Photograph taken at Oceanology International 2014. Credit to: Trevor Smeaton
The “what’s when” of the Oceanology International 2016 (OI 2016) conference programme has been announced, (15-17 March 2016, ExCeL London) with ten separate conferences making up a highly topical and relevant programme over the three days at the world’s largest ocean science and marine technology exhibition and conference.
“We’ve a packed programme, getting off to a flying start on Tuesday 15 March with day-long conferences on Ocean Observing Systems: Marine technology and services sector role in the Blue Economy; Positioning & Metrology; Marine Renewables; and a half day devoted to Green Shipping, ” explains Event Director, Jonathan Heastie of Reed Exhibitions.
“Then on Wednesday 16 March we move on to full day programmes on What’s next for ageing offshore assets (for the offshore oil and gas industry); Monitoring Structural Integrity: Understanding risk and reliability; Handling Big Data; and Aquaculture. Thursday’s (17 March) day-long conferences feature Hydrography, Geophysics and Geotechnics; and the Unmanned Vehicles and Vessels Showcase. The full programmes for each conference will be available by mid-December. Registration for OI 2016 will open early December and admission to both the exhibition and conference is, as ever, free of charge to all with a business/professional interest in our wide range of topics.
“Additionally, in our show floor theatre, Near and Far Markets, “international trading” sessions, will be a feature throughout the show; and we look forward to announcing other events in that theatre, our programme of associated events and networking opportunities; and details on visiting vessels and waterside demonstrations before long.
“On Thursday 17 March OI will once again host ‘Careers Day’ when we welcome graduates and undergraduates from universities around the country to find out about the exciting opportunities open to them in ocean science and marine technology.
“We are delighted to welcome Fiberpro, FMC Schilling Robotics, Fugro, Geosoft, GeoXYZ, IXBlue, Keller, SMD, and Teledyne as sponsors of a variety of event features, with other opportunities still available; and that exhibit space in the record-breaking exhibition continues to sell like those proverbial ‘hot cakes’. Over 8, 000m2 has been sold to organisations from 32 countries making it the largest OI in its long and distinguished history; there are fewer than 30 stands now available. We enjoy working with exhibitors to ensure they make valuable business connections, and can use OI to grow their businesses.”
There are Canadian, French, German, Irish, Dutch and US national group stands at OI 2016, as well as a diving pavilion; and individual exhibitors come from Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UAE, UK and the USA.
OI 2016 is staged in partnership with the SUT and with The Hydrographic Society UK; the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST); the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA); the Marine Technology Society (MTS); and the Society of Maritime Industries (SMI) as endorsing organisations.
Further information on all aspects of Oceanology International is available online at www.oceanologyinternational.
More information on the conferences
- Tuesday, 15 March
- Ocean Observing Systems: Marine technology and services sector role in the Blue Economy will provide perspectives from government, industry, societies and associations on how the marine technology services sector can influence and be part of the Blue Economy. It will be chaired by Zdenka Willis, Director, U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) Program, and Justin Manley, Founder, Just Innovation LLC who ask: “How is your observing system, product, service, research participating in the Blue Economy so that we can do this in a sustainable way?”
- The Positioning & Metrology conference chaired by Johnathan Davis, Survey & Geospatial Data Management Team Lead, BP AGT Region, and Malik Chibah, INS Group Manager at Sonardyne will look at the latest techniques and technologies for deep water positioning and underwater metrology.
- Marine Renewables: This conference strand will focus on technology to safely install, survey, monitor and maintain offshore renewable energy installations and especially the reliability challenges associated with taking renewable energy systems in deeper and more challenging environments. It will be chaired by Nick Murphy, Project Director, SeaRoc; and Tony Hodgson, Global Business Development Manager – Renewable Energy, Fugro
- The afternoon half-day Green Shipping conference chaired by Dr Bev MacKenzie, Technical and Policy Director, IMarEST and Richard Burt, Chairman, AMSI will look at the technologies required to support green shipping and effectively monitor and manage the environmental impact of uptake and discharge of ballast water, fuel consumption optimisation, emissions control and waste management.
