The World Ocean Council (WOC) is part of a growing coalition of maritime leadership companies, industry organizations and knowledge institutes that has launched “Our Oceans Challenge”, a competition for innovation and solutions to address key issues affecting responsible ocean industry operations.
One of the newest WOC members, Heerema Marine Contractors, has catalyzed Our Oceans Challenge (OOC), a business idea competition to solicit ideas from entrepreneurs, offshore experts, scientists and others. WOC is working with the OOC alliance to provide a global platform for outreach to ocean industry stakeholders and entrepreneurs around the world.
The deadline for submitting initial ideas in the first OOC phase is 18 July 2014.
A jury of OOC experts will select the most promising concepts for further development in the competition. OOC will connect entrepreneurs and start-ups with corporations, expertise and investors. By the end of 2015, the entrepreneurs behind the first round of selected ideas will present their business plans to a panel of investors.
The initial themes of “Our Oceans Challenge” include key ocean industry issues and opportunities:
– Addressing the need for port reception facilities;
– Optimizing the use of vessels and structures for collecting ocean data;
– Avoiding or minimizing the impact of marine sound from construction and industry operations;
– Avoiding or minimizing the impact of sedimentation from seabed disturbance due to construction, dredging or mining.
Ocean industry stakeholders are invited to submit ideas to the challenge competition and to circulate information on OOC. Interested parties are encouraged to register the at the OOC online platform and consider participating as experts and commentators on the solution ideas that are posted.
Press Release, June 25, 2014