The Sea Tech Week® returns in 2024 with an exciting programme of workshops scheduled for the three days of the show. Under the main theme of "Maritime Safety and Security", these workshops promise to be a true source of inspiration, collaboration and discovery for all players in the maritime sector. For 3 days, come and talk to our workshop leaders on a wide range of topics: security, safety, the environment, underwater cables, drones, autonomous vehicles and many more.

Tuesday

Funding opportunities to facilitate Franco/Irish collaboration in the blue economy

by Enterprise Ireland

#HorizonEurope

France is Ireland's closest neighbour in the European Union, and the maritime sector is one of the key areas of collaboration between the two countries. The aim of the proposed workshop is to bring together French and Irish players, as well as those from other European countries wishing to develop their cooperation through Horizon Europe or Erasmus + calls. Time will also be devoted to presenting institutions or laboratories wishing to become involved in a European consortium.

An integrated Approach for Marine Debris Cleanup

by IEEE        

#Plastic #Pollution

The workshop will develop the necessary activities for achieving an integrated approach for Marine Debris cleanup. It will be focused on methodologies and operations in order to present "solutions". Indeed, quantitative information on production and use of plastics is available, but the amount and fate of plastics discarded or leaked into the environment is still not well addressed.

To this extent, the session will examine the diverse pre-requisite for creating the knowledge on marine debris and plastic in the ocean needed by societal stakeholders. First, knowing where the pollution is and how much is observable. Then, where does it come from, and finally developing Prevention and Reducing the amount through adapted solutions.

Impact of connected systems and AI on the safety and security of navigation

by the Ecole Navale

#ArtificialIntelligence #Connectedsystem #Security

In order to increase navigation safety, ships are equiped with high technology and connected systems designed to support the Officer Of the Watch (OOW) to realize datas treatment, specifics tasks or even make the right decision based on help provided by Artificial Intelligence. Also, the cooperation between the OOW and the system is essential in order to insure maximum efficiency. However, the complexity of the system could be a reason for the misunderstanding of information between the operator and the system itself.

Therefore, workshop goals are to identify how complex systems impact navigation safety and to find a relationships between the OOW and the system which would increase navigation safety and security. The workshop will propose a forward-looking vision on the systems of tomorrow.

Maritime innovation and IP strategy

by Germain Maureau

#IndustrialProperty #Strategy #Innovation

The aim of this workshop is to provide an overview over the patent strategies already carried out by various players in several technical fields in the marine sector (offshore energy, ships, cybersecurity, defence, autonomous vehicles, prospecting, environment, etc.). We will then focus on the specificities of patent law in direct relation to the marine environment and outline an IP strategy tailored to each technical field of the marine sector.

Offshore Seaweed Cultivation, An Emerging Industry: Structural Durability and Biosafety Issues

by the Institut de la Corrosion

#Offshoreseaweed, #environement, #Corrosion

In this workshop, we will tackle the existing challenges of advancing the European seaweed industry into offshore operations. Through a dynamic blend of presentations and panel discussions, we will engage the audience actively, fostering a collaborative environment. Our goal is to pave the way towards a viable future where European seaweed cultivation significantly contributes to the demand for biobased materials. We will invite leading experts from various European research institutions to lead discussions on critical topics. These include structural integrity, corrosion behavior assessment, and biological risk management, all of which are essential for the reliable design of seaweed cultivation platforms.

Wednesday

Beyond the Net Zero Research Vessels to merge, which impact on the embarked research process?

by Esprit de Velox

#Oceanscience #Decarbonation #ResearchFleet

Few initiatives open the way to a greener Research Fleet, and zero impact ocean science. New platforms and practices question the evolution and flexibility of the research process itself.
How do ocean scientists react to the pression towards decarbonation?

Which trajectories, for which operational opportunities and risks? Will there be any room left for humans to embark? What consequences on the way ocean research are conducted and on their impact?

