General

New Officers and Fellows announced at SUT AGM along with Award winners

The well-attended recent AGM of The Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) saw the announcement of newly appointed SUT Officers for the Learned Society; notification of elected Fellows from the UK, Australia and the USA; and Awards made both in the year under review and of the prestigious President’s Award announced at the AGM. It was followed by a stimulating talk on The Crown Estate Marine Delivery Routemap by Alex Thompson Strategic Delivery Senior Manager at The Crown Estate.

SUT’S Chief Executive, Cheryl Burgess explained: With Benj Sykes, Country Manager of Ørsted now in his second year as President, Mike Fearn of Bluefield Geoservices Limited becomes Chair; the Honorary Secretary is Dave Brookes of St Jules; and Gehrig Schulz of EPI is now the SUT’s Hon Treasurer. [Note to Editors: pen portraits of each and of the new Fellows are at the end of this release]

“The SUT’s new Fellows are Karen Seath, Decommissioning and Salvage SIG (UK); Paul Upjohn, Perth Branch (Australia); and three Members from the Houston, Texas Branch: Colin Johnston, Luz Zarate, and Patricia Varela. Having both completed terms on Council after serving as President, Judith Patten and Ralph Rayner are now Hon Fellows”

The winner of the President's Award, John Sharp, announced at the AGM, is Professor John Sharp , who was unable to be at the meeting but said: "I was honoured to receive the 2024 SUT Presidents award for my work with the SUT Marine Renewable Energies Committee as its chairman, a role I have had for a number of years.

“The Committee has continued to succeed with regular presentations and has recently expanded its scope to include floating wind and more recently floating solar, as both have common technologies with offshore renewables such as wave and tidal energy. I have particularly welcomed the opportunity to support the newly formed SUT marine renewable energy committees in the USA and Perth, Australia. As a Visiting Professor at Cranfield University, I have been able to be involved in training young students who have gone onto careers in the marine renewables energy industry."

AGM attendees were reminded of SUT Award winners during the year under review:

• Professor Peter Girguis won the Captain Don Walsh Award for Exploration, a joint award with MTS:
• Prof Deborah Greaves, University of Plymouth and SuperGen won the Lennard Senior Prize:
• Dr Philippe Jeanjean, BP won the Mick Cook Award for Significant Contribution to Marine Site Investigation and Characterisation :
• Jonas Wüst of Tethys Robotics was the winner of the Gwyn Griffiths Underwater Robotics Award:

Comments from some of the 2023-4 Award Winners
Mick Cook Award for Significant Contribution to Marine Site Investigation and Characterisation, Philippe Jeanjean, Senior Advisor, Geotechnical Engineering at BP said:

"What a great surprise and privilege! This is a great and truly unexpected honour. Thank you very much to the committee for selecting me."

A distinguished expert with over 30 years at BP/Amoco, Philippe has significantly advanced offshore foundations and geotechnical engineering through leadership in professional organisations and over 60 technical publications.

The Gwyn Griffiths Underwater Robotics Award winner Jonas Wüst of Tethys Robotics said:

 "Thank you so much – this truly honours me and reflects what we as a team have achieved over the past few years (and we're just getting started!)"

Terry Sloane Managing Director of Planet Ocean and ecoSUB Robotics and a member of SUT’s Underwater Robotics Committee said:

 "Anyone who can get an AUV to navigate in a river deserves an award!."

While Gwyn Griffiths said:

"Jonas and Tethys Robotics - what audacity! Not content with facing and overcoming challenges in underwater robotics for fast-flowing rivers, their innovations in autonomous navigation and real-time mapping also allow operation in minimal visibility. I commend Jonas and Tethys on their exemplary originality and strategic vision so early in their underwater vehicle venture."

by AHayward

Register now for Ocean Business 2025

Registration is now open for Ocean Business 2025, the global technology and science exhibition for marine industries.

The three-day event, which runs from April 8-10 at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, is open to all visitors for free by registering online here.

With more than 350 exhibitors already booked for the sold-out show, this year’s Ocean Business is expected to attract over 5,000 visitors from around the world, offering unrivalled networking opportunities.

The popular Training and Demonstration programme – to be unveiled shortly – is also bigger this year, with 180-plus hours of new technologies demonstrated in the dockside waters, onboard vessels and in the classroom.

The sessions will explore tomorrow’s world today, displaying the latest in autonomous vehicle underwater monitoring, next generation ROVs, ground-breaking advances in AUV technology, and much more.

