North America Regional Meeting

Dave has spent more than 35 years in the diving industry, taking on specialist roles such as offshore air and saturation diver, project engineer, inspection engineer, and workshop manager. He has worked with leading companies including Shires Diving, Coflexip Stena Offshore, Oceaneering UK,  and Ocean technical Services, with assignments across the North Sea, Middle East, Russia, and Europe.

 Most recently, Dave had been employed by the UK Health & Safety Executive (HSE), for 15 years as a Diving Specialist Inspector. In this position, his responsibilities included carrying out detailed investigations into incidents and accidents involving divers, ensuring that all relevant health and safety regulations are properly enforced. He has played a key role in overseeing and regulating the safety standards for divers working not only in the offshore energy sector, such as oil and gas, but also in other areas of the commercial diving industry.

Dustin has 20 years of experience in offshore energy and marine operations. He spent fifteen years offshore as a ship’s officer working internationally on large-scale projects in Asia, the Gulf of Mexico, and Brazil.  

He is a Master Mariner, an experienced Dynamic Positioning operator, and holds many industry credentials and certifications. His shipyard and vessel construction experience include projects in Japan, Singapore, and various locations in the United States. 

Dustin has construction and operational planning experience in the developing U.S. offshore renewable energy industry and is passionate about the implementation of marine technology to improve safety. 

Grant is the Metocean Manager for the Americas at Fugro, based in Houston. He leads the delivery of oceanographic and meteorological services to offshore energy clients. His work focuses on metocean measurements, real-time monitoring systems, forecasting, and consultancy. Since joining Fugro in 2008, Grant has gained over 17 years of experience in metocean data acquisition and analysis, supporting operational planning, minimizing downtime, and enhancing asset design. His team is actively advancing Loop Current forecasting to improve offshore decision-making and risk mitigation.

Leen is a maritime operations executive with over 35 years of experience overseeing Heerema’s deep-water heavy-lift and support fleet. Currently based in Houston, TX, he is responsible for the Americas Area of Operations, and, in that role, covers a wide range of on- and offshore activities—from vessel charter management, marine assurance and local regulatory compliance to project execution and emergency response.

Patrick Sanguily is the General Manager, Americas & APAC, at Spinergie, a maritime technology company that helps vessel managers, offshore contractors, and operators optimize performance, reduce emissions, and improve project outcomes. With a career focused on logistics, technology, and energy development, Patrick is passionate about bringing smart solutions to offshore operations, ensuring players can compete and succeed in a complex and dynamic market.  

Richard Purser has over 25 years of experience in Dynamic Positioning, starting as a cadet engineer at P&O Containers. He transitioned to the offshore industry, gaining extensive experience on seismic surveys, pipelayers, and DSVs, eventually earning his Class 1 Chief Engineers Certificate. 

After working at Trinity House Lighthouse Authority, Richard joined PML, later acquired by Noble Denton and DNV, as a DP Practitioner. He specialised in FMEAs, incident investigations, and advanced generator protection systems. 

Since June 2021, Richard has led IMCA’s Dynamic Positioning activities, including committee work, DP Event Reporting, and accreditation schemes. Richard also leads the Marine Division Committee and the Marine Autonomous Surface Systems (MASS) Committee.

Sarah has more than 25 years’ experience in U.S. offshore marine construction support as an offshore surveyor, project manager, contracts manager and legal advisor.

Sarah moved to the US in 1998 to join Fugro Chance as an offshore surveyor. In 2008 Sarah moved to DOF Subsea where her role evolved into contract management and legal support, obtaining her LLM in 2021. Today she supports DOFs US operations in a wide field of maritime, legal and commercial related matters including Jones Act compliance, regulatory compliance and chartering.

Capt. Sean Hogue is a Master Mariner with a background in subsea construction and offshore operations. He currently supports Baker Marine’s four divisions: Marine Engineering, Drilling, Subsea Inspection, and Marine Assurance - including Marine Warranty and Dynamic Positioning. Capt. Hogue sits on the IMCA North America marine committee, is a director at the Society of Offshore Marine Warranty Surveyors (SOMWS), a member of the Houston Marine Arbitration Association (HMAA), and is regularly featured in Maritime Executive magazine where he writes about operational safety, the energy transition, and the new technology that supports it.

Talita began her maritime career in 2005 after graduating from the Brazilian Maritime Academy as a Merchant Marine Officer. She gained hands-on experience aboard bulk carriers and container vessels before transitioning to the offshore industry, where she served on various DP2 and DP3 vessels — including supply, fire-fighting & oil recovery, AHTS, and drillships.

Over the past decade, Talita has devoted her career to advancing training and operational excellence within the maritime sector. Currently serving as Operations Manager at Maersk Training Houston, she plays a key role in bridging global standards with local delivery, supporting the development of high-performance teams and innovative simulation-based learning.

Having worked with Maersk Training for more than eight years, Talita combines her seagoing expertise, leadership experience, and passion for human performance to strengthen competence and safety across the industry.

Yasmin is a Commercial Project Manager at Fugro, focused on uncrewed solutions within the energy and offshore industries. With over a decade of international experience—including assignments in Brazil and India—she has held key roles in project management, commercial strategy, and operations at companies such as Subsea7, Tata Consultancy Services, and Odfjell Drilling. 

An Industrial Engineer with an MBA in Oil & Gas and Energy Transition, Yasmin is also a certified PMP. Based in Houston, she leads the deployment of Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs) across the Americas—from client engagement to operational rollout—and plays a key role in developing Fugro’s latest uncrewed technologies and remote operations.