SJJ s>ciety for n"derwater Technology nnUaI￿ep0rt ---•023.?024 Society for Underwater Technology ## Contents - 3 President’s Foreword - 5 Officers and Council 2023-2024 | SUT Staff - 6 Awards 2023-2024 - 8 Council’s Summary of Activity 2023-2024 - 10 Chair’s Report ## Branch Reports - 14 Aberdeen - 16 Australia Perth - 29 Brazil - 32 China - 34 Eastern Mediterranean - 35 London and South of England - 37 Malaysia - KL - 38 Middle East - 39 North of England - 41 Norway - 42 Singapore - 44 US Reports from Committees of Council and Special Interest Groups - 60 Education - 62 Educational Support Fund Management - 63 International Training - 64 International - 65 Policy Advisory - 66 Diving and Crewed Submersibles - 67 Environmental Forces - 68 Marine Environmental Science - 69 Marine Renewable Energies - 70 Offshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics - 72 Salvage and Decommissioning - 74 International Underwater Vehicles and Robotics Group - 75 Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) www.sut.org 2 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## President’s Foreword ecember 2024 marks the end of my first year as President of the SUT. As a newcomer I’ve enjoyed a world of discovery working with SUT Council, D staff, Branches and Special Interest Groups, learning about the wide range of activities organised and supported by the Society. Alongside the busy programme of activities, I’ve also been seeing how the SUT works with other industry bodies, the number, scope of expertise and interests of the Society’s many much-valued volunteers, and have seen through SUT’s digital publiation _Big Blue World_ and the _Underwater Technology Podcast_ just how diverse – and expert – our members are. Meeting members, and particularly those who volunteer with the SUT, I frequently ask, ‘Why are you a member of a Branch or Special Interest Group?’ The responses are about sharing knowledge, learning, educating, giving back to industry colleagues, and opportunities to network with others in their disciplines and regions. There are also frequent mentions of the community of underwater professionals, a place to talk about technology, science, engineering challenges, the opportunities for innovation, and the skills gaps that we’ll need to fill to meet the needs of a very different future to what we’ve all been used to up to now. **President: Benj Sykes** As a learned society it can be difficult to articulate the value proposition of membership in the SUT to those who are used to working with trade associations and professional bodies. Education, training, the multi-disciplinary community that comprises the SUT providing access to training from industry experts, sharing expertise and best practice, technical evenings – just some of the ways in which I see the Society delivering value for its members. And there’s great power in being ‘one SUT’ – whilst some of our members bay only be involved in one Branch of Interest Group, we’re all members of the same, global Society and have access to the whole of SUT, no matter where you’re based. During the 2023-2024 year the calendar has been full of events in-person and online, training courses, conferences and exhibitions where members have come together to talk about technical challenges, innovations, ocean careers, marine science and more as well as networking meet-ups, pub quizzes and social events. The SUT’s largest event, the OSIG 2023 conference was a sold-out event with 600 international delegates, more than 250 presentations over three days producing a threevolume set of proceedings and a surplus in our 2023-2024 budget which will fund new initiatives and developments for the SUT. My congratulations to the conference committee including the Chair, Toby Powell, Finance and Sponsorship, Mick Cook, Secretary, Peter Allan, and all of those on the technical committee who contributed hours of their time to deliver this world-class conference. I would also like to thank all the conference sponsors whose support for the OSIG conference provided delegate places for students, student helpers for the conference and travel and financial awards to the student Poster finalists from the USA, Australia and the UK. Professor Richard Jardine delivered an informative and engaging McClelland Lecture _**(Click here to watch the lecture)**_ . Proceedings from the conference are available to view online in case you missed the event: _**click here to view on Ingenta**_ . Alongside OSIG 2023 we’ve seen successful conferences around the world, including Houston, Perth and China – thanks is due to all our SUT colleagues who helped make these events so successful. 2023 saw the 12th Annual China conference taking place 3 Society for Underwater Technology ## President’s Foreword ## _contd._ in Haikou bringing together academics, universities and industry involved in maritime affairs in China with an international audience. A highlight for me was this year’s Oceanology International conference, which brought together ocean practitioners from across the world, with a remarkable 7527 visitors to the Excel over the three days of the Conference. SUT played a central role in the technical conference, the side sessions both on and off the exhibition floor, UXO in the Marine Environment, Women in Industry and Ocean Careers, which all attracted full audiences. The Captain Don Walsh for Ocean Exploration, a joint award with MTS, was presented to Professor Peter Girguis, Harvard University. It was a pleasure to meet Peter, Kelly Walsh, the late Don Walsh’s son and listen to Peter’s inspiring presentation where he shared his passion and dedication to increasing our understanding of the deepsea biome. I was delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to Catch the Next Wave as a speaker and panellist. A great couple of days! Turning back to SUT matters, this year Council has undertaken a Strategic Review and planning for the future of the Society. The Strategy Working Group, ably chaired by Past President Ralph Rayner, has produced an excellent framework and plan for SUT’s future as the global energy transition gathers pace. This strategic work will be key to ensuring SUT continues to thrive and remain deeply relevant in this changing world. As part of the Strategic Review, I was surprised to learn that SUT shares members with over 40 organisations, associations, institutions, guilds, councils, societies, and livery companies, such is the diversity of SUT membership. We know that working with others is in the best interests of our members and wider industry and I would particularly like to mention our mutually supportive engagement with the Global Underwater Hub, IMCA, IMarEST, OES, MTS and EAGE. SUT’s outreach and industry support has been far-reaching, including a presence at All-Energy, Offshore Europe, Ocean Business, Subsea Expo, ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi, MCE-DD in Amsterdam 2024 and Subsea Technology East Mediterranean in Cyprus. New to the SUT has been the collaboration with EAGE, with joint workshops in Boston, Massachusetts and Perth, Australia through the course of this year, and with a planned workshop in Newcastle in 2025. We value the opportunity to contribute and be present at these conferences and exhibitions. As a Society looking towards our 60th Anniversary, there is much work to do to grow our engagement and membership amongst students and developing professionals. Feedback from the ESF judges always touches on the excellence of the applicants. The committees for developing professionals, SUT+, YES! and YP demonstrate the passion, potential and commitment for all those involved in ocean careers in the now and in the future. Reflecting on SUT over 2023-2024, there are too many people to thank, but I’d like to take the opportunity to recognise our Chair of Council, Sue John, SUT Past, President Moya Crawford, all those who volunteer and serve the SUT, and of course our excellent team of SUT staff in the UK and in SUT-US and Perth, WA. I hope to meet you in 2025. 4 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Officers and Council 2023-2024 President _Benj Sykes_ Chair _Sue John_ Immediate Past President _Moya Crawford_ Honorary Secretary _Iain Knight_ Honorary Treasurer _Mick Cook_ Secretary to Council/CEO _Cheryl Burgess_ ## Members _M Theobald (until May 2024) M Stemp N Swift (until May 2024) (from Dec 2023) D M Saul T H A Sloane R E Luff (until Dec 2023) R F Rayner I Knight (until Dec 2023) J A I Patten A Connelly (until Dec 2023) J Morgan N Carey (until Dec 2023) S Elkhatib M A Atmanand S V Duffield (from Dec 2023) (until Dec 2023) A Elkadi (from Dec 2023)_ _(until Dec 2023)_ _G J Whitehead (from Dec 2023)_ ## SUT Staff ## SUT HQ Nunn Hayward LLP 2-4 Packhorse Road Gerrards Cross, SL9 7QEN (correspondence address only) t + 44 (0)7947 911992 e info@sut.org Chief Executive _Cheryl Burgess_ Membership & Finance Officer _Jane Hinton_ Publications & Communications Officer _Emily Boddy_ Events & Training Officer _Clare Parisi_ ## SUT US e communications@suthouston.com Events Manager _Patsy Rhymes_ Marketing Editor _Mariana Diaz_ ## SUT Perth Office Unit 28, 17 Prowse Street West Perth Western Australia 6005 t +61 (0) 8 9481 0999 e perth@sut.org Branch Office Manager _Fiona Allan_ Events & Marketing Manager _Jade Melville_ Marketing & Events Assistant _Ellaria Ibraheem_ Marketing & Events Assistant _Claire Van Poecke_ 5 Society for Underwater Technology ## Awards 2023-2024 **----- Start of picture text -----**
New Fellow
Benj Sykes
