Newsletter Articles Archive

Autumn Workshop: ‘The Future of Marine Data’

It’s that time of year again! Normally we would be looking forward to welcoming you to our free-to-attend marine data workshop, which was planned for Tuesday 24 November 2020 in Central London. With Covid-19, this popular face to face event is now being reconsidered and we may decide to run it online instead. If we […]

The European Marine Energy Centre improves Data Management and GIS Capability

As global energy consumption increases and climate change makes headlines across the world, developing new technologies to harness energy from our oceans to generate electricity is now more important than ever. The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), established in 2003 and based in Orkney, Scotland, is the first and only centre of its kind in […]

S-121 Maritime Limits and Boundaries launched

Our planet’s oceans are subdivided by international and national laws into many areas and zones. Specific rights, restrictions and responsibilities apply within each of these areas and zones aimed at facilitating the development of the world’s ocean resources while providing for the protection of the marine environment and safety of navigation. States that adhere to […]

Port-Log – The Next Generation

Our data platform, Port-Log, forms the backbone of our environmental monitoring capability. It is used by a wide variety of organisations around the world to collect, manage and display environmental data. We have seen particular success in the ports and harbours industry, where access to reliable, real-time tide and weather data is essential for the […]

Marine Themes DEM Update

We have issued a major update to our flagship intelligent marine mapping dataset, Marine Themes Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The new dataset is being rolled out to all our Licensed Partners and public sector customers. Our private sector customers will receive the new dataset when they renew their annual licences. We have also improved our […]

The UK Geospatial Strategy 2020-2025

The keenly awaited Geospatial Strategy was published by the UK Government mid June. The strategy sets out to coordinate public sector geospatial activity and to “unlock economic, social and environmental value from geospatial data” over the next five years. Key points from the document are that: The Geospatial Commission was established in 2018 to unlock […]

OceanWise Supports the Seabed 2030 project

Did you know that less than 20% of the world’s oceans have been surveyed to modern standards. Crazy really when we compare it to how much we know about the Moon and Mars! The Nippon Foundation’s GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project aims to rectify this. Launched at the United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference in June 2017, it […]

Next ‘Introduction to Data Management’ Course announced

We are running our next Introduction to Data Management Course (Marine) on Tuesday 29th September 2020. This 1-day course is for anyone working in or around the marine industry. The course is presented by world-class tutors and provides insight, knowledge and opportunities to discuss your own data challenges with marine data experts. When: Tuesday 29th […]

Does Data have a Role in Fighting Ocean Plastics?

The negative effects of human activities on our planet are now becoming widely published and better understood. Every day, climate change, habitat destruction and plastic pollution are having a major impact. OceanWise is passionate about marine data! Every day we see the positive effects that data can have on improving awareness, decision making, operations and […]

Has the Marine Geospatial Community Broadened its Knowledge Base in the last 10 years?

John Pepper, Chairman of OceanWise, looks back at the progress made by the marine geospatial community over the last 10 years. Despite early promise, the publication of the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) S-100 Universal Hydrographic Data Model standard has not resulted in the hoped-for adoption of the S-101 specification for Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs), which […]

Climate Change adaption for Ports and Waterways

At Coastal Futures last month John Englander, President of the Rising Seas Institute, who has been closely monitoring the ice sheet in Greenland and the Arctic over the last 20 years, suggests that “we cannot avoid a climate catastrophe the like of which has not been seen for thousands of years”. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel […]

The Cost of Doing ‘Nothing’!

Environmental monitoring is essential to almost all marine and coastal operations, collecting data in real-time, 24 hours a day, transmitting that data and making it available to those who need it most reliably and continuously. The systems that underpin this monitoring comprise a variety of hardware and software components, from the sensors that acquire the […]

In case you missed it – Port-Log was on the BBC!

We were delighted to see our data management platform, Port-Log, featuring so prominently on the BBC programme: ‘What Britain Buys and Sells in a Day’ (Cars). During a discussion with the presenter, Ed Balls, ABP Southampton’s Harbour Master, Phil Buckley, explained why having access to real-time environmental conditions is so important to the port. See […]

Oceanology International 2020 – Come Help Us Make a Splash!

