Leaders from government, offshore energy, marine renewables, defence and aquaculture will feature in a packed programme for the much-anticipated Subsea Expo 2023.

The world’s largest subsea conference and exhibition takes place at Aberdeen’s P&J Live from 21 – 23 February 2023.

Organised by the Global Underwater Hub (GUH), the event’s theme of ‘Into the Blue’ will highlight the potential of the Blue Economy across the established and emerging underwater sectors and how industry must work together to maximise on the blue economic opportunities.

Organisers anticipate that over 6,000 people will visit the free-to-attend event over the course of its three days.  Around 150 companies and organisations from across the subsea supply chain will feature in the exhibition hall. This will include Boskalis, Bureau Veritas, Concept Cables, EODEX, J+S Subsea, JDR Cable Systems, Spectis Robotics and Subsea Tooling Services. A limited number of exhibition stands remain available.

The plenary session will be opened with an address from Mr Andrew Bowie MP, the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exports. Chaired by experienced TV broadcaster and GUH’s head of communications, Kirstin Gove, the session will feature experts from the supply chain as well as offshore wind, aquaculture, and marine energy sectors who will highlight the opportunities available in these rapidly growing markets.

Delegates will hear from Sue Barr, chair of the UK Marine Energy Council; Pauline Innes, director of supply chain &decommissioning, North Sea Transition Authority; Benj Sykes, VP – offshore, head of environment, consenting and external affairs, Ørsted; Tavish Scott, chief executive, Salmon Scotland; and Neil Gordon, chief executive of Global Underwater Hub.

From offshore energy and aquaculture through to telecoms and subsea mining, the Blue Economy is a vast source of economic potential estimated by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) to grow to a value of USD$3 trillion by 2030. The sector requires the skills, knowledge and expertise to allow commercial and technological investments to reach their potential.

Subsea Expo brings together the best and brightest minds from the underwater sectors, showcasing the latest new products and services, cutting-edge technologies and innovations. Multiple parallel conference sessions will explore the challenges facing the industry, including the security of critical national infrastructure, cable technologies for floating offshore wind, the energy transition, and data and digital, among other topics.

Around 90 industry experts will deliver presentations during the conference sessions.  This will include representatives from Baker Hughes, Equinor, Motive Offshore Group, Oceaneering, Ping Petroleum, Siemens Energy, and STATS Group.

Neil Gordon, chief executive of the GUH, said: 
"With the rise of the Blue Economy and the acceleration of the energy transition, we’re seeing an unprecedented scale of opportunity on which our industry can capitalise. With this comes the need for more skilled companies and individuals with renewables expertise.

"Investing in and developing these skills and knowledge is part of our journey towards net-zero, helping the UK to competitively develop and deliver the technology and services to support the acceleration of the energy transition, cementing the UK as a world-leader in low-carbon and creating the jobs and exports of the future.”

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.