We are delighted to announce the shortlisted entries for the 2026 IMCA Awards, reflecting the outstanding quality of projects submitted across all five categories.
Each year the awards celebrate success across multiple categories including:
- Environmental Sustainability,
- Health, Safety and Security,
- Innovation and Technology,
- People Development,
- Rising Star.
This year’s entries impressed the judges with their innovation, measurable impact and commitment to excellence within the offshore and marine sector. It has been a real pleasure to see the dedication and creativity of the individuals and teams celebrated, and we look forward to announcing the winners at the Gala Dinner at the IMCA Global Summit in Antwerp, Belgium, on 28 October 2026.
Environmental Sustainability Project of the Year
ADNOC with ShipWatch AI
ShipWatch AI is ADNOC L&S’s advanced vessel and fleet analytics platform, transforming maritime operations through real-time intelligence, predictive analytics and emissions visibility. Deployed across ADNOC L&S tankers and gas carriers, it combines multiple technologies to continuously monitor vessel performance, validate operational data, optimise voyage execution and identify fuel-efficiency opportunities. The project enables crews and shore-based teams to make data-driven decisions that reduce fuel consumption, lower emissions and improve operational efficiency across a global fleet.
By integrating sustainability directly into daily maritime operations, ShipWatch provides voyage-level transparency on emissions and performance, helping ADNOC L&S accelerate its decarbonisation journey while maintaining safe, reliable and commercially efficient operations. The project demonstrates how digital innovation can deliver measurable environmental outcomes at scale across one of the world's largest integrated maritime logistics solutions.
Heerema with Modular Spreaderbar
Modular spreader bars are not new to the lifting industry; smaller modular systems have been used for years to provide flexibility across different lifting operations. However, applying this concept to an ultra-heavy lift spreader bar of this capacity had remained out of reach. Heerema has now developed the world's largest modular spreader bar, capable of handling loads up to 9,000 tonnes while remaining fully reconfigurable through interchangeable segments. Achieving modularity at this scale required overcoming significant engineering and fabrication challenges, particularly in transferring extreme forces across bolted interfaces while maintaining interchangeability. The result is a highly flexible lifting tool that can be reconfigured offshore, reducing the need for project-specific equipment, minimising steel consumption and transport, and creating substantial operational, economic, and sustainability benefits.
Jan De Nul with the AquaForest Project
The AquaForest project in Ecuador demonstrates an innovative, large-scale nature-based solution for coastal protection. Through the sustainable reuse of dredged sediments, a 50-hectare intertidal island was created and eco-engineered to encourage mangrove growth. This new habitat delivers practical outcomes, including climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration, while enhancing adaptation by shielding coastlines from rising sea levels. The project integrates continuous scientific monitoring conducted with international and local partners, ensuring robust evaluation of ecological performance. It also supports ecotourism, sustainable fishing and aquaculture, while serving as a Living Lab for researchers and an educational platform to raise environmental awareness in local communities, making the initiative both environmentally and socially impactful. Designed as a scalable and adaptable blueprint, it offers strong potential for replication on tropical and subtropical coastlines facing flooding, erosion and biodiversity loss.
Innovation and Technology Project of the Year
CBO with the Operational Excellence Centre (CEOP)
The CEOP was created to consolidate capabilities that previously existed independently across the Company into a single, coordinated centre, addressing the growing complexity, data volume and safety demands of offshore operations. It unifies real-time 24/7 fleet monitoring, an operational audit programme, DP assurance, specialised technical support, crew training for specific industrial missions, digitalisation projects and the Fita Azul excellence programme. It is staffed by experienced Merchant Marine Officers and functions as a strategic hub between land and sea, driving innovation, strengthening operational safety and efficiency, and supporting mariners' technical development.
Smartdives with Maayah Portable High-Pressure Heliox Compressor
MAYAAH is the world's first fully containerised, high-speed Heliox compression system purpose-built for offshore and hyperbaric operations. Engineered by SmartDives with BAUER Kompressoren, it transfers gas at 400 m³/hour, up to eight times faster than conventional units, cutting a nine-hour changeover to under three hours, with zero gas loss and closed-loop cooling. Built for 25 years of marine-grade service with 24/7 remote monitoring, MAYAAH sets a new benchmark for speed, safety and efficiency in Heliox gas transfer.
SMD with SMD Artemis
This project represents a step change in subsea asset tracking, providing highly accurate location and depth-of-burial data for cables and pipelines in even the most challenging conditions. Using innovative electromagnetic sensing technology, it can detect live, toned and unpowered assets without disrupting service, helping operators reduce risk, improve efficiency and complete surveys, repairs and burial campaigns with greater confidence and accuracy.
People Project of the Year
CBO with Women at the Centre
CBO's Women at the Centre is a strategic commitment to the diversity of women's experiences in offshore operations, positioning women not as passive beneficiaries but as protagonists in building a fairer organisational culture. The initiative's target is gender balance of 50% women and 50% men, onshore and at sea and focuses on talent attraction through 50/50 cadet hiring, equitable career progression, and relocating pregnant seafarers to the CEOP so they can continue contributing professionally throughout pregnancy and the child's first year. This is supported by extended maternity leave, remote working, childcare subsidies, breastfeeding rooms and the Baby on Board Project, alongside safe-reporting channels and mandatory D&I training.