**----- End of picture text -----**
## Lennard-Senior Prize Awarded to Deborah Greaves in recognition of outstanding individual achievement in the field of Marine Renewable Energy. Since its inception in 2017, Deborah has been Director of the £9m Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Hub. Deborah has consistently pioneered the development of new technologies in offshore wind, wave and tidal power. Deborah has led high-profile national and international initiatives designed to ensure such technological advances can be applied in real-world scenarios to help meet the country’s future clean energy demands. ## President’s Award Awarded to Mr Ali Hynd, Deputy Principal of Mintlaw Academy, and the pupils of Mintlaw ROV. Mintlaw Academy have provided educational opportunities that Mr Ali Hynd and his colleagues and supporters at Mintlaw Academy have helped create. The innovation, entrepreneurship and enthusiasm in running this highly professional, technical, youth business is one that puts many fully fledged companies in the shade. The shared President’s Award is presented in recognition of the wonderful platform that Mintlaw Academy have helped create, not just for themselves, but the pupils that follow them. ## Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration Jointly awarded by SUT and MTS (the Marine Technology Society) to Peter Girguis. Peter Girguis’ prolific career is dedicated to increasing understanding of the animals and microbes that thrive in the deep sea. His profound dedication lies in advancing deep-sea exploration to expand humanity’s understanding of the natural world. ## The Mick Cook Marine Site Investigation Award Presented to Tor Inge, the Mick Cook Award recognises significant contribution to marine site investigation and characterisation with a focus on geophysics and geotechnical engineering. The inaugural winner of the award, Tor Inge Tjelta, is an extremely worthy recipient, having contributed hugely to our industry over the past 40+ years. 6 Annual Report 2023-2024 _**ABOVE: Peter Gigruis (centre) receives the Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration at Oceanology International in London**_ _**ABOVE: Cheryl Burgess (L) presents the Lennard-Senior Prize to Deborah Greaves at All-Energy, Glasgow**_ _**LEFT: Tor Inge (R) receives the Mick Cook award for Site Investigation, presented by Mick Cook at the SUT OSIG International Conference in London**_ _**BELOW: President’s Award winners Aly Hynd (L) and the ROV Club of Mintlaw Academy, with Sue John, Cheryl Burgess, Moya Crawford, and Andrew Connelly at Subsea Expo, Aberdeen**_ 7 Society for Underwater Technology ## Council’s Summary of Activity 2023-2024 arlier this year was the 4th anniversary of the start of the Covid pandemic, and the ensuing lockdown, it is hard to believe how much our lives changed and Ehow long we will have to live with the longer-term impacts of what happened. Thankfully the SUT continues to rebound and our activities and events over this last year are reflective of this return to a more recognizable normality and growth. Of particular note was the running one of the SUT’s premier events, the 9th edition of the International OSIG Conference “Innovative Geotechnologies for Energy Transition” held in September 2023 in London. I know how much effort goes into organizing this event and making it the success that it is. In recent years, the SUT Council has been focused on financial matters, then the pandemic, but this was the year when the Council focus shifted to the future and how the SUT can embrace the opportunities ahead of it. It is of course important that Council remain reflective of the SUT membership if it is to guide the SUT in the years ahead and ensure the continued vibrancy of the Society. ## Strategic Review In my previous report, it was announced that the SUT was initiating a Strategic Review of the aims and activities of the Society; the purpose of this review is to ensure that the Society is positioned to seize the opportunities resulting from the growth of the ocean economy and ensure the SUT’s continued relevance as a learned society in the years ahead. The SUT Council formed a Strategy Working Group (SWG) to perform the Strategic Review on behalf of the SUT. The primary objective of the SWG has been to guide the SUT’s response to the changes that are occurring across the ocean economy as it transitions in response to pressing environmental, societal and economic challenges, as well as in recognition of the impact of emerging technologies. Initial deliverables for the SWG are the Strategic Framework and Strategic Plan; to then be followed by an implementation plan. I know the Strategy Working Group welcomes the contribution of members and especially our younger members who represent the Society’s future. ## Membership One of the main drivers for the Strategic Review is to ensure that membership of the Society continues to be of value to our members both individual and corporate. We do not take the support of our existing members for granted and need to ensure they continue to see value in their membership. Individual membership of the SUT experienced growth because of the OSIG conference and the differential conference fees for members and non-members. We hope that individuals joining the SUT for this reason will continue to see value in SUT membership. Corporate membership is steady. However, there is some flux in these numbers depending on when organisations renew their membership. ## **Membership Summary** |**Corporate Members**137| |---| |**Individual Membership**1734
**2024**
**Category**
**2023**| |Hon. Fellows
Fellows
9
90
9
90| |Full members
Students
673
102
576
78| |Corporate
individuals
Total
860
1734
793
1546| **Table 1** ||**Financial Summary**
**Unrestricted Fund (£)**
**Category**
**2024**
**2023**|**Financial Summary**
**Unrestricted Fund (£)**
**Category**
**2024**
**2023**|**Financial Summary**
**Unrestricted Fund (£)**
**Category**
**2024**
**2023**|**Financial Summary**
**Unrestricted Fund (£)**
**Category**
**2024**
**2023**| |---|---|---|---|---| ||Income|1,087,057||318,209| ||Expenditure||736,517|288,416| ||||––––––––––|––––––––––| ||Surplus/
(defcit)||350,540|29,793| ||Transfers to|||| ||restricted fund||
-|-| ||Gain/(loss)
on
investments||17,852|6,240| ||Retained
surplus/
(defcit)||––––––––––
368,392|––––––––––
36,033| **Table 2** Our recently formed special interest groups on Marine Environmental Science and Unexploded Ordnance continue to establish their presence and have developed new members from these sectors including new members from the offshore windfarm operators and representation from SMEs and academia as well as contributing to conference programmes. The SUT Council thank everyone who has renewed their membership, the new members, and the efforts of all who have volunteered and worked so hard to keep SUT going this last year. 8 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Council’s Summary of Activity _contd._ ## Training This last year has seen the SUT’s in-person training courses re-assert their popularity over virtual options. The added value of physical attendance at training courses is clearly recognised by our members for the greater opportunities to interact with both the course instructors and other attendees. The USP of SUT training courses are the expertise of the presenters together with the courses site visits cannot be under-estimated. This year, the SUT has run multiple Subsea Awareness Courses as well as the sell-out Introductory courses to Offshore Geophysics & Geotechnical Engineering and the Offshore Wind course. In addition, a training course for Metocean for Renewable Energy was run during the year. The Metocean course is intended to be a regular addition to the SUT training course offering. The strong response to these courses identifies both an ongoing need but also an appreciation of the added benefits of in-person courses. Going forward there is space for both virtual and in person training courses to suit audience location and their availability. Whilst the number of online webinars has prolifarated, the Aberdeen SUT+ and ECOSIGG committees have developed their own distincitve offering and regularly attract significant attndee numbers of online attendees. ## Awards The inaugural Mick Cook Marine Site Investigation Award, open to global marine site investigation professionals, was awarded to Tor Inge Tjelta for significant contributions to geophysics and geotechnics. The President’s Award was shared by Mr. Ali Hynd and the ROV Club of Mintlaw Academy for inspiring students and fostering engineering skills in the subsea industry. The Lennard-Senior Prize was awarded to Professor Deborah Greaves for outstanding achievements in Marine Renewable Energy and advancing clean energy technologies. The Captain Don Walsh Award was presented to Dr. Peter Girguis for pioneering research on deep-sea organisms and developing methods to study methane-consuming microbes. More information on the awards and some photos can be found on pages 6-7 of this Annual Report. ## Finances A summary of the Society’s accounts and financial statements for 2023-2024 has been included in the Annual Report. SUT acting Honorary Treasurer, Mick Cook, will present the Report and Financial Statements at the Society’s AGM. The Unrestricted Fund at 30 June 2024 amounted to £697,218 compared with an amount of £328,826 at the end of the previous year, including donations and legacies, allowing for gains on investments. ## Educational Support Fund A report for the year ending 30 June 2024 from the Educational Support Fund Management is included in this Annual Report. The financial statement regarding the Educational Support Fund appears in the annual accounts Statement of Financial Activities as part of the Society’s Charitable Activities including Income and Expenditure Account. ## I. Knight, Honorary Secretary 24th October 2024 Registered Office: c/o Nunn Hayward, 2-4 Packhorse Lane, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire SL9 7QE 9 Society for Underwater Technology ## Chair’s Report **SUT Chair of Council, Sue John** s I conclude my term as the elected Chair of Council with this AGM and report, I am once again amazed by the dedication of SUT volunteers, who Ahave generously given their time during an incredibly busy year. A glance at the Society’s events webpage reveals just how active our special interest groups and branches have been, organising a wide range of professional, networking, and social events, from conferences and technical evenings to webinars, podcasts, and the revival of SUT Branches. Over the past year, they’ve delivered more than 15 training sessions, 32 technical meetings, 25 social events, and 15 conferences/workshops, along with site visits and contributions to SUT publications. I must also acknowledge the invaluable contributions of our volunteer training course presenters. Not only do they deliver our industry-recognised courses, but they also help develop the content, ensure it remains current, and contribute to the delegate programmes. Additionally, I would like to thank the member companies that host site visits for course delegates, as well as for SUT+ and ECOSSIG activities. I extend my heartfelt thanks to all members who generously give their time and expertise to support the Society in achieving the successes I’ve highlighted. Of course, the SUT’s strength doesn’t lie with volunteers alone—we are also fortunate to have a dedicated team of staff. Their work is crucial to the Society’s future, with staff based across three continents—in Perth, Western Australia; Houston, Texas; and here in the UK. Whether they are managing our finances, promoting events, coordinating memberships, or simply providing support when needed, their efforts ensure the smooth running of the Society’s operations worldwide. ## Finance and Accounts Before approving the 2023-2024 budget, SUT Council members recognised