Oceanology International - Looking Back on the 2016 Edition

The London ExCeL event venue in the UK was once again the host of the biennial Oceanology International, attracting thousands of visitors from the marine science community from 15-17 March 2016. The organiser, Reed Exhibitions, welcomed 7,836 unique attendees from 79 countries, with many revisiting on consecutive days to provide an overall show attendance of 14,161. The exhibition counted over 8,500 square metres occupied by 520 exhibiting companies from 33 countries.

Traditionally, the trade show is the place where contacts are made, relations built and also importantly, new products announced and launched. Major suppliers such Teledyne Maritime group, Kongsberg, Hydroid, EdgeTech, showcased their innovations and informed customers and potential clients during training sessions.

On the Water

Another important item on the programme was the on-water demos. A total of 11 vessels were moored at the quay alongside ExCeL, having a busy time with 1,107 people going aboard for one of the 93 trips in the five vessels giving demonstrations in cooperation with, for example, R2Sonic, Teledyne RESON, Kongsberg and Norbit; and 847 people visiting the moored vessels, exhibiting offshore surveying equipment that is not normally that easily available to examine in its operational environment. A total of 142 people attended the dockside demos.

Thrilled

Reed Exhibitions Event Director Jonathan Heastie expressed how absolutely thrilled he was with how OI2016 had gone. “With many of our participants active in the oil and gas industry, it’s fair to say that their expectations were lowered pre-show in light of the market challenges faced… but the feedback we received from our exhibitors all week was tremendous. They have told us consistently that the quality of the visitors they met has risen sharply, with key decision-makers and senior technologists on-site from a multitude of industries, not just oil and gas and, most importantly, that these important attendees are looking to buy both now and into the future with numerous orders taken during the show.”

Jonathan Heastie is delighted that the active core of the ocean technology community has continued to support and attend OI, keeping it as the focal point of the industry’s calendar globally. “We now turn our focus towards replicating this success in both China in November and at our new North American event in San Diego in February, before returning to ExCeL in March 2018, when Interspill 2018 will be co-located alongside OI2018.”

Conference

The day before Oceanology International the inspiring conference Catch the Next Wave took place at the Royal Institution in London. Over 250 industry professionals and researchers from more than 30 countries focused on next-generation robotics and automation in various industries including the marine science. Here, awards were presented to Paul Ridout (OSIL, AMSI Business Person of the Year); Gwyn Griffiths (Autonomous Analytics, OI Lifetime Achievement Awards) and Richard Burt (Chelsea Technologies Group, Alan Greig Memorial Prize). Karen Heywood was presented the SUT Oceanography Award at this occasion.

Various conference streams were run during Oceanology International, covering the breadth of the marine science expertise. From Aquaculture to Unmanned Vehicles and Vessels Showcase, experts shared their knowledge and triggered discussions on subjects including Marine Technology and Services Sector Role in the Blue Economy; Marine Renewables; Geotechnics; Handling Big Data; Positioning & Metrology and more. The sessions attracted a great deal of interest among the delegates.

Next Edition

The next Oceanology International is scheduled for 13-15 March 2018 in the ExCeL Centre, London, UK. By the time the doors closed on the last day of this year's event, over 3,000m² of space for the 2018 edition had been booked or reserved.

Oceanology International Show Dailies

Geomares Publishing created the Oceanology International Show Dailies from the show floor. You find them below.

Oceanology International Show Daily 15 March 2016:

Oceanology International Show Daily 16 March 2016:

Oceanology International Show Daily 17 March 2016: