The Ocean Decade Corporate Data Group—co-chaired by Fugro and the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(IOC/UNESCO)—was officially launched last week during an online kick-off meeting. Organised in
support of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the working
group is focused on creating frameworks and mechanisms to make privately owned ocean science
data publicly available for the benefit of humanity.
Joining the group as founding members are five private-sector companies representing a diverse
range of industries. They include Alcatel Submarine Networks, Ava Ocean, CGG, Equinor and
Ørsted. Discussions are ongoing with other industry-leading companies who are expected to join the
group at a later stage. Together with co-chairs, members will explore data sharing challenges and
opportunities to develop solutions and best practices for making private-sector ocean data publicly
available, including during a special session at this week’s Oceanology International Americas
Conference.
“We are delighted to officially launch this working group to establish ways to unlock the huge potential
of industrial ocean data that is currently inaccessible to science,” said Dr. Vladimir Ryabinin,
IOC/UNESCO Executive Secretary. “Such collaborations amongst science, industry and governments
are transformative in enhancing ocean knowledge and information, and to developing the long-term
sustainable solutions that we need to return to the clean, healthy, productive and resilient ocean. I am
very grateful to the founding members of this group for engaging proactively with us in this movement
and I know they will inspire many others to join.”
Fugro CEO Mark Heine concurred, stating, “It is heartening to have such high-calibre businesses
answer the call to join this critical working group. As companies who actively collect and own a wide
range of ocean data useful for the global science community, we have a unique opportunity to
contribute to the Ocean Decade movement through data sharing, collaborative partnerships and
technology innovations that will help increase our collective understanding of the ocean and restore
its health.”
