At the international OMAE conference in San Francisco in early June, Dutch Offshore expertise was singled out for particular praise.
Director Bas Buchner of MARIN was presented with the OMAE Conference Industry Achievement Award “in recognition of significant contributions to the technological advancement of the offshore industry through his leadership in MARIN”.
Buchner said: “It’s very special to be given an award when one feels one is just doing one’s job: enthusing people for technology and cooperation. I see it as a token of esteem for MARIN’s international role and that of the Dutch maritime sector.”
The OMAE conference is the world’s largest substantive conference in the field of offshore technology. More than 1250 engineers and researchers from all over the world gather for a whole week to discuss the latest developments in the field of safe oil and gas extraction and sustainable energy at sea.
Buchner added: “The Netherlands’ standing in this area becomes crystal clear when you see the number of papers being presented by the Dutch delegates.” Active alongside MARIN are research institutes such as the Delft University of Technology and Deltares, but also companies such as Heerema and SBM Offshore.
In his keynote lecture at the opening of the OMAE conference, Buchner gave an overview of the developments needed in offshore expertise and pleaded for special attention to be paid to the link between design and operation: “For the safe and efficient implementation of offshore operations there needs to be more cooperation between the office and the fleet, between engineers and crew. New simulators offer new possibilities for this, enabling complex operations to be worked through and discussed in advance. Simulators have a ‘pause and rewind’ button, something you don’t have in reality.”