Record-breaking Ocean Business
With nearly 350 of the world’s leading manufacturers and organisations exhibiting their wares and a host of other activities, last month’s 5th biennial Ocean Business event at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, drew a record-breaking 4,589 visitors from over 50 countries, reports Versha Carter, Group Director of organisers Diversified Communications.
A focal point for all sectors of the ocean-going industry, the three-day function featured any number of high-profile forums ranging from an all-day seminar on the so-called Blue Economy jointly hosted by The Federation of Surveyors (FIG) and the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) to meetings convened by The Society of Marine Industries (SMI), IMarEST, the Canadian High Commission and The Hydrographic Society UK. Other activities included industry-sponsored Ocean Careers advisory sessions providing recruitment and careers advice for newly qualified enthusiasts or those seeking new pastures while over 180 hours of training and equipment demonstrations were staged aboard dockside vessels as well as in a test tank and dedicated classrooms.
A key agenda item also was a parallel two-day Offshore Survey conference covering wide-ranging topics extending from Hydrographic & Seabed Surveys and Data Processing & Visualisation to Industry & Professional Issues, Subsea Positioning and Survey Operations. The well-attended proceedings featured a series of 21 papers presented by speakers from Australia, Canada, France, Netherlands, Norway, UK and the US.
By David Goodfellow