We are making good progress towards Oceanology International which is being held in London at the Excel Centre on the 17-19th of March 2020. We will be showcasing all our products and services, but will have a specific focus on Data Connectivity, Resilience and Integration. We are exhibiting again this year and will be running […]

Trust in Data? OceanWise Workshop

Our popular annual London workshop was held on the 26th of November 2019 at the School of Economic Science. This year’s theme was ‘Trust in Data?’ and was a brilliant day full of interesting talks from 7 great speakers including James Cutler’s Key Note on Open Data, a thought provoking look at data crime and […]

We are now ISO 14001 & 45001 Accredited!

We are delighted to announce that following our ISO 9001:2015 accreditation last year and a lot of hard work and determination, we are now also officially ISO 14001 and 45001 accredited! Caroline Levey, Operations Director at OceanWise, led the developments internally and comments “I am incredibly proud of the team at OceanWise to have created […]

New environmental monitoring system at the Port of Dover

OceanWise has collaborated with Marico Marine on an auspicious project to install a brand-new VTS system at the Port of Dover. The new ‘state of the art’ system (see picture) which is now commissioned and fully operational, has been designed to improve operations, support decision making and enhance efficiencies at the Port. Image source: Dover […]

Do you understand data management?

Do you understand data management and the benefits it can bring to you and your organisation? Are you heading for data atrophy? Not sure? Join our 1-day Introduction to Data Management Course (Marine) on the 24th September 2019 in London Do you or your team need access to reliable, timely data? As data volumes and […]

Cross-Port Benefits of Geospatial Technology

In this article OceanWise Managing Director, Mike Osborne explores the advantages of modern Geographic Information Systems (GIS) systems and how their benefits are wide reaching being no longer restricted to just one or two ‘experts’ in a port. Ports making smarter use of GIS digital platforms to store information about land and assets are benefiting […]

Our Scottish Marine Data Workshop – A Great Success!

We ran another of our popular free-to-attend Marine Data Workshops on 25th April 2019 at The Royal Society of Edinburgh. Speaking to a full house of over 40 delegates, we enjoyed presentations from the British Ports Association (BPA), Marine Scotland, thinkWhere, Ordnance Survey, University of Glasgow and EDINA. The informative programme covered a wide range […]

Successful Factory Acceptance Test for the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority

We welcomed two team members from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to our offices in Alton recently to carry out the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) on the environmental monitoring system which we will be installing at the Ports of Tema and Takoradi in Ghana in the coming few months. Image source https://www.ghanaports.gov.gh/ Over […]

OceanWise expert contributor: 1st meeting of UN Working Group on Marine Geospatial Information (UN-WGMGI)

As part of our ongoing commitment to be at the forefront of marine geospatial data developments, OceanWise is proud to be an expert contributor to the UN-GGIM Working Group on Marine Geospatial Information (UN-WGMGI). The group met in Busan, South Korea, recently, following related meetings of the Open Geospatial Consortium’s Marine Domain Working Group and […]

In this time of unprecedented change – Do you want to know how to unlock the potential of your data?

Join our next 1-day Marine Data Management Training Course on the 6th June 2019 Do you or your team need access to reliable, timely data? As data volumes and complexity increases, it’s never been more important to manage your data. Our Marine Data Management Training Course is designed specifically for professionals at all levels who […]

Mind the ‘Change’ Gap!

John Pepper outlined the opportunities and challenges presented by The Fourth Industrial Revolution in our last newsletter. In part 2 of his article below, John examines how ready and able we are to embrace ‘change’ at both an organisational and personal level to meet the challenges posed by this revolution. What constitutes ‘Change’? Change means, […]

You had your say – Thank you!

During the last quarter of 2018, OceanWise commissioned an external Marketing Agency to conduct a feedback survey for us. This forms part of our ongoing commitment to continuously review and improve our products and services. We received a great response and some excellent feedback! Firstly we would like to say a huge thank you to […]

Pilots view Port-Log tide and weather data on Safe Pilot PPU

ABP Southampton, Trelleborg and OceanWise have collaborated to allow pilots to view important real-time tide and weather data from ABP’s Port-Log system on their ‘Safe Pilot’ PPU’s. Robust data management and data sharing is at the heart of what we do and we are constantly looking for ways that we can support port operations. Port-Log […]

Data transmission at Ocean Business 2019

It’s about time that data transmission got the attention that it deserves. To address this shortcoming, we will be focusing on this important topic and providing free training and advice on what good telemetry is and why finding a cost-effective, robust and reliable solution assures data storage, delivery and recovery is optimised. If you are […]

Launch of ‘Raster Charts XL Oceans’ imminent!

