OceanX and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently forged a formal agreement to advance cutting-edge ocean exploration and scientific research that increases public understanding of the importance and value of the ocean.
Through a new memorandum of understanding, NOAA scientists will advise and join OceanX on missions aboard specially designed high-tech OceanX vessels to advance their shared goals to explore and characterize the deep ocean.
According to retired Navy Rear Admiral and Deputy NOAA Administrator Tim Gallaudet:
“We are living in a new age of ocean discovery with today’s ocean explorers working together to better understand the vast mysteries of the global ocean. NOAA is forging new partnerships such as the one with OceanX to accelerate our mission to explore and characterize the ocean, understand its key role in regulating our weather and climate, and sustainably manage and use its valuable resources to power the American Blue Economy.”
NOAA’s memorandum of understanding with OceanX is another example of the federal agency’s increased effort to create partnerships that help NOAA advance ocean science and new technology, fully map the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and strengthen the American Blue Economy, which includes maritime commerce, domestic seafood production, healthy and sustainable fisheries, coastal resilience, energy production, tourism and recreation, environmental protection, and national security.
Vincent Pieribone, Vice Chairman and Chief Scientist at OceanX, said:
“We are thrilled to partner with NOAA, our nation’s leading science agency, and can think of no more important partner to support our core mission at OceanX, which is to create a global community that is engaged with understanding, enjoying, and protecting our oceans. We are looking forward to combining the efforts of NOAA’s world-class ocean scientists and OceanX’s science, technology, and media teams to produce critical scientific research and impactful ocean media.”
The collaboration will support the recent Presidential Memorandum on Ocean Mapping in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and Shoreline and Near Shore of Alaska and the goals announced at the November 2019 White House Summit on Partnerships in Ocean Science and Technology.
