General Review of 2007
OCEAN BUSINESS WAS BUZZING!
Colleagues from 36 countries including Europe, Africa, Australia, the Russian Federation, South America, North America and Asia descended on the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton for 3 days of what can only be described as the best show in town!!
As exhibitors trooped into the halls on opening morning they were shortly followed by a wave of bustling trade visitors eager to get down to business. And that pace was maintained throughout the show, by the close of play more than 1500 attendees had visited Ocean Business which was met with cries of joy from exhibitors now exhausted and overwhelmed by the amount of business that had taken place during the show.
More than 1500 attendees from near and far
Among the visitors were colleagues from an amazing array of industry backgrounds including acousticians, systems engineers, senior surveyors, application engineers, technicians, diving supervisors, police divers, engineering directors, development directors, coastal scientists, research and development managers, technical directors, business development managers, hydrographic systems managers and other industry professionals.
They travelled from near and far - Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, France, Greece, India, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Korea, Portugal, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, Taiwan, United States, South Africa, UK and United Arab Emirates.
Training and Demo Sessions filled to capacity
But Ocean Business 2007 action was not limited to the halls. Attendees took full advantage of the hands-on demonstration opportunities. Opening morning saw queues of attendees as they quckly registered to attend the training and demonstration sessions - a draw that enabled both new entrants to the field and those more seasoned operators to take full advantage of over 150 hours of training and demonstration sessions. The dockside demo area overflowed - vessels were full to capacity and many classroom sessions sold out!
Offshore Survey Debates addresses the key issues affecting the industry
The Offshore Survey Conference that ran alongside attracted almost 100 delegates from 16 countries. John Westwood delivered a very positive key note address which reviewed prospects in the global energy industry. The current severe shortage of skilled personnel was addressed by Tim Jackson of BP and continued as the topic of conversation during most breaks. Initiatives to help raise awareness with students were debated with a number of ideas already being developed for the 2009 event.
The buzz was back!
The ever important networking side of the event kept delegates and exhibitors together throughout the week. Oxford Street was a mass with people and the Grapes Bar literally ran out of beer! As best summed up by Kevin Edwards from Valeport ' The buzz was back!'
Ocean Business Goes Global
Not only did the Ocean Business team welcome the Mayor of Southampton (who also serves as Admiral of the Port) but they also opened their doors to an array of press including BBC Breakfast reporter Robert Hall who interviewed a number of exhibitors for the unprecedented report on ocean technology which was broadcast throughout the UK and was also picked up by BBC worldwide!
Plans are already underway for Ocean Business 2009 which will take place at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton once more from 31st March - 2nd April 2009.
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