IMCA to play active role at Abu Dhabi-based Workboats show

A keynote address by the Chairman of the association's Middle East & India Section will be given at the conference, a meeting of the Section is being held alongside the event; and IMCA will be exhibiting on stand H8.

"We are looking forward to our involvement with the event being held in Abu Dhabi, at the heart of the workboat industry in the region, and are pleased to be involved in so many different ways during this valuable exhibition and conference," says IMCA's Technical Director Jane Bugler, who will be at the event with Technical Adviser Emily Comyn and Claudine Bleza, Administrator (Events). "There is no doubt that Abu Dhabi is fast becoming a gateway to global workboat business with ongoing projects worth many billions of dollars - and many more to come."

Roy Donaldson, Chairman of IMCA's Middle East & India Section and Chief Operating Officer, Topaz Energy & Marine Ltd, will deliver a keynote address on 'IMCA's contribution to safety and efficiency in marine contracting' on the opening morning of the show.

"With more than 600 member companies in over 50 countries IMCA plays an extremely important role in ensuring safe and efficient marine contracting operations," explains Jane Bugler. "We publish good practice guidance based on members' expertise; provide briefing to members on industry developments, circulate safety flashes to help contractors learn from incidents; publish safety statistics to help monitor industry and company performance; and analyse reports and publish safety statistics to help inform industry decisions."

Bugler adds, "A common and collective approach is of great importance when bearing in mind the mobility of assets and people in our global industry. Members of a contractors' team working out of Abu Dhabi today may find themselves working in the Gulf of Mexico later in the year, and off the coast of Africa or in the Caspian Sea next year and, knowing that wherever they are they can expect to work in safety to the same guidelines has enormous benefits. The larger our membership grows, the greater becomes the range of services we can offer our member companies, and the greater our influence in ensuring that safety standards are kept high."

Roy Donaldson will be reflecting on IMCA's role as a knowledge base providing a common industry voice and highlighting recent contributions to the safe and efficient delivery of value to clients around the world. This contribution will be considered in more detail at our open meeting, of the Middle East & India Section being held on 6 October at ADNEC to which members, their clients and non-member companies are invited. Further information is available from the IMCA Secretariat at events@imca-int.com and on Stand H8 at the Middle East Workboats Exhibition and Conference.

Nearly 120 of IMCA's total membership are members of the Middle East and India Section, which was founded in 1992; and which has continually striven to raise technical and safety practices among companies operating in the region. There is strong section representation in each of the four technical divisions - diving, marine, remote systems and ROV, and offshore survey.

IMCA holds regular Middle East & India Section meetings with presentations aimed both at member companies and at their clients.