We are eagerly anticipating the launch of our product extension to Raster Charts XL called Raster Charts XL ‘Oceans’, a global dataset which provides a contextual, authoritative ocean-wide resource ready to be paired with global land mapping of the user’s choice e.g. Open Street Map. The dataset is ideal for use as a familiar global […]

Thank you for your feedback

During the last quarter of 2018, OceanWise commissioned an external marketing agency to conduct a feedback survey for us. This forms part of our ongoing commitment to continuously review and improve our products and services. We received a great response and some excellent feedback! Firstly we would like to say a huge thank to all […]

Join our Free Data Transmission Training at Ocean Business 2019

Transmit your marine data from anywhere to anyone – want to know how? We will be running a free to attend training session on Wednesday 10th April at Ocean Business on “Reliable, smart and secure data transmission”. Often the weak link in any monitoring and data collection system, you will learn why you should care […]

Our Scottish Marine Data Workshop is back!

Thursday April 25th, Edinburgh, EH2 2PQ, 9.30-16.30pm Day includes: ‘Implementing successful change’ training session and speakers from; The British Ports Association (BPA), Marine Scotland, Ordnance Survey, EDINA To register click here Why attend? Hear from industry experts on key developments in Scottish Marine, Geospatial Data and GIS Discuss your own data management and GIS experiences […]

Port-Log evolution continues…

We have further improved the integration of Port-Log by adding an Application Programming Interface (API). As connectivity becomes more and more important and, as the volume and complexity of data increases, businesses are seeking applications and systems that can ‘talk to each other’ to provide integrated solutions. We recognise that connectivity is particularly important for […]

Port-Log at the Port of Dover!

Marico Marine and OceanWise are collaborating on an auspicious project with the Port of Dover which involves installing a new ‘state of the art’ operating environment designed to improve decision making and enhance efficiencies at the Port. Our role in the project is to design, integrate and install a new system which will monitor, manage […]

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) – Change is coming…

John Pepper, Marketing Director at OceanWise, gives us Part 1 of his take on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and subsequent changes ahead for the geospatial industry. Part 2 of the article to come in our next Newsletter, Spring 19. The World Economic Forum stated in 2016 that “the world was standing on the brink of […]

Collateral and Promotional Material Updates

Our promotional videos / brochures are available to support you – we can provide data sticks, pull-ups and printed materials. We also have pens, bags etc available. Should you need help with promotional materials or events, or need support in embedding our resources – please contact katie.eades@oceanwise.eu who will be very happy to help. NEW […]

Other News

We have successfully delivered our Web Map Service to the global logistics services company Elane Inc. See the press release here We have provided mapping data and consultancy to the Blue Marine Foundation’s “Big Marine Data Project”. See our press release here and project details here We are now delivering accurate real-time weather from Calshot […]

News from our Partners

EMODnet launch new Bathymetry data grid – see full press release here EDINA re-launch ‘Digimap’ the online map and data delivery service for Higher and Further Education, see our newsletter article here Valeport launch their new multi-parameter profiler “SWiFTplus”. See product details on their website here Europa Technologies: Europa vector tile service for OS MasterMap. […]

Other Product News

Our Environmental Monitoring System is available as a portable solution and is successfully serving dredgers and yacht clubs! Data Sheet available now: View/download it here NEW Maritime Toolbar Extension – Object Based Image Analysis which drastically reduces the segmentation time for marine images. See full details here Our fully OGC compliant ENC Web Map Service […]

Director’s Statement – “OceanWise goes from strength to strength”

“OceanWise goes from strength to strength with record growth in 2017/18 with our products and services proving very popular in the Government, Port and Offshore sectors. This growth would certainly have been more challenging to achieve if it were not for the role that you play in generating business. With this in mind we have […]

