The 7th International Underwater Operations & Offshore Industry Expo Opens in Xiamen
The 7th International Underwater Operations and Offshore Industry Expo (UO Expo 2024) jointly hosted by the China Diving and Salvage Association (CDSA), International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) and Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) kicked off on November 8 at the Xiamen International Convention and Exhibition Center.
Themed at “New Quality Productive Forces for High Quality of the Marine Economy,” the three-day event houses an exhibition area of 20,000 square meters to showcase China's new productive forces in diving, salvage and offshore engineering industry, attracting over 300 exhibitors, including China National Offshore Oil Corporation, China State Shipbuilding Corporation, China Communications Construction Company Ltd., China Huadian Corporation, and their subsidiaries, as well as China rescue and salvage system, domestic and foreign maritime universities, research institutions, manufacturers of diving salvage and offshore engineering equipment, and engineering contractors. It features over 7,000 exhibits and services displayed in 12 high-tech exhibition zones, including offshore vessels, rescue vessels, government vessels, diving equipment, offshore renewable energy equipment, marine exploration and surveying equipment, emergency rescue equipment, marine integrated services, maritime aircraft, fisheries, and municipal engineering diving equipment. Over 50 world-leading technological achievements from China, such as the “Deepsea No. 1” energy station, “Anemone-1,” “Deep-Sea Floating Wind Power Platform,” clustered installation vessels for submerged tunnel segments, the “Zhenhua 30,” a 12,000-tonne offshore crane vessel, a 3,000-meter water depth multi-functional pipelaying vessel, a 6,000-meter water depth survey vessel, and an 80,000-tonne semi-submersible salvage vessel, demonstrate the new productive forces in China's diving, salvage and offshore engineering industry are showcased.
Apart from showcasing more than 7,000 exhibits and services, the exhibition also includes one exhibition, two investment promotion meetings, and three forums and seminars, aiming to enhance the new productive forces of China's diving salvage and offshore engineering industry in serving global underwater operations, offshore equipment manufacturing, emergency rescue, and other fields, and promote government-enterprise, school-enterprise cooperation and the integrated development of industry-university-research-application within the industry.
In the afternoon of the opening day, the 9th International Forum on Diving, Salvage and Offshore Engineering Technology was held, attracting nearly 300 participants, including about 40 overseas delegates from 15 international organizations and overseas institutions. The exhibition and keynote speeches serve as platforms for high-level professional exchanges and dialogues between China and foreign countries, promoting the development of new productive forces in the marine economy and enhancing the industry's high-level opening-up and international cooperation. A total of 10 experts and representatives from home and abroad delivered keynote speeches at the forum.
The forum was highlighted by the singing of the cooperation MOU among CDSA, IMCA and ADCI. “It is of great significance that China's industry association has jointly hosted the offshore engineering equipment exhibition and forum with the two major international maritime organizations, which is a unique case in China,” said CDSA President Song Jiahui, reiterating that CDSA will continue actively playing its role as a bridge and window for communication, fulfilling its objective of “three services” by continuously enhancing the level of opening-up and external cooperation.
The forum is also characterized by high-level and international academic exchanges. Among the ten keynote speakers, there are not only representatives from important domestic professional institutions such as academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and leaders of National Fire and Rescue Administration, but also seven speakers from the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), the Association and the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI), the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) regional representatives, Equatorial Training Marine Services in Uganda and related overseas institutions and enterprises.
Since its inception in 2014, the International Forum on Diving, Salvage and Offshore Engineering Technology has become a leading industry event in China for its international features, high-profiled positioning and forward-looking vision, providing an excellent platform for strengthening the exchange and promotion of cutting-edge technological achievements in international diving, salvage and offshore engineering.