ROV Pilot Training

How the IMCA competence tables work

Most offshore ROV contractors work to guidance from the International Marine Contractors Association. IMCA C 005, its guidance on competence assurance and assessment for the Remote Systems and ROV division, sets out assurance and assessment tables for each role, with pilot technician grades leading towards supervisory posts. The document changes often: Rev. 3.5 in April 2025 added a Remote Pilot grade II, and Rev. 3.6 followed in September 2025. In practice a new starter works through the tables for their grade, gathers evidence on real jobs and is assessed before moving up. If you hire pilots through a contractor, ask which revision their records follow and who carried out the assessments.

Skills that matter beyond flying

A pilot technician on an offshore spread maintains the vehicle as well as flying it, which is why so much of the competence material deals with hydraulics, electrics and fault finding. IMCA added hand tool safety to the pilot technician tables in Rev. 3.3 of IMCA C 005, in August 2024, after injuries increased. Tether handling, launch and recovery, and clear radio discipline with the bridge and deck crew sit alongside those technical skills. IMCA R 004, the association's guidance on the safe and efficient operation of remotely operated vehicles, reached Rev. 6 in February 2024 and gives personnel a chapter of its own, so read the two documents side by side.

Training a small inshore team

IMCA guidance is written for offshore contractors, so a fish farm, harbour authority or survey club running one compact vehicle will rarely find a scheme that fits exactly. Borrow the structure instead. Write down the tasks your pilots must perform, such as pre-dive checks, tether management, holding station beside a structure and recovering a snagged vehicle. Train each task in a pool or sheltered water before anyone flies near nets, hulls or divers. Keep a simple logbook of dives, conditions and faults for every pilot. When a maker offers a course, ask what it assesses and whether it ends with a practical check rather than a certificate of attendance.

Signing someone off to fly alone

Deciding that a pilot is ready should rest on evidence, not hours alone. Agree in advance what a competent dive looks like on your site: planning the route, briefing the team, controlling the vehicle in the current you normally see, recording usable footage and handling a lost-video or tangled-tether drill calmly. Have a second experienced person watch a real job and record the outcome. Review sign-offs when you change vehicle, add a gripper or sonar, or move to a new kind of site, because a confident pilot on one platform can still struggle with the next. Keep the records where a client or auditor can find them.

Sources and further reading

• IMCA C 005: Guidance on competence assurance and assessment: Remote Systems & ROV division (Rev. 3.6) — International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA).
  Competence tables for ROV roles from pilot technician upwards, with a revision log back to 1999.
• IMCA R 004: The safe and efficient operation of remotely operated vehicles (Rev. 6) — International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA).
  Industry guidance on ROV classes, tools, crew roles and safe working practice for offshore operations.

Common questions

How do you become an ROV pilot technician?

Most people join an offshore contractor as a trainee with a background in electrics, mechanics or hydraulics, then work offshore under supervision while completing the competence assessments for their grade. Moving up to senior grades depends on assessed experience rather than a single exam.

Do you need a licence to fly an underwater drone?

Requirements differ by country and by stretch of water. Industry schemes such as IMCA's are guidance for contractors rather than a public licence, while harbour authorities, marine protected areas and private lake owners may set their own permissions. Ask the relevant authority before your first dive.