Jane Bugler
Offshore renewable energy will be very much on the agenda when the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) holds the first ever meeting of its long-established Europe & Africa Section in Germany.
With speakers from Technip, the German Shipowners Association, German Shipbuilders, Workships Contractors, Seaway Heavy Lifting, Bluewater, RWE, Vattenfall, ER Offshore and Global Maritime the meeting on Thursday 28 November at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Hamburg is open to members and non-members alike.
“IMCA established an offshore renewables workgroup in 2011 following growing concerns regarding safety in the offshore wind construction industry, ” explains the association’s Technical Director, Jane Bugler. “Key aims of the group include helping to disseminate the knowledge, experience and recommended practice held by IMCA and its members to help improve safety and reduce installations costs in this sector. Our Hamburg Europe & Africa Section meeting provides us with the ideal opportunity to explain our core values, vision and proposed action to those actively involved in the offshore renewables industry.”
Following a brief Europe & Africa Section meeting, there will be presentations on wind farm vessel standards; the IMCA Common Marine Inspection Document (CMID) for small workboats and its use by vessel operators; offshore logistics during construction phase – integrated installation; the Dutch Tidal Testing Centre at Den Oever; a short update on the G9 focal group for offshore wind health and safety; maritime operations & logistics from an offshore wind farm perspective – the Dan Tysk project; the Maritime Labour Convention and its effect on OSV operations; and on annual DP trials on DP 2 jackup installation vessels. There will be time set aside for round table discussions and for networking at the coffee and lunch breaks.
There is no charge for attending the meeting which opens with registration at 09.30 and runs until 15.30, but those interested in attending should contact Parul Patel at IMCA by emailing events@imca-int.com telephoning +44 (0)20 7824 5523 or sending a fax to +44 (0)20 7824 5521.
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About IMCA
- IMCA is an international association with around 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 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(competence framework) guidance. In addition to the range of printed guidance documents, IMCA also produces safety promotional materials, circulates information notes and distributes safety flashes.
