IIMS, IMCA and the Workboat Association collaborate on a 122-page guide covering vessel safety, operational standards and crew competency for commercial workboats worldwide
The International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS), working in collaboration with the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) and the Workboat Association, has announced the publication of the International Workboat Code of Practice, a 122-page guide providing best-practice guidance for the construction, operation and surveying of commercial workboats.
The International Workboat Code of Practice is a Good Practice Guide is intended to establish a comprehensive safety and operational framework and guidance for commercially operated workboats at sea and in regional waters. It covers crewed vessels as well as remotely operated unmanned vessels (ROUVs), while excluding underwater vessels and craft used for sport or pleasure. Its stated objective is to provide a benchmark level of safety and environmental protection appropriate to modern commercial workboat operations globally.
The Code places primary accountability on the vessel owner/operator and Master. Owners/operators are responsible for ensuring vessels are appropriately designed, constructed, maintained, inspected, certified and manned, and for conducting risk assessments that address the intended operation, local conditions, equipment and the vulnerability of asset, environment, public, and persons on board.
The Code places considerable emphasis on people and organisational controls, not only design and construction. It addresses PPE, safe work practices, personnel competency and familiarisation, emergency drills, preparedness and medical provision, training and formal safety-management arrangements. Industrial personnel must meet defined medical, training, familiarisation and PPE expectations before undertaking offshore voyages.
IIMS CEO, Mike Schwarz, said, “Whilst standards and regulations surrounding workboats and their safe operation are plentiful and extensive in some parts of the world, this is by no means the case in certain countries. Working in close collaboration with our friends and partners, IMCA and the Workboat Association, we have produced the detailed International Workboat Code of Practice guidance to support those engaged in a growing industry sector where only limited regulations and advice may exist in many territories.”