that the 9th OSIG Conference, held in London in September 2023, would generate a significant surplus for the Society. Sponsorship for the event was secured early, starting in the 2022-2023 financial year, and delegate registrations exceeded targets by mid-2023, with the event selling out prior to the registration deadline. The 2023-2024 accounts also reflect the strong performance of SUT’s training courses, including the Subsea Awareness Course in Aberdeen, the Offshore Wind Course in Newcastle, the OSIG course in Southampton, and the online Metocean course for offshore renewable energy. Each contributed to the Society’s surplus. Additional sponsorship for various SUT events helped keep costs down for members, allowing some events to be free or cost-neutral, with pricing for chargeable events reflecting member benefits. I would like to extend my gratitude to all the sponsors who supported SUT events over the past year. ## Conferences The 9th International OSIG Conference, which had been postponed due to Covid, made a highly successful return in 2023. Thanks to the hard work of the OSIG organising committee, led by Conference Chair Toby Powell, and the support of SUT staff, the event was a sell-out with global attendance. I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of Mick Cook and Mike Fearn for their efforts in managing the conference finances and securing sponsors, helping to further establish OSIG as a globally recognised brand. A total of 412 abstracts were 10 Annual Report 2023-2024 Chair’s Report _contd._ submitted, with 250 accepted, leading to three full days of presentations to standing-room-only audiences. Plans are already underway for the next OSIG Conference in September 2027. OSIG was not the only event in 2023/2024. SUT’s presence was felt across various conferences and exhibitions, including the Autonomous Marine Technology Conference, SPE Offshore Europe, ADIPEC, the Annual Salvage, Decommissioning and Wreck Removal Workshop in Glasgow, Subsea Expo, Oceanology International, MCE-DD, AOG Perth, Subsea Technology Eastern Mediterranean, All-Energy in Glasgow, and The Combined Naval Event in Farnborough. Importantly, the Society does not operate in isolation. Throughout the year, we have collaborated with key industry organisations, including the Global Underwater Hub and the International Marine Contractors Association. We also partnered as the Learned Society with RX, DMG, and Endeavour B2B to support major industry events, contributing to their technical programmes and side sessions. ## Strategy Working Group In July 2023, the SUT Council established a limited-term Strategy Working Group (SWG), co-chaired by Ralph Rayner and Nick Swift. The purpose of this sub-committee is to develop a long-term Strategic Framework and Strategic Plan to guide the Society’s future growth in service of its members and in line with its charitable aims. This initiative has brought together international perspectives on key strategic themes, and I extend my thanks to all participants in the working group. There are no quick or simple solutions to the challenges the SUT will face in the coming years, but we eagerly anticipate the completion of the Strategic Framework and look forward to your feedback. As we approach SUT’s 60th Anniversary in 2026, we encourage members to contribute their ideas for events and meetings. Please share your suggestions with SUT CEO, Cheryl Burgess. ## Educational Support Fund The Society’s Educational Support Fund (ESF) awarded scholarships in 2023 to undergraduate and postgraduate students across various disciplines, including engineering and environmental science. Graduating recipients from the 2023-2024 period include Erin Nicholson, Bartol Sikora, Ryan Lin, and Francesca Fehlberg, all of whom are pursuing marine and subsea-related careers. ## Awards The Society remains committed to recognising exceptional contributions to our industry sectors, as well as inspiring achievements. The inaugural Mick Cook Award for Marine Site Investigation celebrates excellence in marine site investigations and characterisations across the global disciplines of geophysics and geotechnics. This year, the award was presented to Tor Inge Tjelta at the OSIG 2023 conference, where the judging panel acknowledged his innovative contributions to offshore site investigations and geotechnical engineering, highlighting his integrated geological, geophysical, and geotechnical approaches in complex project settings. The President’s Award was awarded to Ali Hynd, an inspirational teacher at Mintlaw Academy in Aberdeenshire, for his dedication to the school’s ROV club, where students design and build their own remotely operated vehicles. Through his efforts, Ali is helping to nurture the next generation of professionals in robotics and subsea engineering. We commend all teachers whose passion ignites curiosity and encourages students to pursue careers in our beloved industries. Additionally, the Lennard-Senior Memorial Prize was presented to Professor Deborah Greaves, OBE, at AllEnergy in Glasgow, recognising her outstanding individual achievements in the field of Marine Renewable Energy. Finally, Dr Peter Girguis, a Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and Adjunct Oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, received the prestigious Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration at Oceanology International in March 2024. Described by his peers as “the epitome 11 Society for Underwater Technology ## Chair’s Report ## _contd._ of a deep-sea explorer” and “a man for all ocean seasons,” Peter’s contributions to ocean exploration are truly commendable. ## Communications The Underwater Technology Podcast, hosted by Martin Stemp and produced by Emily Boddy, continues to deliver engaging and informative episodes for members and those with an interest in underwater technology, marine science, and subsea engineering. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend tuning in—downloads have now exceeded 28,600. In addition, members have access to our quarterly newsletter, _Big Blue World_ , as well as _UT2_ and _Underwater Robotics_ magazine. I encourage all members to contribute news, articles on innovation, project updates, or thought pieces for inclusion in Big Blue World. This year, I would like to recognise the exceptional contribution of one staff member in particular. Our Membership and Finance Officer, Jane Hinton, has just completed 30 years of service with the SUT. Initially joining as a temporary employee, Jane’s potential was quickly recognised, leading to her becoming a permanent and invaluable member of the team. As the key contact for membership enquiries and finance, Jane’s professionalism and meticulous management of the Society’s accounts have been outstanding. While retirement may eventually call, we are fortunate to have her continued dedication and expertise, and we extend our deepest thanks for her remarkable service. Lastly, I want to express our gratitude to our corporate members, whose sponsorship underpins the efforts of our volunteers. Over the past three years, we’ve seen the Society bounce back from the challenges of the Covid pandemic, launching a new branch in the Eastern Mediterranean and revitalising our Norway branch. Interest in new branches, training courses, and innovations continues to grow, with our Special Interest Groups playing a crucial role in advancing science and technology. Thank you to all SUT staff, volunteers, corporate members, and sponsors for making this success possible. 12 Branch reports Society for Underwater Technology ## Aberdeen Branch ## www.sut.org/branch/aberdeen ## **Andrew Connelly** ## **Committee** _Chair_ Andrew Connelly _Vice-Chair_ Paul Slorach _Treasurer_ Calum Hayton _Training_ Graham Whitehead _Branch Events_ Chris Wallace _Projects_ Euan Fowler Keith Anderson Ace Awaad Sylvain Denniel Martin Harley Ross Ingram David Warren Co-Opted Committee (9) Dr Ibiye Iyalla Dr Srinivas Sriramula Paul Benstead Martin Brown Doug Combe Louise Mearns Daniele Petrone Scott Duncan Bill Gray t has been a challenging year for the Aberdeen branch, but one that represents a busy period in industry. I We have had a very successful calendar of Subsea Awareness Courses. The week-long course is targeted at new entrants to the subsea industry, includes guest presenters as subject matter experts from the industry, and site visits to get up close to subsea technology such as trees, ROV’s and umbilical manufacture. Aside from this, Aberdeen branch has held a slimmed down program of knowledge sharing and networking events. ## Branch Committee Changes The committee has seen the following changes over the past 12 months - Chris Wallace of Verlume has stepped into the Events Lead role. - Ace Awaad of Impact Subsea and Ross Ingram of Exail have joined the elected committee. - Scott Duncan of 2H Offshore has joined the committee as co-opt. Please join me in congratulations to Chris, Ace, Ross, and Scott. Shruthi Sivadasan of Wood stands down from the committee, we wish Shruthi well and thank her for her exceptional contribution to SUT and SUT+. The strength of the branch is very much dependent on the input of the volunteer committee members, who give up personal time and day-job time to ensure that the various branch initiatives are delivered to the benefit of the Society, and both its existing and future members. I have been very pleased to have been supported by the team over the past year. This year we also saw Events and Training Manager, Jacqui Adams, depart form the SUT after eight years with the organisation. Thank you to Jacqui for all the support and assistance over this time. This was a UK role, but Aberdeen very much benefitted from Jacqui being local and providing exceptional organisation and professionalism to SUT activities. However we are very pleased to welcome Clare Parisi, who joins as Events and Training Officer, we are looking forward to working with Clare to deliver high quality training courses, events, and other initiatives. ## 2023-2024 Branch Activities In this past year we have been had a reduced calendar of knowledge sharing meetings, but we were pleased to run the ever-popular Gadgets and Widgets event, and the Market Outlook Business Breakfast. We have provided a series of Subsea Awareness Courses, all with excellent delegate feedback indicating appreciation of the content, industry experts delivering material, and site visits giving unparalleled insight into these aspects of industry. Our annual jointly hosted event in collaboration with The Hydrographic Society and the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) took place in November 2023. This featured with a theme of environmental sustainability of offshore operations – can we operate traditional energy basins as cleanly as possible? Finally the AGM this year was held alongside the inaugural Aberdeen Branch Pub Quiz. Congratulations to “Give Me A Minute” who took the trophy. We will 14 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Aberdeen Branch _contd._ be planning the AGM and Pub Quiz again for this coming January. In Aberdeen, we are incredibly lucky to have an active SUT+ branch. This team continues to provide an incredible programme of webinars, site visits and career development support for the next generation of engineers, whilst themselves being early in their respective careers. Going forward, SUT+ is planning to maintain annual delivery of a chartership workshop, careers workshop, a site visit, and an annual pub quiz. Upcoming, there are plans for webinars on topics of offshore floating wind, and site investigation for offshore wind. A vessel visit is currently (at time of writing) in planning for the turn of the calendar year. Both the SUT and SUT+ are always happy to hear from industry members who are interested in joining either committee, to help deliver on our various initiatives for the benefit of the industry. Keep an eye on _**sut.org/branch/aberdeen/**_ for updates, or get in touch at _**aberdeen@sut.org**_ . 