Richard Benzie News

From January 2018 the International Marine Contractors Association’s (IMCA) will recognize only formal inspection reports conducted using its eCMID database, meaning that paper reports not uploaded into the database will no longer be considered by IMCA to be authorized inspection reports. The whole eCMID system is now based on the principles described in the ISO 19011 Guidance for Auditing Management Systems standard and is aligned with other comparable industry guidance on safety management system assurance.

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) is hosting a Security Seminar in London on Thursday, November 10, which will focus on human factors in modern maritime security. Sponsored by Subsea 7 and Technip, the event is a continuation of IMCA's new series of mini-seminars – niche events tailored to tackle specific topics. “The day-long seminar at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in South Kensington will provide an invaluable opportunity for all concerned to understand the impact of human factors on security in key areas of the offshore marine contracting industry – both in the oil and gas, and renewable energy sectors,” explained Richard Benzie, IMCA’s Technical Director. “It will cover both the global risk to people, and the internal cyber security threat.

Two International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) documents, often written into contracts by clients, have been fully revised and published. ‘Guidelines for the Design and Operation of Dynamically Positioned Vessels’ (IMCA M103 Rev 2), and ‘Guidance on Failure Modes & Effects Analyses (FMEA)’ (IMCA M166 Rev 1) are both now freely available on the IMCA website. “Both important documents were reviewed using the IMCA ‘open forum’ web-based system introduced last year,” explains IMCA’s Technical Director, Richard Benzie. “This made for wide stakeholder engagement.

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has published a revised version of ‘Guidance on wire rope integrity management for vessels in the offshore industry’ (IMCA SEL 022 Rev. 2/IMCA M 194 Rev. 2). This is now available for downloading free of charge from the IMCA website. This document provides guidance on the necessary elements of an integrity management system required to achieve an acceptable level of ongoing safety for the use of wire ropes in a marine environment.

Reliable and robust methods of positioning are required for safe vessel operations at offshore installations. The development of dynamic positioning (DP) systems has been gradual over the past 50 years and today, various manufacturers’ systems are available around the world. IMCA has published a report, IMCA M 229 ‘Mini RadaScan microwave radar sensor for dynamic positioning operations’ to provide an overview of the Mini RadaScan system. “Every measurement technology is bound by limitations (i.e. physics) and external factors (e.g.