WOC & Seabed 2030 Collaborate on Opportunity for Companies to Support Safe & Sustainable Shipping
Many shipping companies already have the tools needed to be a part of the solution for sustainable ocean use. The Seabed 2030 project aims to create a complete map of the world ocean floor by 2030, using equipment commonly available on marine vessels.
As a core partner of Seabed 2030, the World Ocean Council (WOC) is hosting workshops about the project, which aligns with the WOC’s SMART Ocean-SMART Industries (SO-SI) program. SO-SI’s mission is to ensure industry data collection and sharing is coordinated, efficient and available to public agencies and the scientific community, in support of a safe and sustainable maritime industry.
WOC/Seabed 2030 Online Seabed Data Workshop
8 December 2021 | 3-5 PM GMT
This 2-hour virtual workshop will gather 5-10 shipping companies to explain how they can share echo sounder data to help “map the gaps” of the ocean seafloor. Many vessels may already be equipped to participate without additional investment or operating cost.
Vessels with the following equipment are ready to participate in Seabed 2030:
- An echo sounder and positioning instrumentation — common on most ocean-going vessels
- A data logger and a way to transmit the data to a remote repository — some vessels have these. The cost to add a data logger is between $150-$250, and transmission is inexpensive.
The WOC/Seabed 2030 Virtual Workshop will include:
- Assessments of each carrier’s readiness to contribute to Seabed 2030
- Discussion with bathymetric and shipping technology/data experts from Seabed 2030, NOAA, and the University of New Hampshire
- Case studies from participating operators already sharing seabed data
- Open discussion on the value to operators and operational considerations
- Detailed working sessions to determine specific needs for each vessel type to share seabed data, based on existing instrumentation
If your shipping company would like to participate in this workshop, please submit this form.
About the SMART Ocean-SMART Industries (SO-SI) Program
Launched by the World Ocean Council, the SO-SI program was formed in response to the call for more ocean, weather and climate data, including from the UN Decade of Ocean Science. SO-SI works with ocean industries and associations to increase the flow of this data to public agencies and the scientific community, in support of a safe and sustainable maritime industry. Participating companies collect data by hosting or deploying instruments, or sharing depth sounding data. This data can then be used by the scientific community and others to support safe and sustainable shipping (e.g., improved current maps for weather routing).
Companies participating in SO-SI are able to demonstrate their contribution to:
- U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 14 – Conserve and sustainably use the ocean
- U.N. SDG 14 Target 1.a – Increase ocean knowledge
- U.N. Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development
The WOC is also an accredited observer at the International Hydrographic Organization.