15 Society for Underwater Technology ## Australia Perth Branch www.sut.org/branch/perth ## **Brett Phillips** ## **Committee** _Chairman_ Brett Phillips _Vice Chair_ Mark Casey _Treasurer_ Leanne Geneve _Secretary_ Bukkie Orugun Matthew Allen Nicole Austin Mark Casey Michael Cocjin Paul Farquharson Leanne Geneve Rasoul Hejazi Farjana Jahan Shane Kirkbride Bukkie Orugun Brett Phillips Emilien Rulence Liam Salter Paul Upjohn Keith Wallace Iain Wylie he SUT Committee has been able to deliver its programs and core services for the duration of this year. The financial statements for SUT Perth Branch Tfor the year ending 30 June 2024 positively reflect this. ## Perth Branch Committee SUT Perth Committee members continue to provide enthusiastic, imaginative, and creative support to the branch bringing in a fresh outlook with great ideas. We would like to thank all committee members for their efforts in enabling us to reach our goals. We are indebted to the 2023 and 2024 committee groups: For the 2025 committee onwards the Rules of Association have now been altered to ensure a Committee member’s term will be from their appointment until the second next AGM constituting two years per term. (No more than half of the committee members can be changed at the AGM). A committee member will be eligible for re-election to the Committee after serving two years. This rotation of committee members will ensure fresh ideas and enthusiasm 16 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Australia Branch _contd._ which are essential to maintaining a vibrant Society; however, it also allows us to retain a core of experience to ensure continuity of our overall vision. Current Perth Branch Sub-Committees: (bold indicating sub-committee lead) - Advertising: **Michael Cocjin** ; Steve Duffield; Keith Wallace - AOG 2024: **Julie Morgan** ; Matt Allen; Brett Phillips - AMT 2025 : **Mark Roberts** ; Keith Wallace; Mark Casey; Steve Duffield - Annual Dinner: Shane Kirkbride; **Leanne Geneve** ; Mark Casey; Matt Allen - Branch Support: **Paul Upjohn** ; Paul Farquharson - Course Review: **Paul Farquharson** ; Liam Salter, Brett Phillips; Leanne Geneve; Iain Wylie - Decom / Salvage: **Paul Farquharson** ; Brett Phillips; Emilien Rulence - Engagement: **Matt Allen** ; Iain Wylie; Emilien Rulence; Nicole Austin - Evening Technical Meeting/AGM: Paul Upjohn; Bukkie Orugun; Michael Cocjin; **Matt Allen** ; Iain Wylie - Finance: Fiona Allan; **Brett Phillips** ; Leanne Geneve; Mark Casey; Bukkie Orugun - Golf Day: Steve Duffield; **Shane Kirkbride** ; Farjana Jahan - HSE: **Brett Phillips** ; Leanne Geneve; Paul Farquharson; Farjana Jahan - Immerse 2025: **Emilien Rulence** ; Brett Phillips; Liam Salter - Membership: Steve Duffield, **Bettina Silvert** ; Iain Wylie - Mentoring: **Mark Casey** ; Shane Kirkbride; Brett Phillips; Rasoul Hejazi - METAR – Marine Energy Transition and Renewables (New): **Iain Wylie** ; Matt Allen; Keith Wallace; Alex Henderson; Mark Casey; Michael Cocjin; Nicole Austin - Scholarships: **Farjana Jahan** ; Liam Salter; Nick McNaughton; Julie Morgan; Phillip Manfield; Leanne Geneve - Subsea Controls Down Under 2024 Conference: Mark Casey; **Paul Upjohn** ; Harry Mackay; Harvey Smith; Norman O’Rourke; Julien Levadoux; Benjamin Roux, Minh Vo, Derek Thompson - Subsea Engineering Accreditation: Afton Galbraith; Terry Griffiths; **Rex Hubbard** ; Chris Merrick; Ewan Rowell; Chris Saunders; Ian Wilson - SUT International Commitee: **Brett Phillips** - Curtin Uni Industry Advisory Commitee: Christian Marocchi - WA Societies: **Bukkie Orugun** - SUT Council: Steve Duffield; Julie Morgan - Training (with SUT UK): **Leanne Geneve** ## SUT Perth Branch Events The Perth committee and staff were very busy during the year with the following events being held during the year: - 5 x Evening Technical Meetings - 7x Courses (in person) - 3 x YES! events - 1 x AGM - 2 x Social events (Annual Dinner & Golf Day) Our 2023 Annual Dinner was held at the prestigious Westin Hotel in the city with 223 people attending. Wood; 17 Society for Underwater Technology ## Australia Branch ## _contd._ SEA Global and Atteris were the event sponsors, and we thank them for their continued support throughout a challenging year. ## **Conferences** The AMT Conference was successfully held in October 2023 at the Parmelia and was held over two days for the first time with 160 attendees The AOG (Australian Oil & Gas) Conference and Exhibition was also held in March 2024. ## **Courses** The following training courses were run in person in the 2023/2024 year: - 1 x Offshore Geohazards Course – July 23 18 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Australia Branch _contd._ - 1 x Materials and Corrosion Course – July 23 - Subsea Awareness Course – September 23 19 Society for Underwater Technology ## Australia Branch _contd._ - 1 x Flexi Risers Course – November 23 - 1 x Positioning and Survey Course – March 24 - Subsea Awareness Course – May 24 20 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Australia Branch _contd._ - 1 x Subsea Productions Systems Course - June 24 ## **Evening Technical Meetings** The following technical meetings were held: August 2023 ETM: Lifting and Laying (174 attendees) Speakers: Jake Zammit, Andew Ripley and Evert van Herel - Sponsored by McDermott October 23 ETM: Subsea Technology Delivering ESG: Technological advances in describing & monitoring impacts on submerged indigenous heritage, seascapes & marine fauna (69 attendees) Speakers: Daniel Thomas, Keith Wallace, Iain Wylie February 24 ETM: Reefs & Wrecks - MH370, WA Museum Search for Titanic (155 attendees) Speakers: Phil Wells, James Florisson and Ryan Chatfield April 24 ETM: Slicing and Dicing – Decommissioning (131 attendees) Speakers: Dr Francis Norman, Vandana Crispin and Sean Husband - Sponsored by Atteris June 24 ETM: Subsea Defence – AUKUS; Extra-large UUV and Advanced Marine Autonomy (107 attendees) - Speakers: Harry Hubbert, Mark Roberts and James Cooper- Maitland The SUT Perth Committee is, as always, grateful to all presenters and ETM chairpersons for their generous time and efforts in making our Evening Technical Meetings such a success, and for those generous corporate members who support the evenings with their sponsorship. 21 Society for Underwater Technology ## Australia Branch _contd._ - August 2023 ETM - October 23 ETM - February 24 ETM 22 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Australia Branch _contd._ - April 24 ETM - June 24 ETM ## **Golf Day – September 2023** For our annual golf day, the SUT once again teamed up with the Society for Petroleum Engineers for a collaborative golf day. We changed the day to a Thursday and went to Wembley Golf Course for a fantastic day of golfing and networking was had by all that attended. We had 72 for the event and 18 teams battled it out on the course before enjoying post game food and drinks whilst the prizes were awarded. A great day was had by all. We are very grateful for the sponsors who made this possible – SEA Global; Geo Oceans and Sonomatic; and A60N. 23 Society for Underwater Technology ## Australia Branch ## _contd._ SUT Perth Sub-Committee Updates ## **Branch Administration** The 2023/2024 year saw Renae Drew leave pursuing a lecturing job at TAFE and Jade Melville being promoted to Events & Marketing Manager. Suzanne Thien still focuses on SUT Marketing as the Marketing and Events Assistant and has done a great job managing our social media platforms and compiling our monthly e-newsletters. January 2024 saw Ellaria Ibraheem join the SUT staff as an Events and Marketing Assistant. These three events staff along with Fiona Allan who continue to effectively manage the branch administration, take great pleasure in coordinating and organising all our events, initiatives, administration, membership and accounts for the Perth branch of the Society from our West Perth location. ## **Branch Support** The Branch Support lead has held meetings with Malaysian SUT members in Malaysia. ## **Branch Initiatives** During the year, Perth branch continued / started with the following initiatives: - Subsea Engineering Competency Framework continued - Three more Scholarships offered in 2023 24 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Australia Branch ## _contd._ - Making Donations to Not-for-Profit Organizations on behalf of our Speakers for courses and events - Review of current courses offered and start of planning for a new Renewables Course - New Sub-Committee commenced - Marine Energy Transition and Renewables (METAR) with monthly coffees now held to connect with others with interest in this ## **Branch Strategy** The committee regularly review the current Strategic Plan (2021-2025) with the Strategic objectives being: 1. Engage with Tertiary Institutions 2. Diversification of Membership 3. Be more Active in Knowledge Transfer 4. Value for Membership Money ## **Engagement** The strategy concentrates on continued engagement with our existing members to ensure we remain relevant whilst having a stretch target to engage two-three more organisations. The focus points include: - Canvass existing legacy members to understand how we can grow and how they can contribute. - Increased Operator attendance at ETMs - Provide training to companies who are employing graduates / less experienced personnel - Stretch to grow our regular sponsorship base and increased membership numbers - Continued Growth in