IMCS Marine and Cargo surveyors - Associate Membership

Associate Membership

IMCS has identified the need of being able to offer marine survey services worldwide and to organize same in a quick and easy way. However, offering services in remote locations is often difficult to organize unless local contacts and information for travelling in or towards the required area is available (visas, local contacts, port entry requirements,…).
 
Over the years, The IMCS Group has received requests for surveys well outside the areas of the IMCS Group Member offices, so that no assistance could be offered without extensive travelling and associated costs. At the same time, the IMCS Group of Companies was approached by companies or individuals who valued the importance of working closely together with an internationally recognized Group of marine surveyors but who preferred to keep an independent status in their geographical area (e.g; due to well established company name on local market, costs involved in changing name,…).
 
Both the fact that all IMCS Group Members had good contacts with marine professionals worldwide, and the interest of companies and individuals to join the IMCS Group of Companies allowed us to set up an Associate Membership Scheme.
 
Associate Members have been carefully selected and are only allowed to join as an Associate Member after successfully passing a thorough screening process and trial period, this in order to ensure that the IMCS Group quality standards can be met with.
 
The Associate Membership Scheme offers important benefits to the associate member in the form of economy of scale on training matters, education and insurance issues, legal support, exchanging views and information.

The main advantages of the associate membership can be summarized as follows:

• Enhancing maritime knowledge and local expertise through association with different reputable marine survey offices/surveyors in different areas world-wide on a non-competency basis.
• Setting up a mutually rewarding and beneficial professional relationship.
• Creating a bigger platform for exchanging views between marine professionals, surveyors and consultants
• Expanding the existing IMCS network and offering increased flexibility to principals. Also and by using the IMCS Group of Companies’ surveyors, Associate Members can offer services to their own clients in areas where the IMCS Group is represented.
• Associate Members can benefit from advantages already achieved by the IMCS group through economy of scale, networking, prospection and publicity.
• Associate Members are allowed and encouraged to partake in training schemes and IMCS Group meetings.
• Do away with competition and create a think-tank for maritime solutions and services through teamwork and setting-up a forum for inquiries, debates/discussions etc.

So far, 4 marine survey offices have been allowed to join the IMCS Group of Companies, whilst 2 other marine survey offices have also decided to sign up.

For further info on the Associate Membership Scheme, pls contact the IMCS Group Chairman on waltervervloesem@telenet.be