Around 6,000
visitors are expected to attend the three-day exhibition and conference
which gets underway on Tuesday morning at the city’s P&J Live and
runs until Thursday. The event’s theme this year is Into the Blue.
The
free-to-attend event is organised by Global Underwater Hub, the leading
trade and industry development body for the UK’s underwater sectors, and
provides a showcase for the country’s £8billion underwater industry.
More
than 4,000 people from 50 countries have already pre-registered online
to attend the event, and organisers are encouraging those planning to attend,
and who have yet to register, to do so online and print their badge in
advance to avoid any on-site queues at registration.
Over
150 companies and organisations working across the underwater supply chain
will feature in the exhibition arena, showcasing its capability, innovation,
technology and skills. Among the companies exhibiting are Boskalis,
Brimmond, Bureau Veritas, Concept Cables, EODEX, Fugro, J+S Subsea, JDR
Cable Systems, Kawasaki Subsea, Maritime Developments, Saab Seaeye and
Subsea Tooling Services.
Running
alongside the exhibition are multiple parallel conference sessions.
A total of 14 conference sessions, featuring over 85 speakers, will see
debate and discussion on key industry talking points. Sessions will
explore cable technologies for floating offshore wind, the energy transition,
robotics and autonomous operations, and marine energy.
The
conference programme will open with a plenary session on Tuesday morning
in which leaders from across the underwater industry will discuss the potential
of the Blue Economy within the established and emerging underwater sectors.
During the session the UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade
will launch its Global Upstream Decommissioning Export Strategy, which
aims to harness the UK’s advanced experience in energy decommissioning
activities.
Conference
proceeding on the opening day also include a session exploring the security
of critical national infrastructure. With hundreds of thousands of
miles of underwater cables and pipelines criss-crossing the oceans and
seas globally – a figure that will increase as more offshore wind projects
come onstream around the world – transferring data, power and other resources,
there is a need to protect these assets.
The
2022 attack on the Nord Stream gas pipeline and the damage to a subsea
cable off Shetland that cut landline telephone, mobile and internet services,
highlight the potential issues, whether the cause be intentional or accidental.
Ahead
of the opening of Subsea Expo, more than 100 people will gather for a business
breakfast exploring the current global market opportunities for the energy
and subsea sectors. It will include presentations from representatives
of the Department for Business and Trade and market intelligence experts
Axiom EMI. A ministerial address will also be given by Argentina’s
Secretary of Energy, Flavia Royon, who will outline the business and investment
opportunities for the energy market in the country.
Wednesday
evening will see the winners of the annual Subsea Expo Awards announced
at a black-tie dinner. Seven awards will be presented on the night,
celebrating the achievements of companies and individuals working across
the underwater industry.
Thursday
morning is focused on inspiring future talent to work in the underwater
sector. School pupils from across north-east Scotland and college
and university students will visit Subsea Expo to take part in the foreSEA
Your Future programme. Alongside opportunities to tour the exhibition
arena and hear from young professionals working in the industry, space
scientist, engineer and broadcaster Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE will chat
to the pupils and students. She will highlight the role that science
plays in everyday life and discuss her route into science and engineering.
Neil
Gordon, chief executive of Global Underwater Hub, said: “Subsea Expo
is firmly back in its stride for 2023, with over 150 exhibitors, a strong
conference programme and more than 4,100 pre-registered visitors from over
50 countries. Visitors can expect to see an excellent array of exhibitors
showcasing their capabilities and latest technologies.
“Recent
global events will inevitably be debated, demonstrating the critical role
our underwater infrastructure plays in energy security and global communications,
and the need to protect it.
“The
event will once again have a real international focus, launching on Tuesday
morning with the global opportunities business breakfast featuring presentations
from the Department for Business and Trade, and Argentina’s Secretary
of Energy Flavia Royon.”
Subsea
Expo 2023 is being supported by Wood, TechnipFMC, Argentex, C—Kore Systems,
Fugro, Havfram, Knight Optical, Panolin, Scottish Renewables, the Society
for Underwater Technology and Viper Innovations.
Entrance
to the exhibition and conference is free of charge. Advance registration
is recommended via the event website, www.subseaexpo.com.