Maritime safety during construction phase of an Offshore Windfarm in France: Challenges and actions

by Iberdrola

#Offshore #Maritime #Safety

Construction of an Offshore wind farm is involving thousands of people at sea, in a maritime environment where other sea users can be present. In France the Maritime prefect is responsible for safety at sea, but the operator is of course responsible for its own activities. This workshop aims at presenting actions taken and emphasis on the roles of each to ensure safety at sea during an OWF construction, focusing on the example of the OWF of Saint-Brieuc.

Green fuels & safety issues

by Brest Port

#Greenfuels #Safety #Regulations

Energy transition is a core strategy of the European Commission with challenging steps to “green” the maritime transport. The ports are cornerstones of the strategy, as hubs for transport and energy.

To reach the goal, ports, shipping companies and energy industries must work together to align their own transition plan, with realistic steps crossing the maturity of new green fuels, the availability of energy distribution network and adapted transportation fleets. Safety and security issues are part of the challenge, all over the provisioning chain: production, storage, distribution, and fuelling.

Ocean preservation: crossed perspectives between France and Malaysia

by the Embassy of France to Malaysia & the GICAN

#Internationalcooperation #Mitigation #Prevention

Our ocean is connected. Successful conservation requires transdisciplinary and intersectoral approaches – at national, regional and international scales. Through the cases of marine depollution and biodiversity conservation, the strategies currently implemented in France and in Malaysia will be examined. The participation of experts from academia, from the government and from the private sector will also allow us to explore new paths for cooperation between both countries and, more widely, between Europe and South East Asia.

Safe coexistence between fisheries and floating offshore wind

by Equinor

#Floatingwind #Fisheries #Navigation

To better understand how fishers can safely operate around and within a floating offshore wind farm, Equinor and Marine Scotland Science conducted the SEASHARE project. It was the very first fishing experiment within the Hywind Scotland floating wind farm. The test demonstrated that under the right sea and weather conditions and with the right procedures, it is possible to fish safely within the Hywind floating offshore wind farm with the static fishing gear tested. The results of the study are encouraging in terms of feasibility, but need to be pursued and supplemented by similar experiments on other sites and with other types of equipment. The proposed workshop aims to present the results of the Seashare study, and to engage in a discussion on the issues highlighted and the perspective raised by the challenge of coexistence. The study ran from June to November 2022, and a report was published in September 2023.

How to prevent collisions at sea?

by Bretagne Développement Innovation

#Collision #Biodiversity

Marine vessel and racing boat collisions with floating objects and cetaceans are a significant and growing problem. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of collisions, and the severity of the impacts has also increased. There are several factors that contribute to these collisions : the increasing amount of shipping traffic in the world’s oceans, the vessel speed- noise-and-lighting. A few companies have tackled the problem: a map server to broadcast areas of high probability of cetacean presence so that ships will thus be able to adapt the route to avoid collisions. Experts in onboard electronics, data management and artificial intelligence are also developing a solution that will automatically detect, identify and avoid obstacles in order to reduce the risk of collisions. There are also calls on European authorities to support a reduction in ship speed to protect marine life #BlueSpeedsforShipping.

Drones in support of territories - 6^th edition

by the Cerema (closed session)

#Drone #SpatialManagement

Since 2019, the Commissariat général au Développement Durable (CGDD) and Cerema have been organizing the annual event "Les drones en appui aux territoires", aimed at scientific and technical organizations and the central administration of the ministerial pole (Transition écologique et de la Cohésion des territoires.), deconcentrated services (DREAL, DEAL, DDT(M), DIR, DIRM) and local authorities. Under the impetus of several community players, including the Hérault, Bas-Rhin and Haute-Garonne departmental directorates, ENAC, CGDD, Campus Mondial de la Mer and Cerema, the 6th edition of the "Drones in support of territories" event will take place as part of Sea Tech Week, in Brest from October 15 to 17, 2024.

Safety related to hydrogen and new fuels on board ships and in port facilities

by Bretagne Développement Innovation

[more information soon]

Offshore wind energy: securing provisioning of renewable energy in EU – safety & security issues  

by  Brest Port

#Offshore # Energy #Safety

The ambitious deployment plans of European countries, such as the “Esbjerg Declaration” reflects the need to drastically increase the production of renewable energy over the coming years. OWE is a pilar of energy autonomy.