diversification of SUT Perth branch. - Continued Synergies with ETM, Engagement and Membership Sub-committees - Engagement with retired members/members looking for work (how can they contribute / benefit from) ## **Finance** SUT Perth Branch maintains being in a surplus in the 2023-2024 financial year of approximately $AUD 46,000 after a prior year surplus of $AUD 10,000 This was mainly due to: - Being able to hold a successful AMT Conference and AOG in the 2023/2024 financial year - Being able to hold even courses during the financial year An audited Income and Expenditure Statement for the year will be forwarded to Council following the finalization of the audit in October 2024. ## **Marketing** The digital marketing principles implemented since March 2022 have led to further improvements in both the visual and communicative aspects of our online presence. We’ve successfully maintained a strong, cohesive brand identity across all platforms, ensuring our messaging resonates effectively with our target audience. Our social media engagement has seen a steady increase, driven by well-crafted posts that align with industry trends. Additionally, the layout of our email campaigns has been refined to enhance readability, ensuring our members can quickly grasp key messages. We’ve also transitioned some of our printed forms to a digital PDF format, allowing delegates to complete them electronically. This shift aligns SUT-Perth with the digital age, enhancing the user experience. ## **Membership as at 30 June 2024:** We finished the year slightly worse than we started. Free hardship membership was offered (had to meet certain criteria) but few took this up. 25 Society for Underwater Technology ## Australia Branch ## _contd._ **Perth Branch Membership June 2024 June 2023** - Individuals 86 84 - Fellows 13 12 - Corporate - Local and Global w rep here 43 41 - Students 73 (free) 29 (paying) ## **Remote Members:** - Malaysia, New Zealand; New South Wales; Victoria, South Australia and Queensland The substantial change in student membership is as a result of now offering free Student Membership to increase the take up. All new Individual and Corporate members are approved by a Membership Sub-Committee. ## **Mentoring Programme (SUT-SPE-SEA-PESA-PCWA-ASEG-WISE)** SUT ran the Mentoring programme for the 2020/2021 financial year. It is currently being run by SEA. (The mentoring program is run in conjunction with other similar societies in Perth on a yearly rotating basis.) ## **OSIG Perth Overview and Events** OSIGp stands for “Offshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics Perth”, which is a special-interest group of the SUT with interests covering the area of the so-called 4G’s: Geology, Geophysics, Geomatics and Geotechnical Engineering. Established in 2012, the OSIGp Committee currently comprises 14 members from various backgrounds (primarily operators, consultants and academics). The committee term is two years. As part of its remit, the committee actively pursues and organises technical and also non-technical activities that are of interest to its network with the committee’s events in 2023-2024 including: - a very successful OSIGp Offshore Geohazards Course July 2023 at UWA with 18 attendees - an online OSIGp Carbon Capture event August 2023 - an online OSIGp Prize Night Jan 2024 The Committee is also actively collaborating with other OSIG groups based in the UK and Houston, for example in establishing technical guidance notes on various 4G-related topics. Thanks goes to all the 2023/2024 OSIGp committee members for their time, enthusiasm and hard work. 26 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Australia Branch ## _contd._ ## **Scholarship Awards** SUT Perth branch has continued with our policy of supporting students studying relevant courses in Australia and displaying a strong interest in continuing into a career or further studies in underwater disciplines. We have now awarded 77 scholarships since 2007. This year we awarded three scholarships and are pleased at the continued and positive uptake of scholarships by the student fraternity. Scholarship recipients were Marine Renewable Energy Scholarship sponsored by Aurora Offshore Engineering: Digital Automation in Engineering Scholarship sponsored by SEA: Chris Lawlor Scholarship to the Most Outstanding Candidate: Aidan Archer Lachlan Bird Rachel Newsome ## **Subsea Engineering Competency Framework Project** The initiative by SUT (Perth Branch) in conjunction with industry is for Subsea Engineering to be recognised as an Area of Practice (AoP) by Engineers Australia (EA) SUT provides the basis for technical assessment in the AoP of Subsea Engineering and supports EA with the technical assessment of submissions for recognition in the AoP of Subsea Engineering. The benefits are a career planning tool and personal recognition as a competent subsea engineer, which is recognised in Australia and Internationally. The launch for this programme was held in June 2021. For 2022/23, nine engineers were accredited under this programme. ## **YES! (Young Engineers & Scientists)** YES! was formed in 2013 to build a community of young subsea professionals, promoting collaboration and networking to ultimately drive the future of the subsea industry. The Purpose of SUT YES! is to: - Promote awareness of subsea industries and link in with universities - Provide and support professional development of young professionals, students and scientists in subsea industries - Provide opportunities for networking and informal mentoring for young professionals, students and scientists in subsea and related fields During the year the subcommittee successfully held the following events: - YES! Technical Breakfast October 2023 - YES! Lawn Bowls March 2024 - YES! Quiz Night May 2024 In addition to events, YES! Committee members have promoted SUT membership and events at universities, 27 Society for Underwater Technology ## Australia Branch ## _contd._ supported SUT Mentoring and have a large involvement in the SUT Scholarship program. YES! currently has two annual sponsors, Woodside and Santos. Many thanks to these generous sponsors. The YES! sub-committee members’ effort and time has been immense throughout the past year and we thank them for that. The current YES! committee members are for a two-year term and are: ## SUT The Year Ahead The Perth branch of SUT will continue with their five-year Strategy plan 2021-2025: 1. Engage with Tertiary Institutions 2. Diversification of Membership 3. Be more Active in Knowledge Transfer 4. Value for Membership Money All of the above new activities will support the growth of the Society. In the background our committee members will continue to develop existing and new content, leads and opportunities for collaboration with other Societies and engagement with other industries with an interest in underwater technology. The budget for 2024/2025 has been approved by the Finance Committee with a surplus expected. We are looking to run a full calendar of events for 2024/2025. Sincere thanks are given to the Members, Sponsors, Presenters, Office Bearers, Committee, Sub-Committees and SUT Staff during the year. It has been a pleasure to be the Perth Chair for the last year and I wish the new Chair and the 2025 SUT Committee all the best. 28 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Brazil Branch ## www.sut.org/branch/brazil rom July 2023 to June 2024, the activities of the SUT Brazil Branch have been based on two seminars and one workshop. The Seminar and Workshop Forganized by the Offshore Renewable Energy Group from COPPE/UFRJ strongly emphasized offshore renewable energy and low-carbon hydrogen. In addition, the Seminar about Research in Progress on Ocean Engineering allowed undergraduate and graduate students to present their research in progress in the area of Ocean Engineering. Events from the Offshore Renewable Energy Group Seminar - Integrating Renewable Sources in the Energy Matrix: OFFSHORE WIND, MARINE ENERGY AND RENEWABLE H2 10 July 2023, 9-11am, Auditorium Block C, Centre of Technology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) Speakers: - Stefan Pfenninger - Delft University of Technology - Milad Shadman - GERO/COPPE/UFRJ - Roberto Schaeffer - CENERGIA/COPPE/UFRJ - Rodrigo Guimarães – EPE - Paula Borba – ITA - Segen Estefen - GERO/COPPE/UFRJ Audience: In-person 40; Online: 60 ## Workshop on Offshore Wind and Hydrogen 5 December 2023, 9am - 5pm, Hotel Windsor Florida, Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro Main Participants: ## **Prof. Segen F. Estefen** ## **Committee** _Chair_ Prof SF Estefen _Secretary_ Prof M Vaz _Treasurer_ T Netto _Executive Manager_ VC Santos C Bonfim Silva P Couto E Labanca E Nakagawa C Paulo M Teixeira - Patricia Naccache - Ministério de Minas e Energia - Departamento de transição energética - Hugo Leal - Governo do Estado do Rio de Janeiro - Secretário de Energia e Economia do Mar - Daniel Faro – Petrobras - Gerente geral de geração renovável - Gustavo Andrade - Empresa de pesquisa energética (EPE) - Superintendente Adjunto - Katherine Dykes - DTU Wind and Energy System - Head of DTU Totalenergies Excellence Center for Clean Energy - Segen Estefen - Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Oceânicas (INPO) - DirectorGeneral - Paulo Emílio Miranda – Brazilian Hydrogen Association (ABH2) - President - Milad Shadman - Offshore Renewable Energy Group (Gero/Coppe/UFRJ) - Professor - Amy Robertson – NREL - Head of Offshore Wind System Design & Tool Validation - Sylvain Jouhanneau - EDF Renewables Brazil & Latam - Head of the Emerging Business Department 29 Society for Underwater Technology ## Brazil Branch ## _contd._ - Marco Wiedijk - Principle Power - Kevin kinsella – ERM - Head of Dolphyn Project - Sérgio Pinheiro – ABH2 - Vice-president - Marcio Auada – CUMMINS – Engineering Executive Manager - Jean-Paul Joarlette - Burckhardt Compressors – New Business Manager - Adriano Valle - White Martins - Business Development Manager - Audience: In-person 120; Online 145 ## Seminar - Research in Progress on Ocean Engineering National Petroleum Agency Program on Human Resources. Auditorium Block C, Centre of Technology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), 23-30 October 2024, 9 - 11am. Average Audience per day: 70 people ## **Day 1: 23 October 2023** - Emerson M. de Andrade – A swarm of wave energy converters working as breakwaters - Lidiane Q. dos Santos – Capture of Cold Water for OTEC Systems - João Paulo M. dos Santos Bernardino – The use of a smart estabilizer to support the installation of subsea equipment - Bruno Vaz Silva – Numerical assessment of the technical feasibility of the floating unit concept SUBFIXA for deep water. ## **Day 2: 