We have received the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Bronze Award

OceanWise is proud to receive the Bronze Award in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS). The scheme has been established to encourage employers to develop and maintain an armed forces-friendly environment and we have been successful in achieving a bronze certification that reflects our attitude and actions towards members of the military, both current and […]

Come and see us at these upcoming events

Speaking slot at Cadcorp Maritime Workshop; 10 Oct, Stevenage BPA Conference; 9-12 Oct 2018, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Marine Data Management Awareness Course with IMarEST; 16 October, London Hydro 18; 30 Oct-2 Nov, Sydney, Australia OI China; 23-25 October, Shanghai (represented by our partner Geo Marine Tech) GeoCom18; 8 November, Royal Geographical Society, London OceanWise Marine Data Management […]

Nathan Barr joins us!

We are really pleased to welcome a new member to our expanding OceanWise team! Nathan started with us in July and is on a year’s placement from his studies at Plymouth University where he is studying for a degree in Geography and Ocean Science. Nathan will be training as a Marine Data Analyst as part […]

Keynote address at HydroSEA 2018

Our MD, Dr Mike Osborne, was invited to present a keynote address at the Hydrography Southeast Asia (HydroSEA) 2018 conference. The presentation focused on ‘Data Management to Hydrography’ and recognised that hydrographers have been managing data for a long time, since the first sounding was taken, or chart compiled, but that recently data management has […]

Environmental Monitoring goes Portable!

Our environmental monitoring system is now available as part of a complete turnkey portable solution. Originally developed for the Royal Yacht Squadron (weather) and UK Dredging (tides), the system has been expanded to include additional sensors, allowing a wide range of environmental data types to be measured from a remote, moving or temporary location and […]

Students benefit from our Marine Mapping via New Online Service

Our intelligent marine mapping data is now accessible to students in Further and Higher Education across the British Isles via ‘Digimap’TM the online map and data delivery service provided by EDINA, based at the University of Edinburgh. EDINA works with data partners such as Ordnance Survey, British Geological Survey, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Getmapping […]

REGISTER NOW for our Marine Data Management and GIS Workshop, 27 November 2018

Keynote: ‘Data as Infrastructure’ by Leigh Dodds, Open Data Institute Other presentations include: The Geospatial Commission – A Road Map for Change? Smart Ports – A Myth or Reality? Vulnerability Mapping in the Caribbean The Impact of GIS in Peel Ports Developments in Environmental Monitoring Where Land and Sea Collide – The Cartographic Challenge Why […]

New Environmental Monitoring System for Harwich Haven

We are delighted to announce that we have been selected to deliver a new environmental monitoring system for Harwich Haven Authority (HHA) which will measure tide, weather and wave conditions at the ports of Harwich and Felixstowe. HHA, a trust port that have been operating for more than 900 years, attract trade from all over […]

Smart Cities but Smart Ports?

The concept of ‘Smart Cities’ has been around for some years and is described as ‘one that makes optimal use of all the interconnected available data and information to better understand and control its operations and optimise the use of limited resources’ (Source: IBM). Now ‘Smart Ports’ are emerging across the world. According to CEO, […]

We are now ISO 9001:2015 Accredited!

We are delighted to announce that we are now officially ISO 9001 accredited. After much hard work from the entire OceanWise team, our Quality Management System (QMS) has been confirmed as meeting the standards of the latest 2015 revision. The International Standards Organisation (ISO) helps businesses to have minimal waste and maximum productivity and sets […]

The Team Go Sailing!

We had a wonderful team building day out on a Sunsail First 40. Departing from Port Solent we sailed over towards Southampton and took in the stunning sights of the Isle of Wight and the south coast. The sun was shining, the waves were calm and the wind was mostly in our favour. All in […]

Well done Will!

