World Ocean Council Workshop to Advance Seabed Data Collection by Shipping Sector

Many shipping companies already have the tools needed to be a part of the solution for sustainable ocean use. 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.

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.

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

For further information and to express interest, please visit the World Ocean Council website.