24 October 2023** - Gabriele Silva – Methodology for risk analysis of oil spill during the decomissioning of offshore platforms - Erika B. A. Henrique – Current turbine moved by VIV for subsea operation. - Caio dos Santos de Menezes - Steel Tubes with longitudinal damage repaired by carbon and epoxi composite under compressive loading. ## **Day 3: 25 October 2023** - Renata Mont`Alverne B. C. Martins – Methodology for the analysis of a wave energy converter based on hydrogenerators. - Ryan Fernando de Abreu Duarte – Fuel consumption based on the use of algorithm of machine learning. - Giulia S. Creazola - A swarm of wave energy point absorbers for FPSOs protection. - Giulia Elvira A. S. Carvalho – Noise prediction in support vessels using machine learning. ## **Day 4: 26 October 2023** - Gabriel Wellington de Almeida – Structural behaviour of rigid pipes with corrosive damage submitted to loading associated with the decomissining “S-lay reverse”. - Henrique A. O. Santos - Vibration virtual measurement in pumps using machine learning. - Felipe Araujo Thomaz – Failure prediction in the fuel injection system of diesel motors using machine learning. - Pedro Lucas Fonseca de Sena – Numerical modeling of the fabrication process of pipes type MLP. 30 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Brazil Branch _contd._ ## **Day 5: 27 October 2023** - Victor Hugo Fagundes Peclat – Manouvre analysis for fluvial train. - Janaina A. Monteiro de Castro – Tests using autonomous aquatic robots using algorithm SWARM. - Vinícius Almeida de Oliveira – Study on the dynamics of a manifold during installation. - Caio Henrique Manganeli – Application of data science in inspection planning of subsea pipelines based in risk. ## **Day 6: 30 October 2023** - Caroline de Oliveira Castro – Development of a deep learning model for the monitoring of refined oil transportation in the Amazonia rivers. - Laryssa Silva – Numerical and experimental analyses of a wave converter controlled by a lachting system. 31 Society for Underwater Technology ## China Branch ## www.sut.org/branch/china ## **ZHANG Yu** ## **Committee** _Chair_ ZHANG Yu _Founder Chairman_ DUAN Menglan _Chairman Emeritus_ Frank LIM _Technical Advisors_ ZHOU Shouwei ZENG Hengyi CUI Weicheng _Secretary_ HE Yangye _Treasurer_ ZHANG Yu AN Chen _(Beijing)_ AN Weizheng _(Beijing)_ BAI Xinglan _(Zhejiang)_ CHANG Yuanjiang _(Qingdao)_ FU Guangming _(Qingdao)_ LIANG Xu _(Zhejiang)_ SHEN Yijun _(Haikou)_ WAN Decheng _(Shanghai)_ XU Liangbin _(Zhuhai)_ XU Wanhai _(Tianjin)_ YAN Jun _(Dalian)_ YANG Zhixun _(Harbin)_ ZHANG Dagang _(Qingdao)_ ZHANG Changzhi _(Shenzhen)_ ZHENG Hao _(Changsha)_ XIE Peng _(Zhuhai)_ UT China branch successfully organized the 12th International SUT (China) Technical Conference in Haikou, China, during 27th-30th October in 2023, Sin conjunction with China University of Petroleum (Beijing). The conference was hosted by Hainan University. The conference was opened by Prof. Zhang Yu, the chairman of the China branch of the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) and China University of Petroleum (Beijing). Prof. Zou Yonghua, the vice president of Hainan University, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony, and Prof. Shen Yijun, the dean of the school of marine science and engineering of Hainan University, served as the executive chairman of the conference. With the theme of “Marine Resources Development”, this technical conference focussed on underwater technology, offshore engineering equipment, marine mineral resources and renewable energy development and utilization. More than 200 experts and scholars, graduate students from Brazil, United Kingdom, Malaysia, United States, and other countries, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, China Ship Scientific Research Center, ABS Classification Society (China), China Classification Society, more than 50 universities, research institutes and enterprises in the field of offshore engineering attended the conference. On October 28, the invited keynote presentations were given by Zhang Laibin from China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Segen Estefen from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Duan Menglan from Tsinghua University, Frank Lim from 2H Offshore, Cui Weicheng from Westlake University, Gao Fuping from Institute of Mechanics in Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhang Aman from Harbin Engineering University, Yan Jun from Dalian University of Technology, Tao Chunhui from the Second Institute of Oceanography in Ministry of Natural Resources, Noor Amila from University Technology Petronas, and so on. On the second day of conference, the professors, experts, engineers, 32 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## China Branch _contd._ and students presented their latest research achievements in four technical sessions. The Annual General Meeting was held on October 29th, 2023. Prof. Zhang Yu gave a general overview of the reelection and expansion of the executive committee of the SUT China branch. The conference will continue to retain the services of academician Zhou Shouwei, academician Zeng Hengyi, and Prof. Cui Weicheng as advisors. Prof. He Yangye from China University of Petroleum (Beijing) will replace Prof. Sun Ting as the secretary of the SUT China branch. The principles of the executive committee expansion of SUT China branch are decided following the professionalism, coverage, and representation of the underwater technologies. On behalf of the executive committee of the SUT China branch, Prof. Zhang Yu expressed the sincere gratitude to Prof. Shen Yijun from Hainan University and his team for their hard work and outstanding contributions to the conference. After discussion, all the committees agreed that the 13th SUT (China) Technical Conference is going to be held in Tianjin, China, dates to be decided. 33 Society for Underwater Technology ## Eastern Mediterranean www.sut.org/branch/eastern-mediterranean/ ## **Dan Hayes** ## **Committee** _Chair_ Dr Daniel Hayes _ViceChair / Secretary_ Dr Nicolas Droushiotis he East Mediterranean Branch of the SUT has had an exciting and productive year, marking several significant milestones as we continue to foster growth, Tengagement, and collaboration within our community. ## Key Activities and Events ## **STEM 2024 Participation** Our branch was represented at STEM 2024 by John Charalambides, who was one of three presenters at the Technical Workshop held prior to the conference. His contributions highlighted our commitment to promoting technical excellence and knowledge-sharing in underwater technology. ## **First Social Event in Nicosia** On 3rd October 2024, we hosted our first social event in Nicosia, attended by around 50 subsea professionals, academics, and students. This event offered an invaluable opportunity for networking and building connections within our local underwater technology community. We were honored to have the SUT Chair, Sue John, travel from the UK to support this event, underscoring the importance of our branch’s development and the broader commitment of SUT leadership. ## **New Corporate Member: Fugro** John Charalambides Demetris Hadjigeorgiou Mohamed Medany In October, we welcomed Mohamed Medany as Fugro’s corporate member representative in the area, and we look forward to collaborating on future initiatives. ## **Annual General Meeting (AGM)** Our Annual General Meeting is planned for December 2024. This gathering will provide an opportunity to reflect on our progress, discuss future goals, and engage with our members in meaningful ways. ## **Upcoming Technical Event with Fugro** We are organising our first technical event, which will feature a presentation by Fugro on geophysical, geotechnical, and environmental base surveys. This event will include a technical presentation followed by a social networking hour, and is tentatively scheduled for December 2024 or January 2025. ## Looking Ahead As we move into 2025, the East Mediterranean Branch is committed to expanding our program of events, fostering professional development, and strengthening the network of underwater technology professionals across the region. We are excited to build on this year’s achievements and continue making impactful contributions to the field. 34 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## London & South of England Branch www.sut.org/branch/london UT LSE is a stable branch of SUT. We are realistic regarding the amount of events that we can put on. There are constraints with costs of venues in London Sbut we counter this by working with our corporate members and utilising their facilities wherever possible. Our subcommittees help sharing work load with a different coordinator for each event. ## Sub-Committees **Events Team:** Responsible for Technical meetings and social events. Within this group individual events have a designated leader in a project manager. **City Team:** Responsible primarily for running the Lunch and Learns events in the London. These events are always important, linking both our regional expertise in the insurance world with subsea engineering community. **Liaison Team:** Responsible for reaching out to other SUT Special Interest groups (SIGs). This team includes the important liaison with the Education and Training SIGs. **Marketing Team:** Responsible for branch publicity via social media, LinkedIn _etc._ **Membership Team:** Responsible for maintaining and developing our individual and corporate membership. ## Event Venues Lunch and learns are held in corporate member offices in the City. Our target is to hold 3-4 events a year including an annual industry forecasting. For evening events, we have two church hall venues, one at Christchurch in Woking and one in at St Johns church near Waterloo. These are low cost but convenient venues. The Woking event is host to presentations from SUT corporate members in the west London “hub”. For the last two years we have held successful seminar type events at Beazleys head office in Bishopgate, London. These are longer events with three presentations on related topics followed by discussion kindly hosted by Beazleys. Our aims are to hold 4-5 evening events a year. ## Events held: As a committee there is a focus on energy transition. Events held at Beazley’s office have both been on Carbon Capture topics. The UK government has given a goahead to carbon capture projects, so we are planning more events to discuss the technologies and strategies of storing and transporting carbon dioxide. Future events planned include all aspects of offshore renewal energy _ie_ wind, wave, tidal and blue hydrogen. ## **Richard Binks** ## **Committee** _Chair_ Richard Binks _Deputy Chair_ Keith Broughton _Hon Treasurer_ Iain Knight _Legal Advisor_ Simon Hems Mark Pickering George Varelis Antonia Corr Harry Henly David Gawen Alex Rimmer David Newman Julian Tucker Spencer Clark Scott Gower In September we held a joint technical presentation on subsea technologies for enhanced operations focussing on firstly automated pig launchers and secondly renewable subsea power using a wave energy source and subsea battery. In March we held a lunch and learn hosted by Lloyd Warwick to discuss another important topic: the environmental impact of subsea mining. Our annual quiz night was as successful as ever and held in November at Ye Olde Watling in London. With our socials we are adjusting to our tighter lower risk budget against progressively higher costs of any formal event in London. 