Seabed 2030 and OceanQuest announce partnership at UN Ocean Conference to advance ocean mapping and discovery

Nice, 11 June 2025 – The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project and OceanQuest have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France. The partnership marks a significant step forward in international collaboration to advance our understanding of the ocean through comprehensive seafloor mapping and deep ocean exploration.

The announcement follows OceanQuest’s recent Around Africa Expedition, delivered in collaboration with OceanX. In just four months, the mission mapped 120,036 square kilometres of seafloor – an area roughly the size of Greece – gathering vital data on deep-sea ecosystems and contributing to Seabed 2030’s mission. The 2025 expedition was an endorsed Action programme of the United Nations Ocean Decade framework (2021-2030), recognised for its contributions to capacity building and advancing scientific understanding of the ocean.

The partnership was announced on board OceanXplorer – OceanX’s state-of-the-art research vessel – during the third UN Ocean Conference, currently underway in Nice. Seabed 2030 was itself launched at the inaugural UN Ocean Conference in New York in 2017, when just six per cent of the ocean floor had been mapped to modern standards. That figure has since grown to over a quarter of the entire seabed mapped.

Seabed 2030 is a collaborative project between The Nippon Foundation and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), which seeks to accelerate the complete mapping of the world’s ocean by 2030, and to compile all the data into the freely available GEBCO Ocean Map. The Project is formally endorsed as a Decade Action of the UN Ocean Decade. GEBCO is a joint programme of the IHO and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and is the only organisation with a mandate to map the entire ocean floor.

OceanQuest is a Saudi Arabian not-for-profit foundation committed to advancing ocean discovery. The organisation seeks to inspire a new era of deep-sea exploration and global knowledge-sharing.

“Mapping the entire ocean floor by 2030 is an undertaking that requires collaboration, innovation and global commitment,” commented Jamie McMichael-Phillips, Project Director of Seabed 2030. “OceanQuest’s recent work is a testament to the progress that can be made when those qualities come together. We are delighted to welcome them to our growing network of partners and look forward to what we can achieve together.”

Martin Visbeck, CEO of OceanQuest, said: “We are proud to partner with Seabed 2030 and contribute our data, expertise and passion for ocean discovery to a global effort that benefits all of humanity.

“Our recent expedition highlights just how much of the ocean remains unexplored. By joining forces with Seabed 2030, we can ensure that new discoveries are integrated into global science and help shape a more informed, sustainable future for our ocean.”

As part of the partnership, OceanQuest will contribute seafloor mapping data to Seabed 2030, and the organisations will also collaborate on promoting innovative technologies and practices in ocean science. All data collected and shared with the Seabed 2030 project is included in the free and publicly available GEBCO global grid.

ENDS