The UK’s National Oceanography Centre sent a delegation to HCM City for the international maritime exhibition INMEX Vietnam which ended on March 31.

The visitors, marine scientists and executives, had a booth at the three-day expo and organised seminars and networking sessions.

“This is the first time that NOC has come to Southeast Asia with such a delegation,” Kevin Forshaw, NOC’s associate director for innovation and enterprise, said.

“NOC collaborates extensively with industry, transferring its knowledge and developed technology to improve business operations and help drive innovation for new product development.

“Key themes within the NOC’s global partnerships programme will be to promote resilience to climate change, food and energy security, Blue Economies and innovation in marine technology.”

NOC is home to Europe’s largest fleet of autonomous and robotic vehicles and also manages two state-of-the-art scientific research vessels.

Viet Nam’s maritime industry has tremendous potential as many experts acknowledge.

It has a favourable geographical location, with 3,200 kilometres of coast, 127 ports, 1,900 kilometres of navigable inland waterways, and proximity to major international maritime routes.

With the Government’s support and private investments, the maritime industry is set to develop and grow rapidly, according to experts. — VNS