35 Society for Underwater Technology ## London & South of England Branch _contd.._ ## Training Running training courses is an important revenue stream for SUT. Unfortunately to run the course needs more time to coordinate our requirements with SUT’s training group. We still have training requirements that have potentially good returns. There is a key requirement for industry investors to understand the technologies and for insurers to better understand subsea equipment risks. ## Early Career development Helping and encouraging members in their early careers is still vitally important. We felt that the best way to do this was to encourage them to be part of our sub committee structure rather than having a separate SUT+ committee. Encouraging their professional development within subsea technology is an important part of knowledge sharing within SUT. ## Membership Maintaining our membership levels is our lifeblood. Hopefully active committee members act as SUT catalysts within their companies, posting meeting notices and encouraging event attendance. Corporate members need regular SUT updates to show that we continue to offer added value in return for the membership investment. We also develop ties to other professional groups such as Lloyds U35s and other Societies that include the Offshore Engineering Society and The Hydrographic Society. ## Summary As ever, the LSE branch is indebted to its committee members for ideas and the energy to drive us forward. We are grounded as a team, understanding our capabilities and capacities as volunteers. We now have tried and tested venues and so have an excellent base to achieve our targeted events. 36 Annual Report 2023-2024 Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur www.sut.org/branch/malaysia-kuala-lumpur/ fter a hiatus of almost three years caused by the worldwide Covid-19 lockdowns, we re-activated the SUT KL Branch in 2023. The first meeting Atook place on Wednesday 10 August in Changkat, a place popular with oil and gas professionals in KL. Subsequent meetings took place regularly, on the second Wednesday of each month. The current Executive Committee was formed in June 2024 and has been active in promoting the SUT monthly events to the oil and gas, offshore renewables and other communities involved in subsea activities. Notice of meetings are published in LinkedIn as well in an SUT-dedicated WhatsApp group. ## Regular Events The list of regular SUT KL Branch meetings during 2023-2024: **Marian Copilet** - 14 August 2023 - 13 September 2023 - 11 October 2023 - 13 December 2023 - 10 January 2024 - 28 February 2024 – to coincide with OTC Asia 2024 conference - 13 March 2024 - 10 April 2024 - 8 May 2024 - 12 June 2024 ## **Committee** _Chair_ Marian Copilet _Secretary_ Jasmine Shim _Treasurer_ David Trees Kalaivarma Marimuthu Sudeep Suresh Ruben Ratna Kumar Jeyanthi Ramasamy Derek Thomson - 10 July 2024 ## Planned Events for 2024-2025 We made arrangements to provide projector, screen and sound system at our regular meeting place to enable technical presentations by companies interested in raising their profile in Malaysia. We will also explore opportunities for lunch and learn sessions. 37 Society for Underwater Technology ## Middle East Branch ## www.sut.org/branch/middle-east ## **Adrian Phillips** ## **Committee** _**Chair**_ Adrian Phillips ## _**Dubai**_ Graeme Chalmers Steve Goddard Bob Morgan Nawin Singh Bedros Mardikian Anand Menon Ashish Rawal Chris West Ross Anderson Lesya Kramarenko Pat Carey ## _**Abu Dhabi**_ Richard Richards Russell Harper Mark Thomer Katherine Ferguson Anthony Quick Scott Steven Killian Palop Jeff Dean Ibtessam Hasan Carl Petter Halvorsen DIPEC 2023 in many ways marked a coming of age as DMG (ADIPEC event organizers) gave us a prime position in the Offshore, Marine & Logistics Azone and they were eager to re-engage this year for 2024. Chairman Adrian Phillips, Ashish Rawal from SS7 and Nawin Singh at McDermott were all actively involved in the SPE technical session running during that week. Nawin and Adrian chairing session 12 on Installation, and Under Water Technology: EPRS, Asset Integrity. Following “Road to COP28” where we explored the renewable energy mix and the offshore, marine and subsea contribution at KU’s Research and Innovation Center on CO2 and Hydrogen we hosted a fascinating event pre Xmas 2023 during the week of COP28. The Nippon Foundation - GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project presented it’s collaborative project to inspire the complete mapping of the world’s ocean by 2030, and to compile all bathymetric data into the freely-available GEBCO Ocean Map. Alongside GEBCO, Horizon Geoscience and Fugro the region’s leading subsea survey companies in two fascinating presentations talked about Seabed survey for coastal resilience and challenges in the Middle East. Our biggest event this year I felt finally put SUT on the map was sponsored by ADNOC, where Prysmian, Hitachi and Jan de Nul presented the case for HVDC systems for Offshore Power Transmission in the MENA region made possible by our long term friends and supporters at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi. ADNOC presented the case for DC _vs_ AC for the electrification of their offshore facilities via Das Island, as well as the BOOT scheme a typical project finance model designed to finance such ambitious long term power generation schemes. Prysmian presented their ground-breaking cable designs, whilst Hitachi covered the onshore and offshore inverters and transmission infrastructure. Close to our world, Jan de Nul described the practical realities and challenges laying the subsea cables. ADNOC, Aramco and Qatar Gas continue to release a stream of high value projects. The committee have come together only once since ADIPEC 23 to plan current and future events. Middle East remains a challenging domain for SUT type activity, without a legal entity, the recent project’s surge, climactic challenges and the transient nature of the expatriate engineering community. We continue to draw the committee from major players in the industry; major EPC (McDermott, Saipem and Subsea 7) and ADNOC. Otherwise, the committee has representatives from Ashtead, DCN BV, Fugro, Lloyd Warwick, Dolphin Energy, Motive, Prysmian, Baker Hughes, Horizon Geo, Unique, Dolphin Energy, CSub and the Tekmar Group. These companies are the subsea industry in the Middle East and all focused-on Aramco, ADNOC and QG (QatarGas) offshore activity in Saudi, UAE and Qatar. I continue to thank all for their continued energy and commitment. We are out of the starting blocks in terms of development, supported by HQ SUT and we mark our sixth year anniversary in region at ADIPEC 2024. 38 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## North of England Branch www.sut.org/branch/north-of-england he North of England Branch meets on a bi-monthly basis. Over the last year, we held a series of technical sessions as well as a site visit to the DARA TCentre at ORE Catapult, Blyth. Our membership includes students from local Universities as well as engineers and scientists from the local subsea engineering community. The technical meeting programme began with the latest developments in Biomimetics and Bio-fouling research by renowned speakers Weichao Shi, and Chang Li, both of Newcastle University. They showed the performance increase possible when using nature-inspired design. In March, the usual venue at Newcastle University (Armstrong Building) was switched to the newly revamped Stephenson Building. Underwater structures were shown in vivid colour, using the 360° screens. There was a great mix of people, including local students and professionals – many of whom studied at Newcastle University, given an overview of the latest in VR, SLAM and LiDAR technology. ## **Vahid Walker** In our annual site tour – we visited the DARE Centre for the first time. Our newest committee member Ken Chan gave an overview of the Catapult network, and how it engages with companies to help them validate and scale up their technologies. **Committee** _Chair_ Vahid Walker _Honorary Secretary_ Dr Simon Benson _Treasurer_ Jon Greenwood Dr Ian Frazer Martin Bingham Michael van Zwanenberg Ken Chan Anthony Harvey Presentations from Andrew Ambrose-Thurman (SMD) and Dylan Jones (Kinewell Energy) gave excellent examples of the technology breakthroughs that can be achieved using the DARE Centre. They each discussed ROV “Over the Horizon Control”, and “KLOC Software” for offshore wind CAPEX reduction. In the season finale – we held our first North of England branch Pub Quiz. Despite some negative feedback (from the mic, not the audience), the event went 39 Society for Underwater Technology ## North of England Branch ## _contd..._ off without a hitch! The event had an excellent turnout, with teams from: Royal IHC (sponsors), Osbit, Bluefield Geoservices, DME Systems Ltd, Subco Engineering, Walker Subsea Engineering Ltd and PDL Group . With prizes on offer (magnum of Prosecco & miniature) for the winner as well as last place team, there was a distinct competitive edge! In the end, the result was very close with Probably Dead Last (PDL cleverly circumventing the “no company team names” rule) pipping four is a crowd (who only had three players) to the winning position. The branch continues to be hosted by Newcastle University’s School of Marine Science and Technology. Our aim for the coming year is to restart the SUT+ group and increase the number of social events. ## Finances The North of England Branch finances are reported through the Aberdeen Branch P&L account. Our activities have been funded by membership fees and branch sponsorship received from local companies throughout the year. ## Future Plans This year the aim is to reinvigorate the branch. We plan to: - Hold a series of evening meetings featuring challenging talks and topics - Find new committee members - Introduce new SUT corporate members - Re-start SUT+ - Continued collaboration with other local Societies to further the cross-pollination of ideas and technologies along with some joint events. The branch will exist to enthuse those already in the industry, inspire others to join it and spread the word to a younger generation about the opportunities and excitement of the sector. 