The culmination of six months of planning and preparation came to fruition when the IIMS London Conference 2015 took place at the Old Library in the Lloyd’s of London building on 7 and 8 September. Probably the only library in London not to house any books, this excellent, historic and graceful space provided the perfect venue in which to meet.
Members and others from the marine world came from all parts of the globe for what proved to be a great conference if the positive feedback that has been received is anything to judge by.
Nearly 120 delegates registered for the event, making it one of, if not the largest Conference the Institute has ever staged in the UK. On the opening morning the Old Library was full to capacity. There were 16 presentations delivered over the day and a half of conference – many of them thought provoking, but all informative in their content. The range of topics was huge from the use of drones in surveying to the development of the new hull vane technology to reduce costs. There was a mix of technical and business related presentations, many of which appealed equally to small craft and commercial ship surveyors alike. The much promoted ‘Parbuckling of the Costa Concordia’ project ahead of the event was presented by Captain Nick Sloane in a stylish and engaging manner. The audience was incredulously as the sheer size and scale of the operation was unveiled to them, leading one delegate to say this was ‘the best presentation I have ever seen’. All presentations have been filmed and will be available to view via this web site or through the IIMS YouTube channel in a few weeks time. Watch out for further notification.
The organisers of the IIMS Conference wish to thank a number of people for their help and support.
• The Conference sponsors (Lead sponsors: DGS Marine Group; Platinum sponsors: Constellation Marine Services and Dinner sponsors: Britannia Maritime Security) for their generous support, including lead sponsors DGS Marine Group and Platinum sponsors Constellation Marine Services.
• The speakers who presented eloquently and passionately, enthusing the audience with their specialist knowledge.
• The team at Lloyd’s of London for their help and support both before and during the event.
• The IIMS head office team for their immense support and dedication in ensuring it all came together.
• And finally all the delegates who attended Conference and helped to make the event such a success.
The Conference dinner aboard HMS Belfast on the Monday evening proved to be a great success. The intimate surroundings of the old ship created a pleasant ambience and atmosphere in which to dine and network with colleagues. Thanks to guest speakers, Capt Andy Winbow from IMO and Peter Hancock, who kept the dinner guests in fits of laughter.
And here are a few of the verbatim comments received this week about the event:
• ‘The Annual Conference at Lloyd’s of London was perfectly organised. Congratulations!’
• ‘2015 Conference was perfectly organized. Big thanks to the Management and the entire team.’
• ‘Just returned from the IIMS 2015 London Conference and would like to say what a wonderful well put together conference it was.’
• ‘Costa Concordia parbuckling – the best presentation ever.’
• ‘Great venue. Great conference.’
• ‘Excellent conference – looking forward to the next one already.’
• ‘Capt Nick Sloane – the best!’
• ‘Wonderful programme. Fantastic venue. Super job!’
• ‘This year new subjects were introduced that were very interesting. Expecting more to come. Thank you.’
• ‘The IIMS London Conference 2015 was excellent and the organisation was perfect! Many thanks to the IIMS.’
•’I would like to thank IIMS for putting together a fantastic conference. Very well done and I look forward to next year.’