OceanWise’s Will Girard, who started with the team in September 2016, has won an award of ‘highly recommended’ at the recent PETA Apprentice of the Year Awards 2018, in recognition of his high standards of achievement, outstanding commitment and excellent progression. Will is pictured here receiving his award from the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth. Will […]

Further success for OceanWise Raster Charts XL

The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is the latest customer to take our Raster Charts Excluding Land (XL) product joining a prestigious list of marine industry organisations, such as Vattenfall, Qatar Petroleum, Scottish Government and the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland. Based on the familiar nautical chart series, Raster Charts […]

Videos for Port-Log and our Data Management Training Course available Online

We are always looking for ways to improve the reach and understanding of our products and services which are often quite technical by nature. Videos are the perfect way of doing this as they allow us to showcase the unique functionality of products/services online – putting the user in the driving seat to access the […]

Join ABP, Peel Ports, Teesport and Portland Port at our Ports and Harbours Workshop on June 12th

‘Data – from Liability to Asset!’ This one-day event which is hosted by OceanWise has been organised specifically for the benefit of Ports and Harbours. It is a practical workshop and designed to support anyone working within a Port or Harbour using marine, environmental and other information and data to support decision making and operations. […]

Supply Contract Award for GIS Marine Data to Scottish Government

We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded the Framework Agreement for the provision of GIS Marine Data to the Scottish Government, for the next four years until 2022. We look forward to continuing our work with this important customer for our Marine Mapping Data products and services including Marine Themes Vector, Marine […]

Data may be the New Oil, but is your ‘Oil’ a Liability or an Asset?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) (also known as machine learning) is becoming a reality, but what does that mean for established businesses and what can they do to benefit from these new emergent technologies? According to a recent article by the Harvard Business Review, when asked, most business leaders answer that ‘data is the new oil’, meaning […]

OceanWise Escape for Some Fun

The OceanWise Team and families had a challenging Christmas event this year with two teams pitched against each other to solve the puzzles and clues in order to ‘escape’ without being caught. Great fun was had with both teams escaping within the 60 minute time limit made all the more competitive with partners being in […]

Raster Charts XL Extended Across Europe

As part of our ongoing commitment to product development, we have recently completed the extended coverage of our Raster Charts XL product across Europe to include France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Available as an OGC compliant Web Map Tile Service (WMTS) it is very easy to add this data to your existing GIS […]

Marketing Appointment

We are delighted to welcome Katie Eades to the OceanWise Team, as our new Marketing Coordinator, expanding our team as part of our continued growth. Katie not only brings a wealth of marketing experience but has extensive reseller channel expertise, which will be invaluable as we expand our Licensed Partnering programme overseas. Katie will be […]

Port-Log Connect showcased at Hydro 17 in Rotterdam

OceanWise exhibited and presented at Hydro 17 ‘Connecting 4D’ conference on 14-16 November on board the SS Rotterdam in Rotterdam Port. We showcased our Environmental Monitoring Data Sharing and Publishing services as well as our GIS productivity software tools developed for ports and harbours, specifically about’ Port-Log Connect’ and how it enables third party devices […]

Port ENCs for Major Ports Group in India

Working with our new Licensed Partner, Elcome Integrated Systems PVT, we have taken source hydrographic data, and combined it with infrastructure and navigation aids data, to create a Port ENC for a river in India which currently doesn’t have any standard ENC coverage. The client supplied data in various formats (AutoCAD DXF, XYZ and Microsoft […]

Licensed Partner Programme Update

We have significantly expanded our new network of Licensed Partners over the last year or so in order to better serve our growing UK and international client base for our products and services. Our latest partners include: Elcome Integrated Systems PVT of Mumbai, providers of land and marine survey services, India EDINA, providers of mapping […]

MEDIN Portal Refresh

The Marine Environmental and Data and Information Network (MEDIN) launched its new portal in December 2017. As well as making the most of latest web technologies, the new look portal allows more advanced searches and enables users to add their own map layers, including OceanWise’s medium scale seabed Digital Elevation Model (DEM) which is provided […]

Leading the Way in Marine and Ocean ICT at Oceanology International 2018

The unfolding revolution in marine and ocean information and communications technology (ICT) is to take ‘pride of place’ at Oceanology International 2018 in London. As a leading provider of marine data solutions, OceanWise will be showcasing the latest technological developments. These include the company’s modernising approach to marine data management, its Smart Telemetry unit, the […]

