Underwater technology and services company, SMD, and deep technology company, Beam, are mobilising autonomous vehicles in harsh offshore environments using Beam’s Pathfinder software.

NATO is enhancing its military presence in the Baltic Sea with an emphasis on monitoring Critical Undersea Infrastructure (CUI). Baltic Sentry is a multi-domain vigilance activity aimed at increasing maritime situational awareness in the Baltic Sea to deter and defend against attacks on CUI. Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), under the direction of Joint Forces Command Brunssum (JFCBS), will play a central role in coordinating enduring presence operations throughout the region.

XOCEAN, a leading provider of ocean data to the offshore energy and civil hydrography sectors, has closed a €115 million fundraise that will help support its ongoing growth across the company's expanding global footprint. The company partnered with S2G Ventures ("S2G") to structure the round, which was funded by S2G, Climate Investment ("CI"), Morgan Stanley's 1GT fund, and an affiliate of the Crown Family's CC Industries ("CCI"), collectively ("the investor consortium").

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is proud to announce the execution of two exclusive license agreements with ARMADA Marine Robotics, a WHOI spin-off company co-founded by WHOI engineers Robin Littlefield and Jeff Kaeli. These agreements mark a significant milestone in WHOI’s efforts to foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and the commercialization of transformative ocean technologies.

Subsea7 today announced the award of a contract by Equinor for a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study with EPCI1 option for the Fram Sør development project, offshore Norway.

The strategic acquisition will enhance Rovtech’s position as a global technology leader in manufacturing robotics, tooling and harsh environment equipment for nuclear and subsea operations.

Exail is proud to announce the first sale of its DriX O-16, a transoceanic Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV). Designed for long-range maritime operations, it has been acquired by an Indo-Pacific customer operating in the civil sector.

The global ocean technology community will gather in Southampton in April for Ocean Business 2025, the must attend show for marine industries. With less than four months to go, all of the exhibition space has already been sold, with 350 exhibitors booked for what promises to be the biggest event yet, bringing together record crowds from around the world.

U-Boat Worx, the world leader in personal submersibles, proudly announces the launch of its 60th submarine. Marking a significant milestone in the company’s 20-year history, the latest addition to their fleet is a bespoke Super Yacht Sub 3, crafted exclusively for a client and outfitted in a striking metallic bronze colour scheme.

Fugro is significantly expanding its role in the Florida Seafloor Mapping Initiative (FSMI), a multiyear effort by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to map the state’s seafloor for improved coastal resilience, infrastructure planning and environmental protection. Building on its previous award of 14,000 square kilometres of airborne lidar data for the FSMI, Fugro is now conducting vessel-based surveys across 42,000 square kilometres offshore Florida.

Royal Boskalis B.V. (Boskalis) is excited to announce the latest addition to its versatile fleet: a groundbreaking subsea rock installation (SRI) vessel with a cargo capacity of 45,500 metric tons. This state-of-the-art vessel will stand as the largest SRI vessel in the industry, significantly bolstering Boskalis’ position in this specialized niche market, which currently includes three existing SRI vessels. With the introduction of the ‘Windpiper,’ Boskalis will effectively double its capacity and thereby becomes the largest player in the industry. Scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2026, the ‘Windpiper’ is set to play an important role in facilitating the energy transition working on offshore wind projects. Her first projects are expected to be located in Northwest Europe.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded a contract to a team led by Saab, Inc.’s newly formed accelerator, “Skapa by Saab”, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to contribute to the Autonomy Standards and Ideals with Military Operational Values (ASIMOV) program. The DARPA- ASIMOV program “aims to develop benchmarks to objectively and quantitatively measure the ethical difficulty of future autonomy use cases and readiness of autonomous systems to perform in those use cases within the context of military operational values”.

Forssea recently completed the delivery of one fully equipped #ARGOS smart ROV spread to DGA - Direction générale de l'armement in Brest, France. The system will be used in the context of underwater trial and technical offshore support.

As part of the AUKUS Pillar II – SSW Line of Effort Three, U.S. Navy, Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy personnel launched, tested and operated several unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) and remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) systems in tandem over the course of the two-week event.

Global Oceans, a US-based 501(c)3 operating foundation (www.global-oceans.org) has signed a Letter of Intent with Orpheus Ocean, Inc. based in New Bedford, MA (www.orpheusocean.com), to develop strategies for integrating Orpheus’ vehicle technologies in support of Global Oceans’ Innerspace Initiative. Orpheus Ocean is a new VC-funded ocean technology start up with an exclusive license to develop and deploy an autonomous full-ocean-depth vehicle platform originally designed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Solstad Subsea Holding, a subsidiary of Solstad Offshore, has acquired a 35.8 percent ownership stake in Omega Subsea, marking a significant milestone in the collaboration between the two companies.

The awards dinner will take place on Wednesday, 19 February at P&J Live in the Granite City as part of Subsea Expo, a three-day exhibition and conference showcasing the subsea sector and wider underwater industry. Eight awards will be presented at the black-tie event, to which over 550 guests are expected to attend. Several companies have been shortlisted in multiple categories.