From the President - August 2007
There is a high level of activity in IMCA at the current time. The requirement from our members for IMCA to take onboard industry issues and to develop these in the best interests of our members continues to increase. This is a reflection of the activity level in our industry and also a reflection of the people shortage we are experiencing amongst all of our members. Finally, it is a reflection of the continuous growth in members within IMCA, which has now reached 400 - doubling in five years.
The arrival of new members, which is very welcome, seems to be continuing. To cope with this expanding number of members and to respond to their higher demands, the secretariat has, this year, increased its staff and will continue to do so as necessary.
Safety has always been a top priority for IMCA. The importance of focusing on this is increasing, due to the large number of new and less-experienced people who are entering our business. An element of safety which is causing growing concern is security; security of our people when they operate from countries where the security situation is such that special precautions need to be implemented to protect them. I believe I have our members behind me when I say that the life and health of our people is an area which should not be deemed part of the normal and sound competition which we have in our markets. Adequate security for our people should be a minimum requirement which we should never compromise. In order to help our members avoid getting into situations where this could become an issue due to lack of definition, lack of clarity or driven by contractual situations, IMCA is developing guidance to support its members in this very important area. I hope our members will find this highly useful.
The IMCA Midsummer Charity Ball took place on 8 June at Fyvie Castle near Aberdeen. The castle and scenery were magnificent and contributed to what I believe was the most glamorous ball in the history of IMCA.
With this still fresh in our memories, I hope that it will encourage as many as possible of our members to join the IMCA annual seminar, which will take place in Paris on 6-7 November. New Frontiers in Marine Contracting should offer a topic of interest to all our members. I look forward to seeing you there.
Knut Boe, Technip
IMCA President 2007
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