IMCA Newsroom

Press Release 10/04

MARINE RENEWABLES ON THE IMCA AGENDA

IMCA - The International Marine Contractors Association is one of the key organisations endorsing All-Energy Opportunities. An international association with 240+ members in more than 35 countries representing offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies, it is seeing a growing trend amongst members to become actively involved in the marine renewable energy industry.

"IMCA members are involved in the construction of offshore renewables facilities, laying cables, dredging, diving, surveying and providing consultancy," explains Chief Executive, Hugh Williams, who will be chairing the Offshore Health and Safety stream of the All-Energy Opportunities conference - a session with the apt title "Working Safely Saves Money".

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 the Middle East & India regions, as well as a core focus on safety, the environment, competence and training.

The Europe & Africa Section has, as part of its remit, the aim of sharing the latest developments on renewables through presentations and discussions, aiming to develop common positions and identify areas for future IMCA work. Renewables - along with the decommissioning of oil and gas structures - will be coming under the spotlight at a forthcoming meeting of the section, being held in Aberdeen on 11 June 2004.

"This is a members-only day, and in addition to looking at various aspects of decommissioning regulations, experiences and projections, we will be exploring the overlap between decommissioning and renewables and looking at inshore diving on windfarms, cable laying experiences and holding a workshop in which we will take forward the issues raised in the earlier presentations and develop common positions and a work programme for members active in the section," explains Hugh Williams.

IMCA promotes improvements in quality, health, safety, environmental and technical standards through the publication of information notes, codes of practice and by other means. Members are self-regulating through the adoption of IMCA guidelines - IMCA has published, and regularly updates, over 170 guidance documents and technical reports, mostly for the offshore oil and gas industry, but many are equally applicable to marine renewables.

"Our recently published pocket safety cards 'Manual Handling Safety Guide', 'Preventing Slips and Trips', 'Toolbox Talks', 'Lifting Operations', 'Lifting Equipment', and 'Working at Height: Preventing & Dealing with Falls'; and our DVD 'Working at Height' are highly relevant to the renewables industry," says Hugh Williams, "as are guidance notes on topics such as:

• IMCA M 103 - Guidelines for the design and operation of dynamically positioned vessels
• IMCA M 149 - IMCA/UKOOA Common Marine Inspection Document
• IMCA D 014 - IMCA International Code of Practice for Offshore Diving
• IMCA D 018 - Code of practice on the initial and periodic examination, testing & certification of diving plant & equipment
• IMCA D 023 - Diving Equipment Systems Inspection Guidance Note (DESIGN)
• IMCA S&L 001 - Guidance for the management of change in the offshore environment
• IMCA S 004 - Marine inspection checklist for small workboats

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.