IMCA Newsroom

Press Release 11/07

COMMON MARINE INSPECTION DOCUMENT UPDATE

The International Marine Contractors Association's (IMCA) all-important Common Marine Inspection Document has been updated with an enhanced supplement on seismic vessels and sent to all member companies together with guidance on its use.

"The purpose of the Common Marine Inspection Document (CMID) is to reduce the number of audits carried out on individual marine vessels, together with the adoption of a common auditing standard for the offshore marine industry," explains IMCA's chief executive, Hugh Williams. "We are pleased to hear that CMID is seeing ever-greater adoption around the world and are encouraging all members to promote its use to clients, sub-contractors and other vessel operators. Indeed, a significant part of the international offshore industry has accepted the CMID as the standard for vessel inspections and, therefore, when requesting copies of recent inspections they will expect them to be in the format laid out in the CMID."

Reducing the number of audits can be achieved by sharing audit reports. If there is a requirement to audit a vessel, the company requesting the audit should first ascertain the date when the last audit was conducted using the format of the CMID. If the audit is more than one year old, then a new audit should be conducted. A competent and independent third party should always complete the audit. A completed, valid CMID does not waive any client's rights to inspect the vessel, but the report can be taken into consideration when assessing the degree of any further inspection that might be required.

"The CMID should be treated as a living document," says Hugh Williams. "Some parts can be completed by the crew prior to an auditor's arrival and, thereafter, the vessel's crew can keep it updated wherever possible, so that the minimum amount of work is required at each audit, and auditors can spend their time on board as effectively as possible. We view it as so important that it will be the subject of one of the workshops at our annual seminar this autumn (Paris, 6-7 November). We will be exploring how the CMID is used in practice and how use of the document can be enhanced."

Copies of the CMID and a separate report providing guidance on its use can be downloaded by IMCA members from the members-only website, with a Word version of the CMID available for electronic completion, helping members keep the CMID as a living document on their vessels or within their company systems. A CD is also available containing the relevant files and viewer software. All Marine Division members of IMCA can request a free copy of the CD with further copies available to members at £15 (plus VAT and/or delivery as appropriate). The printed version and the CD both cost £30 for non-members as does the guidance on the use of CMID, which includes a worked example.

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.
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