In the quayside hospitality suites, key industry players, including Teledyne Marine, Nortek and Greensea IQ, alongside ocean tech experts from the Canada Pavilion, will showcase their products and services, all with a focus on fast changing technology.

Meanwhile, inside the expanded exhibition halls, visitors will be able to see pioneering developments across the ocean technology sector and find solutions to shape the future of their business.

Ocean Business 2025 will preview emerging technologies from sector pioneers and game-changing innovators, with the familiar big-name suppliers exhibiting with newer entrants to the industry.

Visitors will be able to see the most up-to-date equipment in action, test drive products to keep them ahead of the competition, and connect with industry leaders in an interactive environment.

The Ocean Careers programme is back, offering students an opportunity to meet potential employers and gain valuable insights from industry professionals.

Ocean Business 2025 will also stage a two-day, free-to-attend conference – on top of a series of associated, on-site meetings - with leading sector voices addressing critical industry issues.

Additionally, Ocean Business will once again host MARELEC, the world’s only conference dedicated to marine electromagnetics. Building on the success of the 2023 event, delegates will hear from eminent scientists, engineers and academics of advances in the fields of geophysics, geotechnical engineering, oceanography and naval warfare.

Cheri Arvonio, Event Director at show organiser Diversified Communications, said Ocean Business has become a must-attend event for marine industries.

‘As the countdown to Ocean Business 2025 begins, we look forward to welcoming the international ocean business community back to Southampton in April.

‘We are delighted with the response from exhibitors and we have high hopes that this enthusiasm will be matched by registrations as we gear up for our biggest show yet.

‘Ocean Business provides an ideal platform for doing business, forging relationships, hearing industry updates and sharing ideas, and we are confident that this year’s event will turn out to be a memorable occasion for ocean people everywhere.’

by AHayward

Seabed 2030 selected for prestigious Paris Peace Forum Scale-up Program

The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project, a pioneering initiative dedicated to inspiring the complete mapping of the world’s ocean, has been selected as one of ten global projects for the Paris Peace Forum’s esteemed Scale-up Program (SCUP) in 2024-2025.

Announced during the Forum’s seventh edition, this recognition highlights Seabed 2030’s vital role in advancing our understanding of the ocean – a foundation for addressing global challenges such as biodiversity loss and climate change, which will be a priority theme for next year’s Forum.

Seabed 2030 is a collaborative project between The Nippon Foundation and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), which seeks to inspire the complete mapping of the world’s ocean by 2030, and to compile all the data into the freely available GEBCO Ocean Map. The Project is formally endorsed as a Decade Action of the UN Ocean Decade. GEBCO is a joint programme of the IHO and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and is the only organisation with a mandate to map the entire ocean floor.

Launched in 2018, SCUP is designed to elevate initiatives showcased at the Paris Peace Forum, offering selected projects year-long support from the Paris Peace Forum Secretariat. Through this programme, Seabed 2030 will receive a year of support from senior figures in industry and international agencies to scale its impact, strengthen partnerships and advance its mission to deepen knowledge of the marine environment – further bolstering efforts to deliver a complete map of the seafloor by the end of the decade.

"We are thrilled that Seabed 2030 has been selected for the Paris Peace Forum’s Scale-up Program," said Steve Hall, Head of Partnerships for Seabed 2030, who represented the initiative at this year’s Forum. "This support aligns perfectly with our mission to accelerate global ocean mapping, which is essential not only for protecting biodiversity and addressing climate change but also for unlocking numerous other benefits. We look forward to working closely with the Paris Peace Forum community to further amplify our reach and impact."

At the eighth edition of the Forum in 2025, Seabed 2030 will join fellow cohort members in showcasing its progress, highlighting the results of SCUP’s support.

All data collected and shared with the Seabed 2030 project will be included in the free and publicly available GEBCO global grid.

by AHayward

OEG continues expansion plans with new global HQ in Aberdeen

OEG Energy Group Limited, a leading energy solutions business, has moved into a new global HQ at The Stratus Building, ABZ Business Park in Dyce, Aberdeen, following a seven-figure sum investment in a multi-year lease. This marks a significant milestone in the organisation’s 50-year journey, underscoring its deep commitment to its local roots while serving as a launchpad for its ambitious global expansion in renewables and other key offshore energy markets.

The high-specification 1,541 sq. m (16,591 sq. ft) office can accommodate up to 100 personnel across three floors. OEG’s previous corporate office in Kintore (Aberdeenshire), will continue as an operational hub with room to accommodate future growth. The move also reflects the company’s strategic focus on integration and brings together various corporate functions to enhance service delivery.