To reach the goal the energy production must become more transnational, efficient, and green with a greater collaboration between countries and partners during the construction, the exploitation and the maintenance phases of the farms, with logistic services covering the entire offshore zones including the energy islands. Safety and security issues will be part of the challenge, requiring innovative, robust and cost-effective surveillance and intervention means.

Shared Use of Marine Aids to Navigation

by the Direction InterRégionale de la Mer Nord-Atlantique, Manche-Ouest

#DataAcquisition #AtoN #MarineEnvironment

As the needs of users evolve, an increasingly in-depth knowledge of the marine environment is needed. Aid to Navigation Equipments (AtoN) often have characteristics or are located in sites that may be of interest for "opportune" uses. The DIRM responded on a case-by-case basis to requests for shared use of these AtoN (use of space in lighthouses, data acquisition, etc.). It implements a proactive policy in terms of sharing this equipments.

Digital transformation of nautical information: innovations and prospects for safer navigation

by the Shom

#NauticalInformation, #SafetyNavigation #DigitalTransformation

This workshop explores various aspects of the digital transformation of nautical information. It will give the floor to various players in the nautical information chain, from standardization to end use, addressing technical, safety.

A common strategy and roadmap for the maritime transport decarbonisation in Europe

by the Pôle Mer Bretagne Atlantique

#MaritimeTransport, #Decarbonisation, #Shipping

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions in maritime transport, collaboration among governments, industry, and other stakeholders is crucial. This involves clear objectives, financial incentives, promoting innovation, monitoring emissions, raising awareness, and implementing pilot initiatives. By working together, we can make progress toward more sustainable practices in maritime transport.

Thursday

Deep Sea Monitoring

by IEEE

#DAS #UUV #UnderwaterCommunication

Nowadays, it appears that the matters of seabed warfare and the defense of undersea infrastructure have emerged as a topic of interest. But achieving undersea structures survey, where the ocean water column is deeper than about 1000 meters, remains a challenge.

Submarine Telecom cables: new projects for Ocean and eaRthquake observation, and cable health Monitoring (STORM)

by Geo-Ocean

#Telecommunication #Cable

Submarine telecommunication cables crisscrossing the world’s oceans offer a great opportunity to obtain real-time observations of temperature, pressure and ground motion directly from the seafloor. Laser reflectometry and other optics methods can be used to transform the optical fibers into sensors, which can detect earthquakes, ocean waves, currents, and seafloor deformation. New SMART cable projects will include instrumented nodes.

Ammonia as a Maritime Fuel: Bridging Knowledge Gaps for a Safe and Green Future

by the Cedre

#Newenergies #Ammonia #Spill

The decarbonization of maritime transport has led to the emergence of new propulsion technologies aimed at replacing traditional fuels. Ammonia is one of the candidates for powering ships without emitting greenhouse gases, thus having a lower impact on the environment. Due to limited knowledge of how liquid ammonia behaves when spilled in water, our understanding of the consequences of accidental releases in ports or open seas remains incomplete. This workshop aims to enhance our understanding of the challenges associated with replacing traditional fuels with liquefied ammonia and how the maritime sector is preparing to address them.

France-Ireland Workshop on Cybersecurity risks and challenges in the maritime sector

by Université de Bretagne Occidentale

#Cybersecurity #Cyber-resilience

The University of Western Brittany – France and the University of Limerick – Ireland will jointly organize a workshop to highlight that cybersecurity risks must be taken into account across all maritime sector infrastructures (on land and at sea). The aim of this workshop is to present cybersecurity risks for the maritime sector to a wide range of people and different mitigation methods will be presented to show the most advanced research work that our two countries are currently carrying out. The challenges that industrial players and public entities in the maritime sector will have to face in the years to come will also be discussed.

Exploitation and valorization of maritime data

by the Pôle Mer Bretagne Atlantique

#Maritime #Data #valuation

Maritime data, related with maritime surveillance, exploration and measure, will increase significantly. Operators, public as well private, will gather, store, process and share these data. The question of these data valuation will be of significant acuity. The workshop will try to adress maritime data market prospects, with data producers and data operators as panelists.