A CBI Report – From Ostrich to Magpie

A recent CBI report published in Nov 2017 highlighted the fact that the vast majority of UK businesses believe that adopting digital technologies is a crucial driver to achieving greater efficiency, thus facilitating the required productivity gains highlighted by recent government statistics, if individual organisations and the UK are to remain competitive in a global […]

Data Product and Service Developments

We have greatly expanded our Raster Charts XL coverage to Northern Europe including France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Denmark with Sweden to be added in the next few months. Available as Web Map Tile Service (WMTS), it provides wider coverage, ease of access and negates the need to handle local updates, as we will manage […]

Changes to Mapping Data Terms and Conditions

We have made some amendments to our Marine and Coastal Data Standard Terms and Conditions of Licence. We have added new data products, notably our Raster Charts XL Web Map Tile Service and our ENC Web Map Service. We have updated references to our Licensed Partners and clarified that Licensed Partners are able to provide […]

Continuity for SeaZone Licensees

We were sorry to hear the announcement that SeaZone will no longer be selling or renewing licences for HydroSpatial or any of its other marine mapping data. Dr Mike Osborne, Managing Director of OceanWise, who established SeaZone in 2004 commented, “High quality marine spatial mapping data is essential for many businesses and OceanWise would like […]

OceanWise Sponsors Junior Rugby

Our directors are big rugby fans and also like to get involved with supporting the local community where we can. With our office being in Alton we thought it would be great to support the local rugby club (Alton RFC) by supplying sponsored match shirts for the Under 8’s. The shirts made their debut recently […]

Royal Navy of Oman improves its Data Management

OceanWise delivered two training workshops on Data Management and Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure (MSDI) on behalf of the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) and the Oman National Hydrographic Office (ONHO). The workshops, held between 10-14 Sep at the Park Inn hotel, Muscat, examined the development, role and contribution of marine data to the Oman National […]

Tees Bay Pilots Benefit from ENC Writer Extension software

Following on from the successful creation of a high resolution Port Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) for the Tees Bay pilots to safely bring in the Brent Delta Oil Rig topside for decommissioning to the Able Yard, Hartlepool in May 2017, this capability has now been successfully delivered to PD Teesport Harbourmaster’s office. The OceanWise ENC […]

OceanWise Marine Data Management and GIS Workshop takes place on 22 November

OceanWise, supported by the Association for Geographic Information (AGI), hosts its popular annual Data Management & GIS Workshop on Wednesday 22 November 2017, at The School of Economic Science, 11 Mandeville Place, London W1U 3AJ. Our keynote speaker will be Ed Parsons, Chief Technology Officer at Google. This year’s theme is ‘Modernising Our Approach to […]

UN-GGIM 7th Assembly Endorses the Establishment of a Global Working Group on Marine Geospatial Information

The United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) held its 7th Session in New York on 2-4 August with over 400 delegates and observers attending. UN-GGIM overwhelmingly endorsed the creation of a Global Working Group on Marine Geospatial Information in order to better meet three of its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals […]

Port-Log Connect Tide and Weather Data Sharing

A port is a multi-faceted business requiring fit for purpose data and information to be readily available when and where it is required 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Tide and weather data comprising observed, predicted and forecast water levels (tides), wave heights and periods, wind speed and direction, and visibility are all […]

OceanWise expands its Oceanographic expertise

We are pleased to announce that Robert Proctor has joined the team after graduating with a degree in Oceanography from the University of Liverpool. Whilst in Liverpool he took a role at the National Oceanography Centre working for a year in the Marine Physics and Ocean Climate group analysing sea level data. He has joined […]

Marine Mapping Agreement for Northern Ireland

An agreement to provide the Department of Agriculture, Environment, The Agri-Food Biosciences Institute and the Loughs Agency with marine mapping has been won by OceanWise. The award reinforces OceanWise as the primary supplier of marine mapping to both the public and private sectors in the UK. The agreement includes Marine Themes, Marine Themes DEM and […]

Mike Osborne wins AMSI Council Business Person of 2017

We are proud to announce that the 2017 AMSI Council Business Person of the Year has been awarded to our Managing Director, Dr Mike Osborne. The award was presented by Mr Terry Sloane, Chairman of the AMSI Council of the Society of Maritime Industries during the Ocean Business 2017 Gala Dinner in Southampton on 5 […]

