In this exclusive interview, Oil & Gas IQ speaks with, Emily Comyn Technical Adviser - Regulatory Affairs at the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), about the Maritime Labour Convention and how it applies across the offshore support vessels sector.

Emily joined IMCA in 2009 as the Technical Adviser for regulatory affairs, and she is responsible for co-ordinating IMCA’s input on legislative issues affecting marine contractors and for representing members with regulators world-wide. Much of Emily’s time is spent at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) but she has also been heading up IMCA’s response to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Maritime Labour Convention (MLC, 2006).

Prior to joining IMCA, Emily worked at the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). As Advisor (Shipping Policy), Emily represented international ship operators on customs and trade facilitation issues at intergovernmental fora. She was also Assistant Secretary of the International Support Vessel Owners' Association (ISOA), providing a common forum for international OSV operators.

In the course of the interview, Emily touches on:

• The function of IMCA
• The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC): what is it and how is applied in the shipping sector?
• The problems posed for applying the MLC to the offshore sector in particular
• The implications associated with the definition of "a seafarer"
• Trends observed in the offshore supply vehicle sector
• The grey area created by the definitions of "ship", "offshore unit" and "installation"
• Problems created by having no equivalent of the IMO for the offshore oil and gas industry

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