Representatives of the world’s underwater industry will gather in Aberdeen this week for Subsea Expo 2023.

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.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Global Underwater Hub   l   KeyFacts Energy news: Aberdeen Focus