Kuwait Oil with The Three-Pillar Marine Engine Transformation
The Three-Pillar Marine Engine Transformation Programme is an initiative introduced to build in-house capability for marine diesel engine diagnostics, maintenance and major overhauls. The programme integrates three pillars: Mechanical Mastery, Component-Level Precision and Electronic Diagnostics & Control. It enabled local engineers to overhaul Caterpillar C9 engines, refurbish HEUI injectors, interpret ECM/CAN diagnostic data and perform precision measurements to OEM-level standards. The initiative reduced reliance on external OEM support, improved fleet availability to 92–96%, reduced mean time to repair by 40–60%, and generated estimated annual savings of KWD 1.2M–2.5M. It also empowered junior engineers through structured coaching and hands-on technical development, creating a scalable model for predictive maintenance, cost efficiency and operational excellence across marine and offshore assets.
MISC with Overwater Personal Transfer (e-Learning) Module
MISC developed the first dedicated Overwater Personnel Transfer (OWPT) e-learning module to strengthen competency, capture lessons learnt and reduce people-related risks. Developed with experienced subject matter experts and aligned with IMCA Guidance and principal requirements, it covers all four OWPT methods, operational hazards and incident prevention measures. Since its launch, the e-learning module has reached nearly 5,000 personnel and has been made available to contractors, surveyors, port and terminal users, seafarers and the wider maritime community, fostering shared learning and strengthening safer transfer practices across the industry.
Rising Star Award
CBO with Gabriel Caspary, Head of the Operational Excellence Centre (CEOP) | CDPA
Gabriel's initiative is evident across various areas of his career. From his first year at CBO, he translated hands-on offshore experience into practical improvements, stronger standards and people development. When entrusted with leading the CEOP's formation in 2022, he united professionals from different disciplines and cultures around one shared vision, rather than starting from scratch. His passion for technical excellence drove him to pursue IMCA's CDPA certification and take on the presidency of the Brazilian Society of Dynamic Positioning (SBPD), extending his influence to the wider Brazilian offshore industry while also supporting some of CBO's most technically complex offshore operations. This same drive extends to people: he has actively championed diversity initiatives, helping establish CBO's Race & Ethnicity and LGBTQIA+ affinity groups.
Commercial Dive Academy with Michael Strong, General Manager and Bridget Steenkamer, Compliance Manager
Michael started as a standby diver in 2018 and supported recruitment and sales for the business. Over the next few years, he learnt what it takes to run a successful training school and, by 2022, had progressed to the general manager role. The business has boomed under his management, winning Tasmania’s Export Awards twice and reaching the finalist stage twice. He has become a prominent figure in the offshore diver-training industry, supporting both air and closed-bell courses. The high level of employee retention is a testament to his excellent interpersonal skills and his ability to work with everyone from students to regulators.
Bridget's earlier projects included putting systems and procedures in place at a standard high enough to give major offshore contractors and military organisations around the world confidence in working with the Academy. This covered staff training, a planned maintenance system, standard operating procedures and learning management systems, as well as building a CRM. Through Bridget’s perseverance and determination in achieving all of this, Commercial Dive Academy has secured multiple contracts with offshore companies and military organisations due to the level of quality attained through her work.
Dynamic Ocean with Yaashviiddan Gnanamuganthar, Senior Sales & Project Engineer
Yaashviiddan has consistently demonstrated strong initiative, creativity and passion by taking ownership of projects from initial client engagement through to successful delivery. He proactively identifies client needs and develops practical, value-driven solutions that support both commercial objectives and operational requirements. He demonstrates creativity by finding innovative approaches to overcome technical and project challenges while maintaining a strong focus on safety, quality and efficiency. His enthusiasm, positive attitude and willingness to take on challenges demonstrate strong potential for future leadership. His passion for the subsea and offshore industry is evident in his commitment to delivering high standards and creating value for both clients and the organisation.
Health, Safety and Security Project of the Year
CBO with The CBO Journey involving Human and Organisational Performance (HOP).
CBO's HOP Journey is a structured cultural transformation built on four phases inspired by the PDCA cycle, repositioning safety as a collective value rather than an individual responsibility. The company created a multidisciplinary Human Factors Committee, the "Commitment to Life" channel for simplified reporting via QR code, an Attitudes Analysis Committee, a 41-member Document Review Group (GRDOC) to close the gap between prescribed and actual work, and the "Learning Teams" programme for continuous learning from events. The initiative adopts Safety II principles, treating errors as opportunities for systemic understanding rather than individual failures to punish. The central goal is to consolidate a proactive safety culture across the entire fleet, from leadership to operational level, sustained by periodic maturity assessments and objective progress indicators.
Jan De Nul with Pole Position
Pole Position is the activation campaign and incentive programme within the wider safety programme S.A.F.E., short for Safety Always For Everyone. Its objectives are to mobilise colleagues across sites and vessels to drive a collective and proactive safety culture, and to reframe perceptions of a new line of personal protective equipment among site and vessel teams. It transforms a legal obligation into a key condition for performance and promotes a strong safety culture across projects, enabling project teams to track collective safety efforts and push noteworthy projects to pole position at the top of the leaderboard.
Seaway 7 with the Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention Pilot
The Seaway Ventus SIF Prevention Pilot was a 90-day initiative designed to strengthen serious injury and fatality risk management through critical control verification, quality toolbox talks and learning-focused reviews. Rather than imposing a predefined solution, the pilot worked closely with offshore teams to test, refine and calibrate the approach, enabling operational ownership and practical learning. The resulting framework improved engagement and critical risk awareness while providing a scalable, operations-led model for SIF prevention across the wider business.
We'd like to congratulate all the candidates, and say a huge thanks to this year's unsuccessful entries for sending in their projects, as well as to Supreme Hydro Engineering for Sponsoring the Health and Safety Award. The standard of submissions was once again very high. If you'd like to attend the IMCA Gala Dinner, at the IMCA Global Summit in Antwerp, Belgium on 28-29 October 2026, book your tickets today!
