The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has submitted responses to three major European Commission consultations that will help shape the EU’s long-term industrial, energy, and maritime policies:
- EU Industrial Maritime Strategy
- EU Ports Strategy
- EU Grids Package
These consultations address critical elements of Europe’s clean energy transition, industrial competitiveness, and maritime security. IMCA’s responses emphasise the central role of the marine contracting and offshore construction sector in delivering the EU’s 2030 and 2050 climate, energy, and industrial goals.
Highlighting a strategic sector
Across all three submissions, IMCA stresses that the marine contracting sector – encompassing more than 800 companies worldwide, with around half based in Europe – is a critical and strategic enabler of Europe’s offshore wind, subsea cable, and marine energy ambitions.
IMCA also drew on findings from its recent Economic Impact Assessment, conducted by PA Consulting, which found the sector provides over 220,000 high-skill jobs (490,000 including indirect impacts) and is expected to contribute €80bn in Gross Value Added 2025, with productivity per worker more than 2.5 times the EU average. The study also confirms the sector’s vital contribution to energy security, climate goals, and the “blue economy”.
Key policy recommendations
In its submissions, IMCA calls on the European Commission to:
- Formally recognise marine contracting and offshore construction as a critical industrial sector across the three strategies, ensuring its needs are integrated into policy, funding, and spatial planning decisions,
- Modernise and expand port infrastructure to support offshore wind, subsea cables, carbon capture and storage, and emerging marine renewable projects, with measures to prevent capacity bottlenecks in key energy hubs,
- Accelerate offshore grid deployment through streamlined permitting, improved cross-border coordination, and investment in offshore-ready ports and logistics,
- Support fleet decarbonisation with practical, flexible regulation, funding mechanisms, and access to alternative fuels such as hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol,
- Embed maritime security objectives in all three policy areas, protecting critical seabed and offshore infrastructure from physical and cyber threats,
- Strengthen workforce skills and safety by supporting industry-led training and certification schemes aligned with EU frameworks.
IMCA’s Director of Strategy and Energy Transition, Lee Billingham, said: “Europe’s ability to meet its climate, energy security, and digital connectivity targets is directly tied to the success of the offshore construction and marine contracting sector. The EU’s strategies for maritime industry, ports, and grids must be coordinated, future-proofed, and aligned with the operational realities of offshore delivery.”
IMCA looks forward to ongoing dialogue with the European Commission to ensure the final strategies recognise the sector’s strategic role and provide the enabling conditions for it to deliver Europe’s offshore future
