IMCA’s President Massimo Fontolan
Keynote addresses on both days at this year’s International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) Annual Seminar (London, 19-20 November 2014) will ensure both days get off to a flying and highly relevant start.
Following an introduction and welcome by Pascal Grosjean of Technip, Chairman of IMCA’s Europe & Africa Section keynote addresses on the conference theme ‘Where next for the offshore marine industry?’ will be delivered by IMCA’s President Massimo Fontolan, Vice President Commercial, North Atlantic and Arctic of Saipem; Dave Turner, Vice President Subsea Upstream Production Operations, BP; and Judith Hackittt CBE, Chair of the UK Health and Safety Executive.
Day Two sees Stephen Carver Lecturer in Project & Programme Management, and Innovation Process Management, School of Management at Cranfield University, and expert in risk management, who has spent time working on projects in the oil industry, home in on ‘Emerald field: risk management case study’, in what promises to be a compelling presentation.
The full programme for the two-day conference at the Landmark Hotel, London is now online at www.imca-int.com and shows that the now-traditional and highly successful mix of plenary sessions, parallel sessions – looking at Marine; Diving; and Offshore Survey & ROV; and topical workshops is very much the order of the day.
Topics coming under the conference spotlight in plenary sessions include ‘Aegir’s first project’ (Meredith Taylor, Heerema Marine Contractors); ‘Revolutionising subsea lifting: an introduction to liquid buoyancy systems’ (Alex Simpson, Aubin Subsea); ‘Risk management for control system software’ (Øyvind Smogeli, Marine Cybernetics); ‘Role and accountability of the designated person ashore’ (Nigel Hope, Technip); and ‘Top ten deepwater pipelayers for Brazil (Ronald van Son/Mike Watchorn, Royal IHC).
The technical sessions will focus on the initiatives being employed to improve performance across all of our four technical divisions. The Marine sessions will be chaired by John de Hartog of Saipem on Day One, and Pete Somner of Technip on Day 2; Joar Gangenes of Subsea 7 and Sjur Lothe of Technip will share chairing of the Diving session on the first day and Steve MacMillan of McDermott International Inc will take over on the second day; while Walter Steedman of Veripos chairs Day One of the Offshore Survey & ROV session to be followed on Day Two by Jim Mann of Fugro.
Highly topical workshops
Workshops being held over the two days will look at DP FMEAs, Diving System FMEAs, Shared sensors: ROV/Offshore Survey; Learning from incidents; Key DP personnel: dilution of skills; DP incident reporting; Subsea lifting and rigging; Live high voltage short circuit testing; Competence assurance – 15 years on; and Exploring the deep post Macondo.
“The workshop programme and its outcomes play an important role in helping to determine the ongoing work programme for IMCA, ” explains Chris Charman.
Networking opportunities abound
“Networking and social events play an important role at all IMCA events, and the Annual Seminar is certainly no exception, ” says Chris Charman. “We are holding a Welcome Reception and Registration at the Landmark Hotel from 18:30-21:00 on Tuesday 18 Novemberimmediately after a Europe & Africa Section meeting which will focus on EU regulatory and other regional issues.
“At the end of our first day of inspiring sessions, we know delegates will be looking forward to the Night at the Museum Dinner at one of London’s most iconic venues, the Natural History Museum. This is sponsored by Drass Energy, with pre-dinner drinks sponsored by Griffin Marine Travel.
“Then on Thursday 19 November after the Seminar has closed everyone has a final chance tor relax, soak up the atmosphere and discuss the experience at our ‘Night at the Circus’ the post-event drinks reception at the Jewel Bar in Piccadilly Circus sponsored by SAFER Training.
“The lunch and coffee breaks throughout the seminar provided with the support of our sponsors Griffin Marine Travel, Royal IHC and Unique Hydra provide the ideal opportunity for delegates to talk about the issues just covered in the session, as well as the ideal opportunity to look around our exhibition.
“The National Hyperbaric Centre is sponsoring the wifi throughout the event to enable delegates to keep in touch with their wider network.”
Supporting exhibition
Nearly 30 IMCA supplier members have already committed to exhibit at the Annual Seminar, which offers an exceptional opportunity to present new technologies and solutions for the industry to decision makers working for contractors and potential clients.
Strong list of supporting organisations
The IMCA Annual Seminar is endorsed by ADCI, The Hydrographic Society, IADC, DP Committee, The Nautical Institute, OCIMF, OGP, Oil & Gas UK, Subsea UK, and The Society for Underwater Technology; and sponsored by Drass Energy, Forum Subsea Technologies, National Hyperbaric Centre, SAFER Training, Griffin Marine Travel, Royal IHC, and Unique Hydra. Registration is now open for the event with
Further information
Further information on IMCA and its work on behalf of its 970+ member companies in over 60 countries is available from www.imca-int.comand imca@imca-int.com, with information on the IMCA 19th Annual Seminar at www.imca-int.com/events/imca-
About IMCA
IMCA is an international association with some 970 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, emailjudithpatten@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.