- Wednesday, 16 March
- Oil & Gas: What’s next for ageing offshore assets? With a maximum decommissioning spend forecast for 2017, this conference will explore the market opportunities and the technology requirements for such projects, in terms of engineering skills, environmental surveys, positioning, logistical planning and purpose built equipment. Under the chairmanship of Karen Seath, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Decom North Sea, it will also look at life extension issues and alternative uses for abandoned fields and structures.
- Monitoring Structural Integrity: Understanding Risk and Reliability will focus on technology used to monitor structural integrity as a contribution to remote monitoring, increased efficiency and reduced risk in offshore operations. It will be chaired by Tom Johnson, President, BMT Scientific Marine Services; and Feargal Brennan, Director of Energy, Cranfield University
- Handling Big Data: This two part conference strand, chaired by Keith Haines, BMT Professor of Marine Informatics, University of Reading and Harvey Stoelinga, General Manager, Teledyne RESON BV and Teledyne PDS Software Development, will look at the latest technologies for managing, communicating and utilising large marine data sets including issue surrounding delivery of data in near real-time.
- Aquaculture: Following the success of OI 2014’s first conference on Aquaculture, the 2016 conference will look to further explore the technology needs of the aquaculture industry under the chairmanship of members of the specially convened committee: Professor Peter Davies, Department of Civil Engineering, Dundee University; Richard Slaski, Secretariat, Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum (SARF); Alex Adrian, Aquaculture Officer, The Crown Estate; and Kenneth Black, Researcher, Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)
- Thursday, 17 March
- The Hydrography, Geophysics and Geotechnics conference, chaired by Andy Hill, Marine Geohazard Technical Authority, BP Exploration, will focus on offshore site investigation, foundation behaviour and associated areas of geophysics, geology, geotechnics and the offshore environment.
- Unmanned Vehicles and Vessels Showcase, Organised with the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) and co-chaired by their Chief Executive, Dr Bob Allwood and Business Development Executive, Ian Gallett, this conference follows on from the previous highly successful Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Showcase, now addressing not only developments in ROVs and AUVs, but also the emerging field of autonomous surface vessels.
Show Floor Theatre
- Near and Far Markets (across 15-17 March)
As a truly international event boasting attendance from 82 countries, Oceanology International 2016 will also be introducing “international trading” sessions for attending organisations who are looking to build their export potential. Content will be delivered by an assortment of Trade Commissions and Regional Trade & Industry groups, showcasing commercial opportunities within their country/region; support mechanisms provided to assist trade with their country/region; and any organisations from the country/region who are eager to establish international trading partnerships.
About Oceanology International
Oceanology International is the global forum where industry, academia and government share knowledge and connect with the marine technology and ocean science community, improving their strategies for measuring, exploiting, protecting and operating in the world’s oceans. Established in 1969, Oceanology International features the world’s largest exhibition for marine science and technology, multiple agenda-setting technical conferences, and a visiting vessels and waterside demonstration programme.
The Oceanology International portfolio includes
- Oceanology International China 2015 – the fourth show in the annual series will be held 9-11 November 2016, CECIS, Shanghai, China. Developed with government and industry associations it provided organisations with the opportunity to capitalise on China’s rapidly growing offshore energy and marine industries.www.oichina.com.cn/en
- Oceanology International 2016 (15-17 March 2016, ExCeL London, UK): will build on the success of the 2014 show, which attracted 8, 410 participants – an increase of 10% over 2014. Exhibitor figures at the world’s largest marine technology and ocean science show were higher than ever before with 528 exhibiting companies from 35 countries. www.oceanologyinternational.
com - Catch the Next Wave conference: Now in its third edition, Catch the Next Wave is an exclusive conference taking place on 14 March 2016, the day before Oceanology International 2016 at the prestigious Royal Institution, London. The event takes a longer term view of the capabilities that will shape our future ability to explore, understand, exploit and protect the oceans.: www.ctnwconference.com
- Oceanology International North America (February 14-16, 2017, San Diego Convention Center). The launch of this biennial conference and exhibition is in line to attract more than 2, 000 marine energy professionals and 250 paying conference delegates. www.
oceanologyinternationalnortham erica.com
