supervisors, pilot techs and other offshore ROV support personnel) were working, and in August the total figure was 3, 617. The total number of ROVs in February was 677 and in August 726.
These figures compare with 3, 663 personnel in February 2013 and 3, 962 in August 2013; and 580 ROVs in February 2013 and 636 in August 2013.
The types of ROV in operation are broken down using the classes of ROV defined in IMCA R 004 Rev. 3 – Code of practice for the safe and efficient operation of remotely operated vehicles – Class I – Observation ROVs; Class II – Observation ROVs with Payload Option; Class III – Work-class Vehicles; Class IV – Towed and Bottom-Crawling vehicles; Class V – Prototype Development Vehicles. Class III vehicles were the most in use at the time of the two surveys – 518 in February, and 561 in August.
“These statistics are intended to reflect personnel and vehicle levels on two occasions in the year roughly six months apart – February and August, ” explains IMCA’s Technical Director and Acting Chief Executive, Jane Bugler. However she warns: “From 2014 the figures were required for all personnel working on ROV operations both offshore and onshore and also for total numbers of ROVs in fleets. Some respondents did not fully understand this revised data collection requirement and therefore the figures for 2014 may not entirely reflect the status of the ROV industry exactly as intended.
“Also as the figures represent a snapshot, they do not take into account any major contract start or finish times. Though these statistics represent personnel and vehicles of IMCA members submitting statistics.
“We believe that the information here is broadly representative of a significant proportion of the ROV industry. 26 member companies reported their statistics for 2014 which was lower than the 32 reported in the previous year which has also affected the results. We look forward to receiving the 2015 figures for comparison purposes.”
Further information
Further information on IMCA and its work on behalf of its 1000+ member companies in over 60 countries is available fromwww.imca-int.com and imca@imca-int.com, with information on its Remote Systems and ROV Division at www.imca-int.com/remote-
About IMCA
- IMCA is an international association with 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 code of practice, DP documentation, marine and ROV 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.
