Oceanology International 2018: Ocean Industry Sets Course for the Future at Oceanology International 2018

London, 23 March 2018 – Taking place at ExCeL London last week, Oceanology International 2018 brought together thousands of professionals from the marine technology and ocean industry attracting 7,400 unique attendees, representing 90 countries, with many revisiting through the week for a total attendance of 13,789.

“The buzz around ExCeL and the feedback we have received shows that Oi18 was overwhelmingly positive for both exhibitors and visitors,” said David Ince, Oceanology International Event Manager, Reed Exhibitions. “We have recorded very high visitor numbers, reflecting the continuing buoyancy the ocean community enjoys. Lots of new technology was unveiled and lots of business was done, while the conference tracks, Ocean Futures Forum and Catch the Next Wave remained incredibly popular due to a packed schedule of educational, insightful and unique papers presented by a literal who’s who of experts in the ocean industry.”

For three days, visitors, delegates and exhibitors congregated for the most diverse exhibition and conference covering marine science & research, commercial ocean-based operations and technology, making Oi18 a vital platform for the continued development of the world’s oceans as a sustainable resource for industrial, social and economic transformation. And while the packed conference schedule delivered a unique and in-depth state-of-play with keen future insight across diverse ocean verticals, the exhibition floor reflected a spirit of pure innovation, technological development and commercial opportunity.

“Oceanology International 2018 has been brilliant, lots of visitors, plenty of new faces as well as old friends,” said Stephen Hall Chief Executive of Oi18 partner organisation, the Society for Underwater Technology. “SUT played a full part hosting side events, chairing workshops and encouraging students and early career professionals to pursue their dreams in this innovative, rapidly progressing ocean science and technology community. We’re looking forward to working with Reed Exhibitions to help develop the Oi family of events in China & America and grow our underwater technology family.”

New technologies and services were high on the exhibitor agenda at Oi18, with a notable rise in new marine robotics solutions, aka, Unmanned or Autonomous Vehicles (USV/ASVs). San Diego’s Ocean Aero revealed its Submaran, a hybrid wind and solar-powered surface and subsurface vessel, designed for extended ocean observation and data collection. The UK’s AutoNaut unveiled the latest generation of its 5m-long, wave foil technology AutoNaut USV, which can travel at 1-3knots and keep station within a 25m-radius. Forum Energy Technologies launched its new XLe Spirit, an electrically operated ROV, designed and manufactured in-house at Kirkbymoorside, in Yorkshire. It is the first of a new generation of electric ROVs from Forum.

Meanwhile France’s iXblue showed off its new DriX unmanned surface vessel in the dockside demonstration area and inside on its booth. “This edition of Oi was truly successful for iXblue. I am confident that this will lead to fruitful business relationships in the near future. We’ve been taking part in Oi for over 15 years now and we’ve always been pleased with the quality of the exhibition and its attendance. Oi is the place where we can best showcase our latest technological advances to all major players of the industry that gather in London for three days. This was without a doubt the perfect place for us to launch Canopus, our new global subsea positioning solution. Having the opportunity to showcase DriX, our new USV, by doing live demonstrations on the Thames was also fantastic. It was a big hit with all of the attendees,” saidFabien Napolitano, iXblue CEO.

On the show floor, Kongsberg Maritime’s stand focused on the Digital Ocean, a concept that integrates the journey of data from collection through distribution to analysis. Outside on the dock the Norwegian maritime technology specialist was working with Hushcraft and the GEBCO-NF Alumini team to show-off the USV Maxlimer, a unique Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) / Autonomous Underwater Vessel (AUV) concept. Built for the $7 Million Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE competition, GEBCO-NF Alumini team’s USV Maxlimer joins eight other finalists, all of which were announced and detailed during the Catch the Next Wave conference, which took place on Thursday 15th March at Oi18.

XPRIZE was represented at Oi18 by Senior Director Dr. Jyotika Virmani, Ph.D., who joined the panel discussion on the technology, science and sustainable operations required to support the Ocean Economy in 2030, during the Ocean Futures Forum on Oi18’s opening day. Dr. Virmani also gave the Catch the Next Wave closing keynote, where the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE finalists and Milestone Prize winners were unveiled. “Oceanology international is a global show, which brings together technology from all maritime areas, so you really get to see the cutting-edge of technology. But then you also have engaging and thoughtful conversations on the economics and the governance of the business model around moving those technologies forward, which adds another robust dimension to this conference.” said Dr. Virmani.

While marine robotics undoubtedly ‘stole the show’ at least in terms of visual impact, Oi18 featured literally thousands of innovative new products, technology solutions and services. OceanWise launched its Port-Log Connect environmental monitoring service for ports and harbours. Valeport launched a suite of sensors and software updates and UK-based Hemisphere GNSS launched new smart antennas, the multi-GNSS Vector V122 and V133. 2G Robotics launched a new LED strobe panel, called NOVA, which combines 36 LEDs to produce a 450,000 Lumen output. International Geomatics announced a project with GreySellsGlobal to offer a digital mapping portal, called marineGRIDD.

A number of companies launched joint initiatives at Oi18. Forum and BlueHaptics announced a joint agreement enabling technologies from both companies to be combined to provide solutions for ROV and subsea engineering applications. A new, US-based ocean technology industry association, also chose Oi18 for its launch. The International Ocean Science and Technology Industry Association (IOSTIA) will be based in in Washington to provide a unified voice for the industry in the US.

The next Oceanology International London takes place in two years’ time, 17-19 March 2020. The next must-attend events on the calendar though, will be Oi China 2018, taking place 23-25 October 2018 in Qingdao, www.oichina.com.cn/en, and Oi Americas 2019, taking place 25-27 February 2019 in San Diego, www.oceanologyinternationalnorthamerica.com.

Ends

For further information, please contact:

Sara Andrade 

Marketing Manager, Energy & Marine Group 

Reed Exhibitions 

Tel: +44 (0)20 8439 5226

sara.andrade@reedexpo.co.uk

Jules Riegal/Karen Bartlett

Saltwater Stone

Tel: +44 (0)1202 669244

j.riegal@saltwater-stone.com | k.bartlett@saltwater-stone.com