THE future of ocean technology, marine science and offshore industries will be debated at a special conference to be held in Southampton next month.

Offshore Survey (April 10-11) which takes place alongside Ocean Business at the National Oceanography Centre has two high profile speakers to deliver keynote presentations on each day of the conference.

Rear Admiral Tim Lowe CBE, Acting Chief Executive of the UK Hydrographic Office, will be delivering one of the keynote presentations and John Pinder, who recently retired from his position as Port Hydrographer at the Port of London Authority will be the other main speaker.

Admiral Lowe specialises in navigation and underwater warfare and has commanded both ashore and afloat, as well as assignments leading the Combined Maritime Forces counter piracy activity in the Indian Ocean, and assignments with NATO.

In his current role he works alongside five other leading geospatial bodies in the UK as part of the Geospatial Commission. The commission, known as Geo6, is an initiative to drive economic growth by maximising the value of all location-based data in the UK. His presentation will provide an insight into the work of the commission.

The keynote for the first day of the conference will be delivered by John Pinder who, having recently retired, has a lifetime of knowledge working in the hydrographic industry.

He served as the Port of London’s hydrographer for 18 years. His presentation will explore the relationships between equipment manufacturers, legislators, customers and users. His talk will cover emerging technologies such as remote sensing and autonomous vehicles.

Offshore Survey will deliver a further 35 presentations from industry leaders, emerging technology companies, academic and industry organisations.

The two-day event runs alongside Ocean Business – a three-day exhibition of technology and services, with a full programme of hands-on training and workshops. Ocean Careers will also run over the three days to provide advice on career opportunities within the ocean technology, marine science and offshore industries.