Start Date for AVIs Scheme Announced

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) and the International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS) have announced the start date for the IIMS accredited vessel inspectors (AVIs) scheme, for CMID work on a worldwide basis as 1 June.

The registration for IIMS AVIs starts at the beginning of May in order to allow for processing of applications from 1 June.

“The accreditation process for CMID vessel inspectors, to be known as accredited vessel inspectors or AVIs for short, will be explained on a new website devoted to the CMID AVI community,” says Chris Baldwin IMCA’s Technical Adviser.

“This initiative is being collaboratively delivered by IMCA and the IIMS and will radically alter the vessel inspection expectations of all stakeholders as the AVI badge will become the ‘industry standard’ symbol of quality for CMID reports.”

According to Baldwin, the new version is designed to be more useful than ever as an audit tool, and will see the introduction of a discrete number of vessel type supplements for DP, Towing, Anchor Handling and DSV.

” We are planning to introduce the new version in July and will let the users get familiar with the new version before we commence the international workshop programme in September,” he added.

The AVI scheme, being run and managed by MSA, a subsidiary of IIMS, will be established on a worldwide basis with initial and refresher training courses being made available in all major regions where IMCA members operate. Having gained accredited status, vessel inspectors/auditors will be issued with an identify card embossed with both an IIMS logo and a declaration that the accreditation is recognised by IMCA.

The Common Marine Inspection Document (CMID) and its companion the Marine Inspection for Small Workboats (MISW), published by IMCA, is a globally recognised vessel safety audit system aimed at reducing the number of audits carried out on individual marine vessels by adoption of a standard format for inspection.

CMID/MISW is there to assess three measures of vessel assurance – the safety of personnel; the protection of the environment; and to visually inspect the internal integrity of the vessel’s hull (i.e. its watertight integrity).

The CMID applies to vessels 24m and over as well as the +500GRT, with the IMCA M 189 MISW applying to vessels less than 500GRT and 24m in length.