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IMCA to focus on uncrewed surface vessels and Environmental Sustainability at MCEDD 2021

Published on 20 April 2021

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), a long-term supporter and sponsor of MCE Deepwater Development (MCEDD) which this year ‘goes virtual’ on 21 and 22nd April, brings two highly topical presentations to an audience of deep and ultra-deepwater specialists from around the world. The first looks at ‘Tackling Environmental Sustainability and the Energy Transition: From Words to Action’; and the second, combining a bp speaker and an IMCA specialist puts ‘Uncrewed Surface Vessels: What Next?’ in the conference spotlight.

Nadine Robinson, IMCA’s Technical Adviser – Environmental Sustainability will be presenting in Session 6 of the Macro, Scene Setting; Energy Transition stream at the two-day event. In ‘Tackling Environmental Sustainability and the Energy Transition: From Words to Action’ she will examine how the subsea industry has responded to increased calls for environmental and climate action. She will cover key terms, and drivers, and offer examples of commitments and – most importantly – actions by IMCA contracting members and energy companies.

”I am aiming to ensure that those attending will gain an understanding of what net zero is, and what is driving the interest in, and commitment to, environment and climate by various stakeholders,” she said. “I will share with attendees a ‘sneak preview’ of IMCA’s new Code of Practice on Environmental Sustainability, illustrating what good environmental stewardship for our industry is all about.”

In Session 22 in the Unmanned and Autonomous Technologies stream Andre Rose, IMCA’s Technical Adviser – USV, ROV, Digitalisation and Competence & Training; and Eric Primeau, Senior Technical Specialist, bp P&O Projects will, in ‘Uncrewed Surface Vessels: What Next?’, combine forces to give a joint presentation addressing different aspects of USVs.

“I am delighted to be sharing the virtual platform with Eric, as he is an expert in this topic and as he is involved in our USV workgroup and newly formed Marine Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) committee we felt that he would be ideally placed to represent the industry from a technical point of view. We will be ensuring our audience members gain an understanding of the evolution, current status and the benefits of future USV systems in the offshore energy sector; and also providing an insight into existing regulatory challenges that need to be solved,” explained Andre Rose.

He will cover USV history and development, the regulatory position (and those challenges), and IMCA’s involvement and ambition; while Eric will provide a major operator’s perspective, having been involved with these systems from their earliest use in energy fields; and will talk about how their future use is perceived.

Biographical information on all three speakers is available on the IMCA website at MCEDD Goes Virtual – 21 – 22 April 2021 – IMCA (imca-int.com). The free-to-attend event is scheduled to suit an international audience, starting at 10:20hrs BST each day and closing at 21:00hrs BST on Day 1 and 20:45 BST on Day 2.