Annual Trends Survey of UK Marine Science and Technology Industry

The Society of Maritime Industries will be undertaking its annual trends survey of the UK marine science and technology industry at Oceanology International 2016. Seen as a key indicator of how the industry has performed over the previous year, the survey also provides a view of where the industry expects to develop its business in the future.

Last year’s survey showed the commercial marine science and technology (MST) sector contributes on average, nearly GBP2bn/year to the UK economy and as most of the individual companies are in manufacturing or service and the additional indirect contribution is substantially higher. Furthermore, exports feature strongly with companies reporting a total annual value of at least GBP760m operating on a global scale. The diversity of the market is wide and includes supplying into oil/gas, renewable energy, environment, ports/harbours and military. Whereas there had been a drop in the number of companies reporting a turnover increase, investment in R&D remained the same, with a strong commitment to maintain or increase this level, clearly indicating a sector strong on innovation to remain competitive.