Underwater Intervention 2010

Underwater Intervention took place in its usual home, the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, USA. This year there was much to celebrate. As well as a strong technical program and a well attended show, the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl. The city was in a buoyant mood and the usual Mardi Gras parades were preceded by the Saints Team Parade held in the afternoon of 9 February, coinciding with the first day of the conference. Thus the first day of Underwater Intervention, the combined annual conference of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) and the Marine Technology Society (MTS) ROV Committee, was by all accounts unusually slow and quiet.

But for those who made the trip to New Orleans there was an opportunity to share in the festivities while also benefiting from a great technical program with more than 50 technical papers and well over 100 exhibitors. The high attendance on Wednesday and Thursday sessions showed that the industry is still kicking and they proved to be a perfect opportunity for visitors and vendors alike to learn about the state-of-the-art in diving, ROV and AUV technology.

UI 2010 was also an opportunity to celebrate the best in the industry with the combined ADCI Awards and MTS ROV Committee Awards. This year the MTS ROV Committee's Corporate Excellence Award winner was VideoRay and the Chairman Award went to Don Nelson. The ADCI honored Mr. Harry (Bud) Mills and Mr. Robert G. Ratcliffe by being inducted into the 2010 Commercial Diving Hall of Fame. As is normally the case both the MTS and ADCI awarded sponsorships to deserving students who have an interest in the respective industries. This year the scholarship awards went to Lindsay McCurley, Joanna Lapucha, Joshua Rosenthal, Kurt Jankowski, Andy Lister, Patrick Hickey, James Douberley, Amanda Lowe and Zachary Miller.

Underwater Intervention 2011 is to take place from 22nd to 24th February 2010 in New Orleans.