Question 1

What is DPTEG and how does it use IMCA incident reports?

Accepted Answer

DPTEG is IMCA's DP Technical Expert Group — it analyses submitted DP incident and near-miss reports, identifies recurring technical and operational themes, and publishes an annual safety bulletin distributing the distilled lessons across the DP industry DPTEG is the IMCA expert group that closes the feedback loop between incident reporting and industry learning. Incident submissions fuel the DPTEG annual bulletin, which DPOs and operators are expected to read as part of their professional development. This is why reporting is described as an industry obligation, not just an administrative box-ticking exercise.

Question 2

What threshold triggers a mandatory report to IMCA under the DP incident reporting scheme?

Accepted Answer

Any unintended, uncontrolled vessel movement (excursion) or loss of position, thruster runaway (drive-off), loss of redundancy that constituted a genuine risk to the operation, or any DP-related event that could have resulted in a collision, grounding, or loss of life — regardless of whether actual contact or damage occurred IMCA's incident reporting scheme is explicitly designed to capture potential consequences, not just actual damage. Near-miss events, drive-offs that cleared the installation, and loss of redundancy without position loss are all reportable because the safety learning they generate is valuable regardless of outcome. IMCA maintains this as a confidential, non-punitive system to maximise industry-wide learning.

Question 3

What is a DPVE (DP Vessel Event) in the context of IMCA incident reporting?

Accepted Answer

A standardised category of DP incident in which the vessel experienced an unintended and uncontrolled excursion from its position setpoint, or a loss of position — the defining characteristic is that the excursion was uncontrolled (not intentional or commanded by the DPO) DPVE is the IMCA reporting category for uncontrolled position excursions. It distinguishes between excursions caused by the DP system failing to maintain position versus intentional movements. All DPVEs meeting the reporting threshold should be submitted to IMCA to contribute to the incident database that the DPTEG draws on for its annual safety bulletins.