If you’re really into underwater exploration — be it of reefs, shipwrecks or anything else marine-related, the Boston Sea Rovers’ annual International Ocean Symposium and Film Festival should definitely be on your bucket list of events to attend.
The volunteer-run event took place this past weekend at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Boston North Shore, and featured a whole bunch of sessions on Saturday and Sunday covering shipwrecks including the Andrea Doria, as well as coral reefs, dive safety, caves and mines, and more.
The film festival showed off some amazing underwater footage.
- Howard and Michelle Hall showcased an excerpt from their film “Dark Waters” and talked about some upcoming projects, including “The Ocean at Night” and another film with the working title of “Spaghetti.”
- Jeff Hester shared scenes from his BBC documentary “Parenthood,” while Annie Crawley highlighted a portion of her film “The Island of the Shark: Guardians of Malpelo.”
- David Herasimtschuk talked about his love of rivers and the slimy and scaly critters that inhabit them along with his passion for conserving them.
- Erick Higuera talked about his project “The Cultural Apex: Science And Storytelling” and shared scenes of orcas chasing and eating Mobula rays and dolphins.
- Cristian Dimitrius, the 2024 recipient of the Boston Sea Rovers’ Walter Feinberg Diver of the Year Award, accompanied footage of diving beneath the ice with live music.
This year’s conference had a tinge of sadness, in that the 2026 Diver of the Year Award was awarded posthumously to Joe Mazraani, who died on July 29, 2025 during a shipwreck dive on the eastern edge of George Bank.
The event featured a shipwreck exhibit in memory of Mazraani which also commemorated the 70th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Andrea Doria, one of the most iconic shipwrecks in North Atlantic diving history.
Additionally, one of the weekend’s many sessions included Jennifer Sellitti, Mazraani’s partner in life and at sea, giving a talk about “Finding Closure: Discovery of the WW1-Era Steam Trawler Seiner” which went into detail about the team led by her and Mazraani that found the wreck site in 2022 and confirmed its identification only days before Mazraani passed away.
Public announcement of the discovery led to communication between the team and the descendants of John Hann, a fisherman lost aboard Seiner. Hann’s loss had haunted the family for nearly 100 years, especially his son Joseph. Both the discovery team and Hann’s family found closure and healing through their meeting and this historic discovery.
The symposium also featured a bunch of Family Day Activities along with a “Careers in the Marine Sector (COMS)” Career Fair and an interactive “Aquatic Origami” exhibit.
Attendees also got the chance to learn about octopus sex, the workings of the submersible Alvin, transforming the ocean liner SS United States into the world’s largest artificial reef, and more.
Next year’s symposium is scheduled for March 13-14, 2027. For more info, go to bostonsearovers.com.
