LOC, a leading global marine and engineering consultancy for the shipping and offshore energy industry, is celebrating 30 years of business in Asia. Singapore was the chosen location for the opening of LOC’s first office in Asia, in 1987. Since that time, the LOC group has continued to grow its Asia Pacific footprint, developing 11 further offices across the region in Thailand, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Vietnam and Australia – with the latest opening just last month in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Commenting on this milestone, LOC’s Regional Director for Southeast Asia & Asia Pacific, Alex Harrison said: “We owe the longevity and success of LOC in Asia to the dedicated teams who have worked across all of our regional business over the years and; for the on-going efforts made both in Singapore and across the region – to maintain the business in the current challenging market conditions.” Over the last three decades, LOC has grown its regional team from just a few in 1987 to close to 100 employees across Asia Pacific, with local hires as an ethos. LOC Singapore reflects this, with Singaporeans accounting for around 60% of its team in the Republic. LOC is synonymous with high profile marine casualties in Asia, as well as throughout the world – having been involved in some of the most challenging and complex incidents the region has witnessed. This experience enabled the success of the first bi-annual Asian Marine Casualty Forum, an industry forum launched by LOC, in 2015, which has led LOC to produce a second one this year which attracted high level speakers and over 350 delegates from within Singapore and around the world, discussing key and relevant topics that affect the marine industry today.  For many years, LOC has been at the forefront of marine-related environmental awareness, including the provision of consultancy for the development of offshore renewable energy and now bring this experience to the offshore renewables sector in Asia – having recently been appointed as Marine Consultants and Warranty Surveyors on two offshore wind farm projects in Korea, as well as the recent signing of an MoU with Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) in Taiwan. Following LOC’s increased focus in hull & machinery (H&M), there has been a large upswing in H&M instructions regionally, as LOC continues to develop its market share in the Asia Pacific region. In the energy sector, LOC remains a market leader in marine warranty and marine assurance services for new construction projects, such as the recently completed construction tow and hook-up of the multi-billion-dollar Ichthys central processing facility (CPF) and FPSO facilities. Rutger Bierman, Managing Director for LOC Singapore, said “Singapore has always been a central area of focus for us. It is the gateway to the ASEAN region and having a base here enables us to do business in emerging markets in the region easily. The business-friendly environment is also another factor in operating from here.” The Singapore office and the other regional offices, are key in managing and supporting the construction, mobilisation and transportation phases of some of the largest Capex oil and gas developments. As part of developing its design engineering expertise, in 2006, LOC established Singapore based sister company, Longitude Engineering, which focuses on oil & gas, renewables and marine design and analysis. To date, Longitude Engineering has four other flourishing offices in the UK and Mexico. LOC’s Chairman for Asia Pacific, Capt. Jonathan Walker said today: “From being one of the first UK-based marine consultancy firm to expand overseas, LOC has grown considerably, with our Singapore office being a fundamental part of this growth, and continues to act as the central hub in our continued expansion within the Asia Pacific.” Looking to the future, he added: “However, LOC never rests on its laurels, and is continuously exploring new areas of business for its blend of marine-related disciplines.”