Imaginaries of the Sea in Ireland’s Arts, Literature and Culture

by the Institute of Art, Design and Technology

#EnvironmentalHumanities #CriticalPosthumanities #Arts

This workshop will explore imaginaries of the sea across the arts, literature and culture in Ireland. Focusing on the sea as both a shared and contested space in an epoch of climate change, rising sea levels/temperatures, and global geo-political tensions, this workshop will show how these cultural/artistic imaginaries are vitally important to our understandings of the sea, including, issues of safety and security and scientific and technological interventions. This workshop will consist of an artistic installation, and a literature/media/posthumanism panel, including a roundtable and participatory Q & A sessions.

Drones and digital technologies for maritime observation

by the Cerema

#UAV #Territories #PublicPolicies

Presentation of innovative drone and robot technologies, on-board sensors and associated data processing, in particular for maritime and coastal applications.

Autonomous monitoring: from surface to seabed

by Exail

#Unmannedvehicle/ #positionning

The workshop will present unmanned autonomous solutions to monitor marine environment from surface to seabed and guarantee safe and secure maritime operations. It will propose a global approach, digging in challenges and propose techniques required to monitor and explore marine environment from surface to seabed. Several themes will be addressed:

• Importance of the subsea positioning to locate drones and guarantee accurate navigation.
• System integration to enable recurrent autonomous operations: from mission planning to real time tracking and payload control.
• Use of High-Resolution payloads to detect objects at deep depths.

Maritime Cybersecurity: Advanced Technical Solutions for the Resilience of the Maritime Sector

by France Cyber Maritime and  Bretagne Développement Innovation

#cybersecurity

This workshops will cover the following topics:

• A quick overview of cyber threats in the maritime world;
• How to anticipate, detect, react and protect yourself from a cyber-attack through real-life situations and demonstrations;Innovative solutions such as cyber ranges, which can be considered as digitaltwins;
• Competitive sailing will also be presented to address the challenges of cyberattacks in this specific area of the maritime world with a feedback.

How can a better weather forecast improve routing and safety at sea?

by Marine Weather Intelligence

#AI #MaritimeRouting #Safetyalerts

There is so much data available today that we can no longer process it with our human brains alone. This is where artificial intelligence comes in. We'll take a look at a few case studies to see how AI is being put to work by researchers. We will then highlight how the outcomes of this research are integrated into concrete tools that improve our practices.

Maritime safety and security in the polar oceans

by Université de Bretagne Occidentale and Nord University

#MaritimeSafety #PolarNavigation #Collaboration

This workshop addresses rising risks in Arctic and Antarctic waters from increased traffic, focusing on safety for people and the environment. Challenges in rescue and pollution response in these areas are discussed. Topics include maritime safety, the Polar Code, and strategies to improve navigation safety. Emphasis is on multi-stakeholder collaboration, sharing field experiences, and developing new strategies for maritime safety and security.

IUU fishing: a global threat for marine environment and food security

by the IRSEM

#MaritimeSafety #IUUFishing #GulfOfGuinea

IUU fishing is a growing threat present on all the seas of the world. Illegal fishing practices deplete resources and present a challenge to maintaining economic fishing activities. They degrade or even destroy the environment, the seabed and other marine species including mammals. Finally, they are a global challenge in terms of food security, when 3.3 billion people worldwide draw at least 20% of their protein intake from fishing, especially in the poorest territories. The objective of this workshop is to draw up an inventory of the consequences of illegal fishing in terms of maritime safety and security and to propose new tools, particularly technological, to better identify and combat it.

In conclusion, Sea Tech Week® offers a diverse array of workshops focusing on crucial aspects of maritime exploration and innovation. Covering topics from marine safety and security to technological advancements and environmental preservation, these workshops serve as platforms for collaboration and knowledge exchange among stakeholders. With a commitment to addressing contemporary challenges and fostering sustainable practices, Sea Tech Week® continues to drive inspiration and progress in the maritime sector.