IMCA Newsroom

Press Release

REGISTRATION OPENS FOR IMCA MARINE AND DIVING SEMINARS

Key operational and management personnel from the world-wide marine and diving industries, equipment suppliers, specialist consultants and client and regulatory representatives will be meeting in Aberdeen in early November for a duo of events organised by IMCA - The International Marine Contractors Association. The 11th Annual Marine Division Seminar and Workshop will be held on 5 and 6 November and the 2nd Annual Diving Division Seminar and Workshop on 5 November at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.

The two events are designed to complement each other. Delegates come together for the opening plenary session when, with its theme ‘Learning from Experience' the seminar looks at Marine Contracting: Learning from the Past to Shape the Future (John Smith of Subsea 7 - IMCA President); The Client Perspective: IMCA's Role in Shaping the Future (Didrik Reymert, Shell Expro); and The Choice between using Divers and using ROVs (Dave Turner, Head, Subsea Engineering Group, BP Exploration). Delegates then opt for either offshore diving-specific or marine-specific sessions and workshops for the rest of the day. The second day, which is devoted entirely to marine matters, features a mix of presentations and parallel workshops.

In all nearly 30 speakers will be involved and there will be parallel workshops on both days. This year's event marks the first return to Aberdeen for the Marine Division Seminar since 1997 - venues over the years have included Stavanger (twice), Amsterdam, London, Houston, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, and Noordwijk aan Zee. The full programme for both events is now available on the IMCA website at www.imca-int.com/seminar/

Marine Topics

DP operations subsea - Gulf of Mexico, the Havule project (a DP verification study), getting DP rigs working offshore Angola, an update on DP incidents and marine risk assessment guidance, pipelaying (including rigid pipelay in deep water and flexible pipelay offshore Brazil), the BP Amoco King project, acoustic problems - solutions for deep water operations, marine communications - application of new technologies and well servicing are all presentation topics during the two days of the Marine Seminar. Workshops over the two days include sharing good practice internationally, FMEAs, acoustic systems for deepwater, marine communications - how to utilise new technology to aid training and operations and DP for survey purposes as well as a workshop where, to ensure topicality, the subject will be selected by delegates.

Diving Topics

Diving-specific sessions will look at FMEAs for dive systems, an outline of research into the mechanisms of underwater explosions and a medical provider's view of how to implement DMAC 28 (covering medical care for divers in saturation). There will also be an overview of IMCA's completed study of the age and experience profile of divers, which includes data for the North Sea, Mediterranean, Middle East, India, Asia-Pacific and North America; and updates on current IMCA work including diving in contaminated waters and hyperbaric lifeboat thermal testing. Delegates will be able to choose from three parallel workshops - sharing good practice internationally, FMEAs and one to be determined by the delegates themselves.

Exhibition shaping up

Alstom, C-Mar Services, Fugro Seastar, Kongsberg-Simrad, Nautronix, and Sonardyne are among the expanding list of exhibitors taking part in the exhibition running in association with the seminar, and offering delegates the chance to learn about the latest technological developments and services from a wide range of IMCA members serving the marine contracting sector.

Networking opportunities

The Seminar series continues its reputation for offering productive networking sessions for delegates - there is an opportunity to register prior to the event on the evening of 4 November and to take part in a whisky tasting; and on 5 November there is an evening reception at the Aberdeen Maritime Museum.

Notes to Editors (common)

• IMCA is an international association with over 450 members in more than 50 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 Americas Deepwater, Asia-Pacific, Europe & Africa and Middle East & India 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. These have been developed over the years and are widely 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, safety recommendation, 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 safety flashes.
• Judith Patten is here to help you if you want any additional information on IMCA; would like to discuss a feature article; want to organise interviews with key members of the IMCA team, etc.