High voltage equipment is becoming more widespread on vessels involved in offshore engineering and construction. Such equipment is found in a vessel's power generation system, propulsion and thruster systems and dynamic positioning (DP) equipment, as well as in other heavy handling equipment onboard, such as winches, cranes and pipe handling gear. Another important area in which high voltage equipment is found is in powering remotely operated vehicle (ROV) systems.

IMCA members want to carry out high voltage operations and maintenance and repair of high voltage (HV) equipment efficiently and safely. To do this they need to know that their personnel are competent for the tasks. When an IMCA member understands what training is needed for any given marine personnel involved with high voltage, they need to be able to go to an appropriate training establishment and get an off-the-shelf course which will suit the need of the employee and employer.

With this in mind, IMCA has developed this publication. Developed in consultation with both contractors and training establishments, it aims to define the syllabi and the possible entry levels sufficiently that market forces will allow the schools to offer more appropriate courses for IMCA members to choose from.