Mobile Weather Station for Royal Yacht Squadron

OceanWise has delivered a mobile weather station and online monitoring system to the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes, thus marking a departure from the company’s principal customer base in ports, harbours and marine terminals, oil and gas, and offshore renewable energy. The system will assist RYS Race Officers to determine courses and decide on the position […]

Water Level Monitoring in Dominica

We have supplied and installed a water level monitoring system in Dominica. The project comprised of two coastal sites with potential to extend to a third site at a later date. The data are required to establish a vertical datum for Mean Sea Level (MSL) in the short term and to enable the refinement of […]

Movement of Brent Delta Oil Rig to Hartlepool aided by OceanWise

OceanWise created a high resolution Port Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) for PD Teesport in order for its pilots to safely bring in the Brent Delta Oil Rig topside for decommissioning at the Able Yard in Hartlepool on Tuesday 2 May. The rig weighing 24,200 tonnes was transported from its location in the North Sea to […]

Delivery of Water Monitoring Network to UAE

OceanWise working with its Licensed Partner, Seatronics Group, has recently completed a 3-year project to design, install and deliver a fully operational network of 34 water level and temperature monitoring stations for Bayanat LLC in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The stations are positioned at strategic locations within UAE from the Western Region to the […]

Crowds ‘Flood’ to Ocean Business 2017

We exhibited at Ocean Business 2017 at the National Oceanographic Centre in Southampton on 4-6 April. Foot fall once again exceeded all expectations with over 4000 attendees from 61 countries and we also attracted an large number of enquiries about our products and services on our stand. This show is fast becoming our ‘blue ribbon’ […]

First Session of IHO Assembly Calls for Wider Use of Hydrographic Data

Over 350 people, comprising delegations from 77 International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) Member and Associate Member States, UN bodies, industry partners and associated stakeholders, gathered in Monaco on 24-28 April for the First Session of the IHO Assembly. Much of the focus was on how hydrographic data is managed and shared, and how national Hydrographic Offices […]

Scottish GIS Workshop Success

OceanWise hosted a successful Marine Data Management and GIS Workshop at the Royal Society of Edinburgh on 23 May. Attendees were treated to a great programme covering topical cultural, scientific and technical matters of importance to Scotland including an great presentation about its year of Culture, History and Heritage, delving into the richness of its […]

Why Data Governance – Your Data Does Matter!

We are very good at collecting marine data but not so adept at managing it or realising its value to our business. With data volumes doubling every 1.2 years and 90% of all data existing today having been created in the last 2 years, you would think that data governance would be a priority! Without […]

Product News

The annual update of the Marine Themes Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was completed and delivered to all our Licensed Partners and direct, primarily public sector, licensees in January. Web Services using the DEM were also updated. ‘The DEM includes digital survey data from the UK and other Hydrographic Offices augmented by over 500 paper survey […]

OceanWise in Vancouver!

We recently attended the 8th International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure Working Group (MSDIWG);for which OceanWise provides the Secretariat; which was hosted by the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) part of Fisheries and Oceans Canada at The Metropolitan Hotel, Vancouver, Canada. MSDIWG-8 was attended by 22 participants from 9 countries including expert contributors from […]

Marine Data Management Awareness Course

OceanWise, in co-operation with IMarEST, hosted a one-day Marine Data Management Awareness Course at IMarEST HQ in London on Wednesday 8th February 2017. In a packed programme, sessions on data governance, the data life-cycle, data quality and publishing ensured attendees were better able to appreciate just how important data management now is and how they […]

Data Really Does Matter – The Outcome from our Data Management & GIS Workshop

The outcome of the concluding panel discussion at OceanWise’ 5th annual Marine Data Management and GIS Workshop, held in London on 22nd November, was that ‘data management really does matter’! It was suggested that organisations need to devote more time and effort to this task to ensure their operations remain efficient and competitive in a […]

ABP Group Port-Log Roll Out

We are delighted to announce that Associated British Ports (ABP) has selected Port-Log for its group wide Tide and Weather system. The project has not required any of ABP’s existing sensors to be replaced. A major benefit of Port-Log.net is its ability to accommodate a wide range of sensors from different manufacturers. Consequently, pressing deadlines […]

SWE Pilot Report Published by MEDIN

Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) provides a suite of standards that allows environmental monitoring data to be published in a consistent way over the Internet. SWE was developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and provides a means by which sensors can join the ‘Internet of Things’. In 2016 the Marine Environmental Data and Information Network […]

Smart Operators Don’t Just Monitor It, They Manage It!

