The theme of the Masterclass of Thursday 23 February centered around Our Oceans Challenge, a crowdsourcing initiative of a number of leading Dutch maritime and offshore companies and knowledge partners. The aim is to generate as much as feasible ideas towards five major challenges. In two sequential masterclasses, approximately 100 students and young professionals of Rotterdam Mainport University, Netherlands Maritime University and YoungShip Rotterdam engaged in brainstorm sessions leading to concrete ideas. All of these activities were then posted on the online crowdsourcing platform. World oceans cover roughly 70% of planet and provide thè source of live on Earth. Following the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) the seabed area and its mineral resources are declared as the heritage of mankind. Despite or maybe because of the common right of access to the sea and its resources, our oceans are under pressure. Ecosystems are slow to recover because of exploitation from activities onshore, offshore or from relentless fishery. And yet, it provides for millions and millions of people’s quality of life, employment and existence. Our Oceans Challenge (OOC) believes that despite the challenges, there are opportunities to balance ocean protection with the responsible use and exploitation of ocean space and resources. OOC calls upon the industry to show its responsibility and time to generate breakthrough ideas. The aim is to accelerate innovative and sustainable ideas into viable business. As an introduction Dr Luc Cuyvers - with his passion for the sea and track record as a documentary maker, author and ocean and marine researcher – provided the audience with an anthology of the issues that he has witnessed in the past 35 to 40 years in his career. Subsequently to Cuyvers’ introduction presentation, Mattijs Bolk, one of the driving forces behind OOC explained how this crowdsourcing initiative started. The ambition is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Living Oceans. Heerema Contractors took this open innovation initiative last year and this year invited other offshore contractors, knowledge partners and launch partners to join. The biggest challenge for the industry is to develop sustainable business models. With these challenges students and young maritime professionals went along and engaged in creative brainstorming process, facilitated by people from Our Oceans Challenge. The workshop outputs consisted of various rough ideas that were immediately posted on the OOC open innovation platform. Good ideas are taken further in this platform, enriched with the expertise, insights and thoughts of other industry specialists. From the current 111 ideas, the best ideas will be taken into the development phase, and accelerate into ready-to-use business solutions. All students who are active on the platform will be able to follow how these ideas find its ways to a sustainable offshore industry.

1. Masterclass, 23 February 2017
Our Oceans Challenge

2. Platform for knowledge exchange between
education, business community and
associations of young port professionals
Master Class offered to you by:
#oceanschallenge

3. Our oceans Challenge
The theme of the Masterclass of Thursday 23 February centered
around Our Oceans Challenge, a crowdsourcing initiative of a number
of leading Dutch maritime and offshore companies and knowledge
partners. The aim is to generate as much as feasible ideas towards five
major challenges.
In two sequential masterclasses, approximately 100 students and young
professionals of Rotterdam Mainport University, Netherlands Maritime
University and YoungShip Rotterdam engaged in brainstorm sessions
leading to concrete ideas. All of these activities were then posted on
the online crowdsourcing platform.

4. Maurice Jansen
Senior Manager Innovation, Research & Development,
STC-Group
Moderator
Luc Cuyvers
Executive documentary producer
Senior lecturer Ocean Management and Marine Policies
at Netherlands Maritime University
Key note speaker
Mattijs Bolk
Innovation Engineer at Heerema Marine Contractors
Facilitator Ideation workshop ‘Our Oceans Challenge’

5. Join us in developing the Next Generation of
Young Maritime Professionals!
#oceanschallenge

6. What’s in it for you?
Develop your idea into a start-up with professional help from
the offshore industry
#oceanschallenge

7. Accelerate innovative and
sustainable ideas
World oceans cover roughly 70% of planet and provide thè source of
live on Earth. Following the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS) the seabed area and its mineral resources are declared
as the heritage of mankind. Despite or maybe because of the common
right of access to the sea and its resources, our oceans are under
pressure. Ecosystems are slow to recover because of exploitation from
activities onshore, offshore or from relentless fishery. And yet, it
provides for millions and millions of people’s quality of life,
employment and existence.
Our Oceans Challenge (OOC) believes that despite the challenges,
there are opportunities to balance ocean protection with the
responsible use and exploitation of ocean space and resources. OOC
calls upon the industry to show its responsibility and time to generate
breakthrough ideas. The aim is to accelerate innovative and sustainable
ideas into viable business.

8. Introduction by Luc Cuyvers

9. Degradation of fishing populations
• As an introduction Dr Luc Cuyvers - with his passion for the sea and
track record as a documentary maker, author and ocean and
marine researcher – provided the audience with an anthology of
the issues that he has witnessed in the past 35 to 40 years in his
career.
• He started with the issue of overfishing that often resulted in
conflicts and even wars over fishing grounds in national and
international waters and still does. “We have failed to implement a
rather simple solution: catch less fish or even to give fish populations
time to recover” says Cuyvers. He admits that such simple solutions
are difficult to get done as local communities, often in remote areas
depend on it. One conclusion will stand: the speed of degradation
of fishing populations will eventually have an impact on these
communities sooner rather than later.

