From the President - August 2006

The eruption of violence in Israel and the Lebanon has caused a further increase in the price-level of oil and gas and is putting even more pressure on developments in other parts of the world. This situation will exacerbate the biggest challenge we presently face in our industry - the serious shortage of qualified personnel. This situation is made more challenging by projects becoming ever more complex - both from a technical, social, environmental and contractual point of view.

The main issues are:

• We are moving into deeper waters all the time, requiring more complicated technical solutions that can only be accomplished by experienced engineers and technicians.
• The demand for local content is increasing all around the world, requiring detailed knowledge of local legislation, extensive local representation and the organisation of training programmes and facilities.
• Compliance with extensive environmental regulations is becoming increasingly stringent and is requiring more in-depth knowledge of often very specific and complex issues
• With large challenging projects underway in remote and exotic locations, the risks associated with such developments increase and require larger, more experienced management teams.

The required skilled and experienced personnel are, for reasons extensively discussed earlier, simply not available at the moment. We have already seen many contracting strategies being changed because of this, with the inherent result of higher safety and monetary risks during project execution.

For our sector to survive this period without major mishaps, it is essential that all parties, contractors, operators and authorities work together to resolve this shortage rapidly. IMCA will take initiatives and facilitate a forum for all parties to get together and contribute to these efforts where and whenever possible.

The past 11 years have seen a series of major accomplishments by the different divisions active in IMCA. After issuing a total of 15 guidelines and reports in 2005, in 2006 IMCA has already issued 10 more guidelines on varying themes such as as contract risk, supply vessels, high voltage training and personnel security alongside new safety cards and posters. IMCA has made major contributions to making our industry safer, healthier and stronger, but it is obvious that a lot more can be achieved if authorities, operators and contractors get together and jointly pursue the improvements that we all would like to see in our industry.

Frits Janmaat, Allseas Group
IMCA President 2005-6