Larger Headquarters for IMCA

"Five years in Lower Belgrave Street have seen an expansion from eight to 17 members of staff, matching the growth in membership, which has enabled a significant expansion in the association's work programme," explains IMCA's Chief Executive, Hugh Williams. "Our growth has been exceptional. In October 2004 when we moved into the Lower Belgrave Street offices we had 240 members in 35 countries; now we have over 650 member companies in more than 50 countries.

"The current economic situation has enabled us to obtain more space at a competitive rent and so we moved over the weekend of 12-13 December, and have started work in our new offices on Monday (14 December). These new offices are literally across the street from the old one, with the new entrance even closer to London Victoria's rail/tub station and excellent airport access, which is perfect for members and others visiting the secretariat for meetings."

IMCA has four technical divisions, covering marine/specialist vessel operations, offshore diving, hydrographic survey and remote systems and ROVs, plus geographic sections for the Asia-Pacific, Central & South America, Europe & Africa, Middle East & India and North America regions. As well as a core focus on safety, the environment, competence and training. IMCA seeks to promote its members' common interests, to resolve industry-wide issues and to provide an authoritative voice for its members.

IMCA publishes some 200 guidance notes and technical reports. These have been developed over the years and are extensively distributed. They are a definition of what IMCA stands for, including widely recognised diving and ROV codes of practice, DP documentation, marine good practice guidance, the Common Marine Inspection Document (CMID) - now available electronically as e-CMID, safety recommendation, outline training syllabi and the IMCA competence scheme guidance. In addition to the range of printed guidance documents, IMCA also produces safety promotional materials, circulates information notes and distributes safety flashes.