Oceanology International 2010

Oceanology International 2010, the global forum for the ocean science and marine technology community, saw record-breaking attendance when it was held at London’s ExCeL (UK) from 9 - 11 March 2010. Over the three days 6,921 people from 75 countries attended Oceanology International, a 4% increase on the 6,643 who attended in 2008.

"There was a buzz in the exhibition hall right through the three days," said the event manager, James Coleman. Of all attendees, 38.42% came from overseas, and with 62.9% of the 537 exhibitors from over 30 overseas countries Oceanology can claim to be a global forum. The exhibition was more than 7% larger than the previous one held in 2008.

The information provided at the exhibition could be further extended by attending live demonstrations on various survey vessels that were available alongside ExCeL.
A very special vessel at the quay was HMS Cattistock, with sensors able to detect small mines at a depth of more than 100m, and at a distance of 1000m from the vessel.

The conference was programmed with day-long sessions on ocean observation and forecasting; navigation and positioning; hydrography/geophysics; marine environment; and geotechnics; and a special New Scientist session on offshore renewables. The Society for Underwater Technology and five specialist committees organised highly relevant and fascinating conference streams.

The Awards Ceremony held on opening day saw six awards being given, with the richly deserved award of the Oceanology International Lifetime Achievement Award being made to Ian Gallett of the Society for Underwater Technology. Matthew Quartley, managing director of Valeport Limited won the Association of Marine Scientific Industries (AMSI) Business Person of the Year Award; the Alan Greig Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Commercial Operational Oceanography 2010 was awarded to Rhoderick Powell, Metocean advisor, AGIP KCO; and The Bob Barton Memorial Award which aims to recognise excellence in writing and reporting on marine science, engineering and technology was awarded to Phil McKenna, who is based in Cambridge (MA, USA).

The BP Postgraduate award for best MSc thesis for the academic year 2008-09 in the fields of Offshore and Subsea Engineering and Technology was awarded to Ani Bede Chinedu from the University of Aberdeen (UK) for his thesis entitled ‘Analysis of Large Diameter Catenary Risers for Oil Production in Moderate Water Depths'; and Benjamin Loveday from the University of Southampton won the Fugro GEOS Award for best MSc thesis for the academic year 2008-09 in Meteorology, Physical Oceanography or Applied Oceanography for his thesis ‘Using Data from Autonomous Underwater Gliders to Assess the Performance of Ocean Forecast Models in the Northwest Mediterranean Sea'. Both won cheques for GBP500.

Oceanology International 2012 will be held at the London ExCeL from 13 -15 March 2012.