10. Deep sea mining
• A second dilemma considers deep sea mining. With impressive photos and
authored press clippings of manganese nodules on the seabed, submarine
habitats and so-called black smokers, Cuyvers pictured the potential of
deep sea mining. Because most of the audience never heard of ‘black
smokers’, he explained that these chimney-like structures rise up from
volcanically active places where hydrothermal vents bring boiling water
(up to 400o Celsius) into the ocean.
• Minerals such as copper, zinc, iron, cobalt and rare earth metals that
come along with the thermal heated water are deposited and precipitate
(fall down) in the chimney gaps. In close vicinity unique deep sea
biological communities exist from these hydrothermal vents. Harvesting
these minerals from the seabed may be very lucrative but is still highly
controversial as the consequences are yet largely unknown. Again,
industry experts would say what is new about all this.
• This dilemma has emerged from the archives because of technological
progress which brings deep sea mining within reach, literally.

11. Alternative energy generation at sea
• To answer the question who the right has to exploit the seabed, there is
the International Seabed Authority (ISA). This authority regulates
prospecting, exploration and exploitation of marine minerals in the
seabed Area in the so-called Mining Code. However, some countries are
much more advance in making national legislations that allow businesses
to proceed with exploration while other countries are not that far, such as
The Netherlands. As such there is not a level playing field for deep sea
mining.
• A third illustration concerned Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), a
sustainable ‘zero effect’ alternative to energy generation at sea. For
decades oil and gas companies have been exploring for these minerals at
even deeper offshore locations, whereas the oceans can also be used to
harvest solar energy – it is the largest solar energy collector in the world
– and thermal energy, using the large difference in temperatures
between warm surface water and cold deep sea water. In addition, poles
of decommissioned platforms can be reused to build energy parks on top.
Nothing news under the sun, but still very much undiscovered by the
conventional offshore industry.

12. Proactive response to seek zero effect
business models
• Other challenges exist with regards to surface water pollution, that raised
public interest from the Ocean Clean Up, the Plastic Soup Foundation in
recent years. In effect, plastic has now replaced thin films of oil that used
to be visible on the surface of busy maritime trade routes.
• With this anthology, Cuyvers emphasised that there is a high sense of
urgency to do it radically different. The young maritime generation will
have to do it different, embrace sustainable business from the start,
embed the sustainable development goal of Living Oceans into the
equation. Initiatives of Our Oceans Challenge take a proactive approach
which is more than welcome in the rather conventional offshore industry.
Disasters in recent past such as with the Deep Sea Water Horizon cause
tremendous societal unrest, that colour the public opinion for years to
come. Cuyvers emphasized that both governments, as well as businesses
as well as citizens will have to take responsibility. Governments to
determine strong mandates and law enforcement, businesses to
proactively seek for ‘zero effect’ business models and citizens to act as
responsible consumers with minimal footprint, for the sake of their own
children and children’s children.

13. OUR OCEAN CHALLENGE
23 February 2017

14. YOUR OCEAN CHALLENGE

46. INNOVATIVE
ZERO EFFECT
SUSTAINABLE

51. VISIBILITY
PUBLIC OUTCRY
PERCEPTION
NUMBERS
STRONG MANDATE
ENFORCEMENT

58. VISIBILITY
PUBLIC OUTCRY
PERCEPTION
NUMBERS
STRONG MANDATE
ENFORCEMENT

67. www.worldoceanreview.com

68. www.seafever.info

69. Mattijs Bolk facilitates workshop

70. Introduction to Our Oceans Challenge
• Subsequently to Cuyvers’ presentation, Mattijs Bolk, one of the driving
forces behind OOC explained how this crowdsourcing initiative
started. The ambition is in line with the Sustainable Development
Goals, especially Living Oceans. Heerema Contractors took this open
innovation initiative last year and this year invited other offshore
contractors, knowledge partners and launch partners to join.
• The biggest challenge for the industry is to develop sustainable
business models.
• In order to further elaborate on these challenges, Our Oceans
Challenge described five challenges: noise mitigation, waste, ocean
resources, sustainable legacy and big data

71. Challenge: Noise mitigation
Challenges exist in the areas of:
Noise mitigation:
• Noise travels faster and further in the Ocean than it does onland,
however this effect is often underestimated, because the impact of
sounds created offshore are not experience in the same magnitude by
mankind, but the effect of underwater noise pollution is more painful
than anything else for the animals. Construction projects, liner vessels and
offshore structure produce a lot of noise. At his moment noise mitigation
solutions are being developed but very expensive. The challenge is to
think of new innovative solutions to minimize noise impact of operations
at sea.

