World Ocean Council (WOC) News
The World Ocean Council (WOC) is pleased to announce the expansion of its SMART Ocean-SMART Industries (SO-SI) Programme through the appointment of a Programme Manager, with support provided by Singapore-based Swire Shipping Pte. Ltd. Mr. William (Bill) Staby, as Programme Manager at the World Ocean Council (WOC), will lead the SO-SI Programme to organise industry/science partnerships and promote data collection by ships, platforms and other offshore infrastructure, which can be used to host or...
In close coordination with the UfM EU (DG MARE) and Jordan Co-Presidency, on March 28, 2023, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the World Ocean Council (WOC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at UfM Headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, in the framework of the 2021 UfM Ministerial Declaration on Sustainable Blue Economy and Roadmap for its implementation, and of the WestMED Initiative, supported by the UfM and by the European Commission. Based on the experience with sea basin and ma...
The world’s governments have finalised an historic agreement on protecting marine biodiversity in international waters — the treaty on Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) — after nearly 10 years of negotiations. New U.N. High Seas Treaty The new U.N. High Seas Treaty, as it is now known, covers the two-thirds of the ocean that lies outside national boundaries — nearly 50% of the planet’s surface. The treaty provides a legal framework for est...
The World Ocean Council (WOC) is proud to welcome MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) as its newest member. MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is a globally renowned company in transportation and logistics, privately owned and founded in 1970 by Gianluigi Aponte. As one of the world’s major container shipping lines, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company operates 675 offices across 155 countries worldwide, with over 80,000 employees. MSC joins WOC as new member MSC’s shipping lin...
The World Ocean Council will host a side event during the United Nations Ocean Conference on June 27-July 1 in Lisbon, Portugal. Building the Supply, Demand, Marketplace, and Monitoring for Ocean Carbon Sequestration takes place on 30 June, 1:45-2:45 pm | One Sustainable Ocean Pavilion, Ocean Stage. Ocean and coastal ecosystems are, by far, the largest carbon sinks on Earth — they offer the best nature-based solutions for enhanced gigaton-scale carbon sequestration. In order to realize th...
The World Ocean Council (WOC), the City of Barcelona and the Port of Barcelona are partnering to develop the leading global hub for the Blue Economy, which will now include the headquarters for WOC, the global Blue Economy Business and Investment Organization. The World Ocean Council’s events and activities will complement the Blue Economy efforts in Barcelona, Spain and its port, as well as strengthen the city’s leadership commitments. WOC’s Blue Economy events To celebrate...
The 12 talks take place in the Blue Economy Hall at Nor-Shipping’s Lillestrøm exhibition facilities, with hour-long sessions focusing on future strategies, solutions, and building partnerships capable of delivering sustainable ocean success. Nor-Shipping Director Sidsel Norvik says the programme offers ‘an unmissable opportunity’ to see ‘an industry A-list debating how to transform ocean ambition into reality.’ Nor-Shipping 2022 runs in Oslo and Lillestr&osl...
What is the ocean’s role in the low-carbon future? The World Ocean Council’s (WCO) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Paul Holthus discussed the confluence of energy, climate and biodiversity in the oceans, at the 4th edition of the Transition Forum (2021 Transition Forum). Transition Forum The Transition Forum partner event brings together the public and private sectors, in order to speed the global transition to a low-carbon future.
The ocean covers 71% of the Earth’s surface, hosts a major portion of the planet’s biodiversity, provides the world with food, energy, transport, and recreation, as well as playing a vital role in regulating the water and carbon cycles, while producing half the oxygen we breathe. ‘Blue economy’ The global ‘blue economy’ contributes US$ 2.5 trillion a year in economic output (equivalent to world’s seventh-largest by GDP) and is expected to expand at twi...
The World Ocean Council (WOC) is thrilled to partner with the US$ 100 million XPRIZE Carbon Removal team, on a webinar for ocean entrepreneurs. Funded by the Musk Foundation, the XPRIZE Carbon Removal Prize is a global US$ 100-million competition, aimed at tackling the biggest threat facing humanity - fighting climate change and rebalancing Earth’s carbon cycle. XPRIZE WOC Webinar on Ocean CO2 Removal The XPRIZE WOC Webinar on Ocean CO2 Removal will brief participants on the US$ 100 mil...
Many shipping companies already have the tools needed to be a part of the solution for sustainable ocean use. The Seabed 2030 project aims to create a complete map of the world ocean floor by 2030, using equipment commonly available on marine vessels. WOC’s Seabed 2030 As a core partner of Seabed 2030, the World Ocean Council (WOC) is hosting workshops about the project, which aligns with the WOC’s SMART Ocean-SMART Industries (SO-SI) programme. SO-SI’s mission is to ensure i...
World Ocean Council has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Green Marine, formalising an already strong working relationship between the organisations and their complementary efforts on industry environmental sustainability and ocean health. The MoU serves as a framework for collaboration on the shared objective of catalysing improved environmental performance in the maritime industry. Business leadership alliance “WOC’s mission as the global business leadership allian...
A raft of respected business leaders, ocean experts and key industry stakeholders have been revealed, as participants in the unique Blue Talks programme at the Nor-Shipping 2022 exhibition. Nor-Shipping 2022 Scheduled to take place from April 4 to April 7, 2022, the Blue Talks at Nor-Shipping 2022 event will complement Nor-Shipping’s main theme of taking positive #ACTION within the ocean space, with hour-long sessions dedicated to the future strategies, solutions and technologies capable...