We are delighted to announce that Chris Jewell will be a keynote safety speaker at the IMCA Global Summit in Antwerp, Belgium on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October 2026.
Chris will be sharing his remarkable story of exploration, adventure and risk, seen through the lens of one of the most dramatic volunteer rescue operations in recent years, the rescue of 12 boys and their football coach from the flooded Tham Luang cave system in Thailand.
In June 2018, a junior association football team became trapped in Tham Luang Nang Non, a cave system in northern Thailand which they entered after a practice session. Shortly after they entered, heavy rain began to flood the caves, trapping them deep inside.
Search efforts were made difficult by fast rising water levels and strong currents, turning the rescue into a massive operation involving international rescue teams, attracting intense worldwide interest.
After days of pumping water from the cave system and a respite from the rainfall, the rescue teams worked quickly to extract the group from the cave before the next wave of monsoon rain, which was expected to fully flood the cave, permanently trapping the children inside.
The rescue effort was so complex it involved over 100 divers, as well as various rescue workers, government agencies, police and soldiers and even led to the passing of a 37-year-old former Royal Thai Navy SEAL, of asphyxiation during one of the attempts. However, two weeks after the boys were initially trapped in the caves, they were safely brought out during the course of an intricate, multi-stage rescue effort.
Chris, who is a member of the British Cave Rescue Council, was among the British divers who played a central role in the Tham Luang rescue, by using his hands-on experience in cave exploration across the UK and overseas. Over the last 12 years, Chris has squeezed through tight, muddy underwater passages in Somerset, dug underwater in the Yorkshire Dales, and led expeditions to Spain and Mexico, where his team established the Huautla cave system as the deepest in the Western hemisphere.
It was the experience and knowledge gained through these expeditions that proved decisive when events unfolded in Thailand in June 2018, now allowing Chris to share his stories of exploration and risk with a wider audience, drawing on one of the most extraordinary rescue operations in living memory. His experiences have allowed him to speak expertly on leadership mindsets, resilience, responsibility, teamwork, and outside the box thinking. He will be sharing his tools on motivation, and performing under pressure.
The programme will also bring together our core operational pillars, including diving, dynamic positioning, ROV, survey, safety and security, and lifting and rigging. Sessions on People will focus on mental health, skills, and IMCA initiatives to support early career professionals and attract the next generation to the offshore industry.
Advocacy discussion will cover the IMO, EU, and UK decarbonisation frameworks as well as other regulatory fields within IMCA’s remit. Sustainability will thread through the event, as we explore how IMCA can support Members to decarbonise and reduce their environmental impact.
Just like last year, our Membership Team will be available to discuss its future strategy and demonstrate how to make the most of participation with IMCA as well as provide the opportunity to provide feedback.
Earlybird rates end 19 June, so book your place today.
