The ocean science and technology world descended on Southampton in record numbers in early April for the biggest and busiest ever edition of Ocean Business.

Crowds of more than 10,650 over the 3 days – 23% up on Ocean Business 2023 – gathered at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) over three days of game-changing innovation, exciting product launches and quayside demonstrations as Ocean Business 2025 welcomed visitors from more than 80 countries to the Solent.

Across the expanded exhibition space and action-packed dockside, deals were done, new partnerships forged, existing relationships reinforced and networks extended.

‘The best one yet,’ said Graeme McGhee of Scorpion Oceanics. ‘Head and shoulders above other expos,’ said Stuart Howard, founder of Kuro Animation. ‘So many visitors from the very beginning and amazing conversations on all three days,’ said Chris Wallace of Verlume.

The atmosphere fizzed with glimpses of the future but it all started with a dive into the past as keynote speaker Mensun Bound held his capacity audience rapt with tales from the 2022 international quest to locate Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance.

As the director of exploration on the Antarctic expedition, Bound recalled the moment when, with cutting edge Saab Seaeye Sabertooth ROVs and top subsea experts, they located the ship, preserved in the ice for 117 years, at a depth of 3,000m.

‘It was obviously something man-made,’ he said, ‘and the only man-made thing in the Weddell Sea was Endurance.’

Later in the show, Voyis Imaging explained how it helped recreate a high-resolution 3D model of the Endurance, deploying its Insight Pro Underwater Laser Scanner and the Observer Pro Imaging System.

Sister company Sonardyne also supported the Endurance mission, with its underwater navigation and positioning technology Sprint-Nav, and at Ocean Business it launched Sprint-Nav U for compact marine robotic platforms.

Sonardyne Marine Robotics Business Development Manager Aidan Thorn, who has been involved with Ocean Business for 20 years, said this year was the best yet: ‘The interest in our new Sprint Nav-U was fantastic, being able to launch the product at OB has expanded our reach to potential new customers and having on-water demos shows credibility in our product in action.’

He also engaged with the next generation of scientists, engineers and innovators at Ocean Careers, telling them that ‘a career in the marine industry increasingly means a career working with robots’.

Teledyne generated much excitement with the launch on day one of its compact navigator, the world’s ‘smallest and highest performing, fully integrated autonomous navigating solution’.

‘We couldn’t have asked for a better show launch, customers are loving the navigator and we’ve had so many existing and new contacts coming onto the stand,’ said Marketing Manager Guy Frankland.

Other news and launches included Planet Ocean announcing a collaboration with Sonardyne International, resulting in the successful integration and deployment of three gold standard instruments from its reseller partners, Sea-Bird Scientific, Sequoia and 4H-Jena.

Geo Acoustics launched its new Side Scan Sonar, which attracted enquiries from as far afield as Dubai, China, India and Italy; and RS Aqua, which announced a new UK distribution deal for US company SRS’s Fusion Hybrid ROV, said it was ‘still riding the wave after catching up with our partners, customers and old and new faces!’ at Ocean Business.

With more than 350 exhibitors plus over 180 hours of training and demonstrations on the dockside, on board vessels and in the classroom, this year’s show offered insights into everything from R3Vox’s Voxometer, described by chairman Jens Steenstrup as a super advanced acoustic platform that does what multi-beams used to do ‘but on steroids’; to Hydrophis, a ‘revolution’ in analysing underwater survey data, unveiled by Scottish firm Tritonia.

Some 24 companies shared space at the Canadian pavilion, seen as an economical way to meet everyone in one place and access markets around the world.

‘We’d like to bring even more next time,’ said Shelly Petten, Executive Director of Oceans Advance, who has been coming to the show for 18 years, representing Newfoundland and Labrador.

‘Canada is an export nation and the hope is to grow Canadian exports. We have a long trading history with the UK and, given the current US tariffs, we’re encouraging customers to target the European markets more.’

Cathy Williams, at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, added that Ocean Business is considered an anchor event for Canada. ‘We are well established at the show so the ocean tech world knows the best and brightest of our companies will be here.’

Exhibiting for the first time, meanwhile, Curtis Lee of Shenzhen headquartered QYSEA was delighted with the response to the company’s fish-shaped Fifish underwater robot, on display in the test tank to show off its hydrodynamic properties.

‘It’s a very relevant show for us with a very international draw. We’d seen in recent years our competitors and partners here so decided to come ourselves and have found the quality of the leads and the demand for our product has been very strong.’

Alongside the exhibition and demonstrations, speakers and expert panels drawn from across the sector shared ideas to help shape the future of ocean technology.

Dr Louise Butt of the Space South Central Enterprise Network spoke of the huge increase in maritime users of space technology, in particular with AI driven satellites. Over the next ten years, non-geostationary orbit satcomms is expected to surge from 20% to 90% and the number of vessels using at least one satcomm service will double, to 90,000.

And at the Doing Business with Defence session, the first event to be held in the NOC’s new Innovation Hub, Claire Budden, Deputy Director of Navy Commercial, spelt out the opportunities in the supply chain, with around £32 billion a year spent on defence contracts, likely to ‘accelerate rapidly’ as the government commits to spending 3% of GDP on defence in the next parliament.

Helping make Ocean Business a triumph was the Society of Marine Industries (SMI), whose chief executive, Tom Chant, said the exhibition ‘has long been a standout event on the industry calendar, and this year’s show proved exactly why’.

‘The ocean technology sector is at the heart of today’s most pressing challenges — from renewable energy and environmental monitoring to the growing role of sensors and autonomous systems in defence. The aisles were buzzing with activity, and the exhibitors were busy from dawn to dusk.’

Madeline Lee, Chair of Marelec 2025, held alongside Ocean Business, described the events as ‘dynamic’, with ‘creative, audience-interactive presentations’.

‘These included engaging talks and posters from students and early-career professionals, who showcased a wide range of innovations in marine electromagnetics – from magnetic navigation to controlled source EM imaging of rift-margins. We hope attendees left with valuable insights and connections to support their work.’

Show organiser Cheri Arvonio said Ocean Business 2025 had exceeded all expectations: ‘The team have been totally blown away by all the incredible feedback and we’re very proud to have created such a special show for the ocean community.

‘It was wonderful to see so many friends, Ocean Business regulars and emerging talent, reflecting the rapid pace of development in the industry.

‘For all three days there was a real buzz, inside and outside the main exhibition spaces, and with the added bonus of glorious sunshine!’

Ocean Business 2027 will take place at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, from April 6-8. Visit https://go.pardot.com/e/465882/2025-04-24/3jtj1kl/6466369721/h/PIjbM_OPFvyp1wcH2mUjDKGYJDcJcctfHM423HCz0Ow

For further information, please contact:

Mariana Csányi, Senior Marketing Manager
t: +44 (0)1273 077316
e: mcsanyi@divcom.co.uk

Cheri Arvonio, Event Director
t: +44 (0)1453 836363
​​​​​e: carvonio@divcom.co.uk

Ocean Business Day 1

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