72. Challenge: Waste
• The beauty of the ocean is also its biggest enemy. It so extensive that the
various types of waste and their magnitude is not visible to the public.
For the same reason there is no true owner of this problem. Plastic waste
is now on our radar but other types of ocean waste and their magnitude
are still not fully identified or recognized, such as Cow emission, exhaust
gasses, particle matter, heat and other forms of waste (e.g. open
sewers). In addition, when companies do want to make a change the
majority of the waste management actions cost money and is fully on
their expense. On the contrary when looking to waste as a source that
can be utilized, it creates new value. The industry and the oceans itself
can benefit from this vision and resulting solutions of turning offshore
waste into a valuable source. OOC challenge is to think about various
types of ocean waste and how they can be re-used in a different
manner to avoid the ocean environment to be exposed to true waste.

73. Challenge: Ocean resources
• The ocean is vital for life. The health of the ocean is essential to sustain
life on Earth. The ocean is an abundant source of energy: tides, currents,
waves, swells, salt content, thermal energy conversion. At the same time,
there is a limitation what mankind can take from the oceans and give
back in terms of pollutants, CO2 absorption (leading to acidification).
OOC challenges you to think of innovative new ways in which the Ocean
Resources can be exploited whilst creating a win-win situation for both
the ocean marine life and humanity. In short: Help us exploit the Ocean
Resources, whilst benefiting our society and the Oceans?

74. Challenge: Sustainable legacy
• Over the last 60 years the ocean industry has grown into one of the
largest industries on Earth. The industry’s assets encounter the most
severe environmental conditions on the planet and tremendous amounts
of capital have been invested to ensure all operations are performed in
a safe and responsible manner. The number and variety of offshore
structures reaching the end of their original scope is large and growing
every year. A single answer on extending their current scope, utilization
for a different purpose or how to decommission them is not straight
forward. OOC challenges you to think about how the footprint of the
existing infrastructure can be decreased, as well as to think about what
we can do with assets after their initial operational scopes are fulfilled.
Can we re-use an old oil-rig, or even an abandoned wind-turbine mono-
pile in a creative and sustainable way? In short: How can you add value
by (re-)using offshore structures?

75. Challenge: Big Data
• The offshore in general has not been very receptive to new, unproven
technologies. Conservatism prevailed due to the high risks involved,
safety of life at sea and therefore the demand for proven technologies.
However the recent slump in oil prices which lasted too long was a
wake-up call that costs savings may also come from more open, new
technologies, such as big data. At the same time, transmission costs of
data on open sea via satellites are dropping dramatically and open up
opportunities. OOC challenges you to think of combining existing data
sources to gain new insights in the maritime industry. We aim to embrace
new technological opportunities and strive to implement Big Data usage
in our industry. In short: How can the power of big data contribute to a
sustainable offshore industry?

76. Our Oceans
Challenge

77. https://youtu.be/MdFjXIbGmKo

78. A Sustainable Offshore Industry
Through Collaboration:
Industry
Partners
Launch
Partners
Knowledge
Partners

79. OOC Challenges
1000 Ideas, 100 Solutions, 10 Business Concepts
Ocean
Resources
Sustainable
Legacy
Noise
Reduction
Waste
Management
Big
Data

80. Ideation Workshop
Generate Ideas
Groups of 5
Post online!
Questions?

81. Platform is Live
25+ Partners
500+ Users
90 Ideas
500 Enrichments (5,5 per idea)
3 weeks left

82. What’s next?
30th of March
March April May June
15th of June
3rd of March: Drinks @ NRC!
Development Phase

83. Impression Ideation workshop

84. Impression Masterclass and workshop

85. Ideas on open innovation platform
• With these challenges students and young maritime professionals went
along and engaged in creative brainstorming process, facilitated by
people from Our Oceans Challenge.
• The output of the workshops were 9 rough ideas that were immediately
posted on the OOC open innovation platform. Good ideas are taken
further in this platform, enriched with the expertise, insights and thoughts
of other industry specialists who have committed to provide their quality
input to the ideas.
• From the total of 111 ideas on the platform (dated 3 March 2017), the
best ideas will be taken into the development phase, where the best
ideas will accelerate into ready-to-use business solutions.
• All students who are active on the platform will be approached pro-
actively to follow how these ideas find its ways to a sustainable offshore
industry.

86. Work-in-progress

87. Impression Ideation workshop

88. full speed ahead… with your career!
For more information on the masterclasses, please contact
Maurice Jansen, STC-Group,
m.jansen@stc-r.nl / +31 6 20283925