Reliable and up-to-date data on water level and weather is critical to most maritime operations. The data is required in real-time in Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) centres, by pilots and onsite superintendents, and as a historical record for reporting and to update tidal predictions. Often though many organisations find that, while their sensors continue to […]

AIS Vessel Tracking coming to Port-Log

As part of our Automatic Identification System (AIS) development strategy, we have been trialling an AIS base station to test the reliability of the vessel track and other information collected. The receiver connects directly to a network and reliably supplies live AIS data via a built-in Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or User Datagram Protocol (UDP) […]

iCoast – The place to go before you visit Dorset’s spectacular coastline

We are co-sponsoring the further development of the iCoast public website in conjunction with the Dorset Coastal Forum. Originally developed as part of an EU project in 2013 with OceanWise’s digital mapping data, elevation model and tidal data at its core, it is now being updated to ensure it is fit for purpose for the […]

Team News

We are pleased to welcome two starters to the OceanWise Team this month, James Rapaport, who joins our Technical Team as Senior Information Systems Developer and, Will Girard, who joins our Customer Service Team as Business Administration Apprentice. James has joined us from Caris, based in New Brunswick, Canada, having previously worked with the OceanWise […]

Data Management & GIS Workshop

We are hosting our free-to-attend Autumn Marine Data Management and GIS Workshop in London on Tuesday 22nd November at the School of Economic Science, 11 Mandeville Place, London W1U 3AJ. The workshop theme: ‘Is poor data management putting your operations at risk’ is timely given the huge increase in the volume of geospatial and business […]

Directional Wave Spectra Presented on Port-Log

Advanced Waves Processing & Display now in Port-Log

Those of you with a keen eye may have noticed new tabs appearing on OceanWise’s Environmental Data Sharing and Publishing platform, Port-Log.net. We have been working hard to improve the way wave data is processed and displayed. New graphics include directional and non-directional wave spectra, as well as time series and tabular displays of key […]

OceanWise data enhances Scottish Government Marine Planning website

Our latest mapping data product, Raster Charts XL (eXcluding Land), has recently been implemented as a background layer within the Scottish Government National Marine Plan interactive (NMPi) website. The NMPi, designed to assist in the development of national and regional marine planning, allows users to examine different types of geographical information online. Links have been […]

OceanWise rigs up to deliver real-time Vessel Tracking Data to Port-Log

We are currently rigging up to process real-time Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel tracking data as part of a commitment to extend the functionality of our Environmental Data Sharing and Publishing platform, Port-Log. The data will be used to further enhance the situational awareness provided by the Port-Log interactive map. As part of a pilot […]

Improving Data Management Guidance for the International Marine Community

In our role as expert contributor and provider of the Secretariat to the International Hydrographic Organisation’s (IHO’s) Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure (MSDI) Working Group, OceanWise has been leading the revision of the IHO Publication “C-17: Spatial Data Infrastructures – The Marine Dimension”. The revised document has now been submitted for approval at the IHO 8th […]

Peel Ports trust OceanWise for New Tide and Weather Data System

Peel Ports has chosen Port-Log, our cloud based Environmental Data Management and Publishing platform, to store and disseminate tide gauge and weather station data across all its ports. Port-Log will acquire data from Peel’s existing network of sensors, using the ip.buffer Smart Telemetry unit. The system also has the capacity to add new types of […]

Why aren’t more Ports producing their own Electronic Navigational Charts?

Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) are produced by national Hydrographic Offices (HOs) and distributed directly to users, via regional centres and via value added resellers. Naturally, the range of ENCs available includes the approaches to major ports and harbours, the harbours themselves and sometimes larger scale ENCs of individual berths. These ‘official’ ENCs contain data that […]