ST Conference Preview

Underwater Intervention 2013


Underwater Intervention 2013, taking place at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, from January 15 to 17, encompasses the commercial diving and ROV industries. Jointly owned and sponsored by the Association of Diving Contractors International and the ROV Committee of the Marine Technology Society since the early 1990s, this year’s conference has expanded to cover markets including manned submersibles, instruments and sensors, sonar and acoustics, ocean engineering, marine salvage and shipwrecks, and AUV and UUV technology.

Underwater Intervention 2013 will be attended by oil and gas industry professionals, senior decision makers from underwater operators, underwater operations services and equipment suppliers, ocean engineering and construction companies, commercial diving and ROV contractors, underwater operations consultants, and engineers, project managers and purchasing agents.

Underwater Intervention 2012, also held in New Orleans, covered more than 25,500 square feet of exhibit space and hosted 2,400 attendees from 35 countries. Last year’s technical program offered 110 presentations.


Technical Program
Underwater Intervention 2013 will add two subjects to its technical program: deepwater projects and decommissioning, and AUVs.

The conference program topics will discuss commercial diving, manned submersibles, instruments and sensors, marine education, decommissioning, ocean exploration and research technology, deepwater field development, marine archaeology, AUVs, and work-class, small and micro-ROVs.

Examples from this year’s program include developments for saturation diving, underwater aluminum welding, extending the small AUV mission envelope, advances in subsea imagery, blowout preventer intervention, and underwater oil detection and recovery.


Conference Speakers
The annual awards dinner will be held on the first night of the conference with Randall Abadie, civil engineering and diving supervisor for Shell Exploration and Production Co. (Houston, Texas) in New Orleans, as the keynote speaker.

Earlier in the day, oceanographer and marine policy specialist Don Walsh will keynote a general session at the International Lounge.


Exhibition Floor
At press time, the conference had sold 22,000 square feet of exhibit space.

Underwater Intervention is offering two new opportunities on the exhibition floor, both of which are available for a fee. The first is a standard dive tank for demonstrations, courtesy of EPIC Divers and Marine (Belle Chasse, Louisiana). The second is a market showcase where companies can invite attendees to a sales presentation in a partitioned area with a worktable, theater-style seating for 25 people, a projector and a screen.


Registration
Conference registration is available at www.underwaterintervention.com. Early registration discounts and society member discounts apply until January 9, after which at-the-door prices will apply.


Editor’s Note
Copies of this issue will be available at Underwater Intervention at the Sea Technology stand. For editorial or advertising questions, see Amos Bussmann.



Exhibitors List
The following list of exhibitors was updated as of press time:

Sea Technology is read worldwide in more than 110 countries by management, engineers, scientists and technical personnel working in industry, government and educational research institutions. Readers are involved with oceanographic research, fisheries management, offshore oil and gas exploration and production, undersea defense including antisubmarine warfare, ocean mining and commercial diving.