The new premises comes on the back of a year of exceptional growth for OEG, which has increased its headcount by 300 to over 1,300 across its 65 locations worldwide. This includes a boost to its Aberdeen workforce by 20% to circa 250 employees driven by a robust pipeline of projects in the UK and globally and through strengthening its capability. The new Dyce headquarters is the fifth site that OEG operates in Aberdeen with operational bases in Bridge of Don, Dyce, Portlethen and Kintore.

OEG is a leading provider of mission critical technical solutions to the global offshore energy sector. Through its Offshore division, the company is a market leader in the supply of offshore cargo carrying units and associated equipment, and through its Renewables division, OEG delivers specialist technical solutions and services to support the lifecycle of offshore wind farms.

The company’s Renewables division now generates over half of the group’s revenue with its success fuelled by organic growth and the acquisition of 14 companies since 2020, including high voltage specialists, ONRG, and OPS Wind, earlier this year. With strong footholds in offshore wind markets across the UK, Taiwan, and emerging regions including South Korea and the United States, the company has established itself as a key player on major offshore wind projects.

John Heiton, OEG’s CEO, said: “Moving into a new global headquarters is another exciting milestone in the evolution of our business and reinforces our 50-year commitment to Aberdeen. As we continue to grow our UK and global business, this investment underscores our dedication to the city that remains at the heart of our operations.

“2025 looks set to be another year of strong growth for OEG. With a strengthened leadership team and a clear strategy, we are on track to deliver revenue in excess of £400 million for 2024 and aiming to achieve £800 million turnover within the next five years, driven by our expanding global footprint and enhanced capability to deliver fully integrated service solutions to energy clients worldwide.”

by AHayward

South African drought dust fuelled record ocean bloom

Increasing drought events in southern Africa could benefit Indian Ocean marine life and atmospheric carbon removal, according to a new study of the Madagascar Bloom – one of the world’s largest recorded phytoplankton blooms.

The study, led by the University of Athens (NKUA) and co-authored by scientists at the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC), linked the unprecedented marine algal bloom to an influx of nutrient-containing dust blown over the Indian Ocean from South Africa.

This saw phytoplankton levels at three times the level normally expected at the time of year it occurred, spreading from southeast of Madagascar into the wider Indian Ocean for three weeks longer than normal.

These marine algae form the basis of the marine food chain and help to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by using it to grow then being eaten or dying and falling as organic matter to the seafloor.

NOC co-author Dr Fatma Jebri, says, "Our study shows how African desert dust being blown over and deposited onto the ocean surface was key in triggering this unprecedented oceanic phytoplankton bloom in the Southeast of Madagascar, at a time of the year when blooms are uncommon.”

Professor Meric Srokosz, also from NOC, adds, “This is important as it suggests that as deserts release more dust into the air and that dust settles on the ocean's surface, it could help phytoplankton growth, potentially increasing the amount of CO2 the ocean absorbs from the atmosphere."

The study used satellite data to study the causes of major phytoplankton blooms, focusing on the unprecedented Madagascar Bloom in late 2019 to early 2020, which was found to be the largest on record going back 24 years.

It’s already known that dust from the Sahara Desert often crosses the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas and that when these particles settle on land or in the ocean, they deliver essential nutrients that may boost plant and marine life growth.

However, the relationship between desertification, dust emissions and ocean fertilisation has been poorly understood.

The new study, published in PNAS Nexus, marks a significant step in unravelling these connections.

The scientists worked through the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Living Planet Fellowships Poseidon and Pyroplankton.

Lead author, John Gittings, from the University of Athens, says, “In addition to satellite data from the ESA Climate Change Initiative Ocean Colour project, we utilised information from ESA’s Climate Change Initiative Soil Moisture project and ESA’s Science for Society Biological Pump and Carbon Exchange Processes project. We also incorporated satellite data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service and the Copernicus Marine Service.

"Having access to such rich satellite datasets enabled us to clearly track the extent of this massive bloom and pinpoint the dust events responsible for it.”

He adds, "While this extensive phytoplankton bloom was highly unusual, trends in rising air temperatures, aridity and dust emissions in southern Africa indicate that such events may become more frequent in the future.

“Alongside recent discoveries of ocean fertilisation caused by drought-induced megafires in Australia, our findings suggest a potential connection between climate change, drought, aerosols and ocean blooms.”

ESA’s Marie-Helene Rio added, “Oceans cover two-thirds of our planet and are vital to the health of our ecosystems. Understanding how climate change is altering their biological processes is not just a matter of scientific inquiry, it’s crucial for life on Earth.”

Read the full study here.

by AHayward