40 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Norway Branch www.sut.org/branch/norway he SUT Norway branch in the initial stages of relaunch efforts following years of dormancy. Efforts are currently underway to engage with Tpotential Corporate Members to join, as well as individual members. It is hoped that launch event can be hosted towards the end of October or early November in Oslo where participants from industry can join and learn about SUT’s remit and vision for the Norwegian branch. The intent is to have two nodes: one in Oslo and one in Stavanger. This is to better reach and service the various underwater industries in Norway. The initial focus will be on targeting members from the offshore wind and oil and gas industries. Technical events will be planned for each of these. Firstly, we aim to resurrect the Subsea Awareness Course and hope to deliver this in the first half of 2025. Additionally, a technical seminar on offshore wind will be organised to promote the industry, particularly as the Norwegian Government announced the first lease award in 2024. There will also be a focus on engagement with students in order to educate them about careers in the offshore sector. ## **Sarah Elkhatib** ## **Committee** _Chair_ Sarah Elkhatib Jonathan Bracher Jack Rice 41 Society for Underwater Technology ## Singapore Branch www.sut.org/branch/singapore ## **Raj Nagalingam** ## **Committee** _Chair_ Raj Nagalingam _Secretary_ Florie Mancel _Treasurer_ Jose Puig Phillip Thomas Che Keong Leo Andrew Blears Peter Nilson Derek Donalson his year, we at the Singapore Branch of the SUT have experienced a year full of activity, innovation, and growth. With James Christie’s departure from TSUT, our Executive Committee now comprises the dedicated members listed below. As part of our commitment to continuous improvement and transparency, we will be holding an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in December 2024 to re-elect committee members and welcome any new faces who wish to join us in advancing our mission. ## Year-End Social Event We held a vibrant year-end social event on December 7th, 2023, at Pemenco CHIJMES. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect with colleagues, celebrate the year’s accomplishments, and strengthen our community. ## Technical Evening Our technical evening on May 16th, 2024, was a historic event, drawing the largest turnout in SUT Singapore’s history. Held at the One Farrer Hotel, the evening featured insightful presentations from esteemed speakers: Darren Wong from Keppel Technical, Power & Renewables; Vu Tien Luc from NTU’s AUV Team; and Andrew Wong from IMarEST. The high attendance highlighted the growing interest in underwater technology and the dedication of our members and guests to exploring this field. ## SAUVC Sponsorship We proudly sponsored the Singapore Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Challenge (SAUVC) held at Singapore Polytechnic from April 5-8, 2024, contributing $1,500 SGD in support. Raj Nagalingam was also invited to join the panel of speakers, sharing insights with students and aspiring professionals. SAUVC is Asia’s largest underwater student robotics competition, endorsed by the United Nations’ Decade of Ocean Science. This challenge brings together teams worldwide, tasking them with designing and building autonomous underwater vehicles capable of real-world applications. Launched in 2012, SAUVC continues to inspire students through workshops, panel discussions, and lectures from leading experts in marine robotics and autonomous systems. We are honored to support an initiative that builds essential skills for future innovators in this critical field. ## Sponsorship Support We’re immensely grateful to the sponsors who have made it possible to deliver our activities in 2024. Thanks to the generosity of Elevate, Sonardyne, Ashtead, IKM, Arus Jaya, STR, Oceanscan, Norbit, and AOS Offshore, we are well-equipped to provide quality events, outreach, and opportunities for our members. ## Looking Ahead We’re already preparing for an exciting technical evening on September 25, 2024, and our upcoming year-end social event in either November or December. ## Future Plans Looking toward 2025, we aim to expand our offerings with a Subsea Awareness 42 Annual Report 2023-2024 Singapore Branch _contd..._ Course and are considering establishing bursaries for students. By investing in education and support for emerging professionals, we are building a foundation for future leaders in the field of underwater technology. ## Meetings This year, we held committee meetings on November 23, 2023, and May 30, 2024, to review our progress and plan for the future. As we close another successful year, we remain committed to our mission of advancing underwater technology and are energized by the growth of our community. We look forward to a dynamic year ahead filled with learning, connection, and innovation. Thank you for your ongoing support and involvement in SUT Singapore. 43 Society for Underwater Technology ## US Branch ## www.sut.org/branch/houston **Andy Hill** **Dr. Rodolfo Sancio** **Tricia Hill** **Dr. Xiaoyan Long** UT-US is overseen by an Executive Committee and embraces four technical committees: SOffshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics (OSIG), Subsea Engineering and Operations Atlantic (SEO Atlantic), Robotics & Automation (R&A), and Marine Renewable Energy Committee (MREC). Additionally, there are three non-technical committees: the Young Professionals, Education, and Women in Industry Committees. Furthermore, SUT-US embodies four student chapters: Texas A&M University (SUT-TAMU), the University of Houston (SUT-SES-UH), Texas A&M University - Galveston (SUT-TAMUG), and the University of Texas at Austin (SUT-UT). These groups convene regularly with active participation. SUT-US also organizes monthly in-person Networking Events on the first Thursday of each month. SUT-US staff is comprised by Mrs. Patsy Rhymes who assumes the coordination of in-person events, sponsorship and booth participation on local and regional events; Mrs. Mariana Diaz who is responsible for the coordination of online events, online marketing, overall communications for the Branch, as well as supporting editor, accounting assistant, newsletter and website information. ## Executive Committee - Chair - Tricia Hill 2022-2024 - New Chair Elect - Andy Hill 2025-2027 ## **Committee** _Hon Chair & President_ Tricia Hill Hon President Elect Andy Hill _Hon Treasurer_ Dr. Rodolfo Sancio _Hon Secretary_ Dr. Xiaoyan Long - Treasurer Officer - Dr. Rodolfo Sancio, Geosyntec Consultant - Secretary - Dr. Xiaoyan Long, Fugro USA Marine, Inc ## Maria Ancheril X. Sam Guo Heather Cousson Colin Johnston John Allen Jan Van Smirren Jon Halliburton Alison Tóth Don Schlater Karen Perez _New Appointed Executive Committee Member_ Zack Westgate _OSIG Chair_ Andrew Haigh _School Touring Chair_ Faisal Yousef _Robotics and Automation Chair_ Roneet Das _Young Appointed Executive Professionals Committee Member_ Mark Siegmund _Past SUT_ Damilola Abe _Education Chair Committee Chair_ Zenon Medina-Cetina David Emery _New Past SUT Chair SUT-TAMU Student_ Keshawa Shukla _SEOChapter Chair Atlantic_ Mary Zhao _New SUT-_ Tina Drexler _New UT Student Chapter Chair_ 44 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## US Branch _contd._ Summary of Key Activities at the SUT-US Branch (1 July 2023 - 30 June 2024) ## **Innovative Geotechnologies for Energy Transition – Student Poster Competition:** Zack Westgate, Elizabeth Hamilton University of Massachusetts, Johanna Tatum Texas A&M University and Andy Hill Rodolfo Sancio, Zack Westgate, Xiaoyan Long, Cheryl Burgess, and Andy Hill ## **Offshore Technology Conference OTC:** • May 6-10, 2024 – SUT-US celebrated Luz Zarate for her Emerging Leaders Class Award and Kerry Campbell for the OTC Distinguished Award at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, TX Luz Zarate - Shell Emerging Leaders Class Award Kerry Campbell OTC Distinguished Award ## **Subsea Awareness Course:** - September 11th – 14th, 2023 | Attendees: 19 • March 25th – 28th, 2024 | Attendees: 9 45 Society for Underwater Technology ## US Branch ## _contd._ ## **Floating Wind Solutions Conference:** • January 30th – February 1st, 2023 ## **Networking Events & Other** We held our monthly Networking Events at various venues, including Memorial Wine Cellar, Red Lion, Watson’s House of Ales, Union Kitchen, Kirby Icehouse, Velvet Oak Tavern, Texas T Tavern, and others. Mariana Diaz, Patsy Rhymes, Tricia Hill, Zenon Centina -Medina, and Damilola Abe Victoria Mant, Chirstopher Curran, William Taggart, Tricia Hill, and Colin Johnson SUT-US Offshore Wind Drinks Adnan Djeffal, MuhamChristopher Curran, Cheryl met Cuneyt Sakonder, and Burgess and Andy Hill Patsy Rhymes ## **Cheryl Burgess visit to the Houston Office and TAMU 10-year anniversary celebration:** Houston, Texas recently played host to a momentous occasion as Cheryl Burgess, the esteemed CEO of the SUT, embarked on a multifaceted journey. Her visit encompassed a series of events, including a dynamic networking gathering, the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the TAMU Student Chapter, and meaningful interactions with SUT-US members and other Student Chapters. This trifecta of activities highlighted Cheryl Burgess’ commitment to promote collaboration and celebrating the achievements of the underwater technology community. 46 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## US Branch _contd._ Cheryl Burgess, Keshawa Shukla, and Vy Le Keshawa Shukla, Zenon Madina-Centina, John Allen, and Christopher Curran Zenon Medina-Centina Texas A&M Student Chapter Offshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics (OSIG) Committee Zack Westgate University of Massachusetts Amherst OSIG-US Chair OSIG-US is comprised of the following subcommittees: Short Courses and Learning Seminars and Webinars. The committee is comprised of 50 active Full and Associate members. The Officers are Zack Westgate (Chairperson) and Logan Brant (Secretary). Zack Westgate is the newly elected OSIG Chair, and transitioned to Chair in 2023 assuming the role fully in January 2024. His term is from 2023 through 2025. Logan Brant was re-elected to Secretary on 20 January 2023. His term will go from 2023 through 2025. This committee meets every quarter; Q4 October 27th, 2023, Q1 January 12th, 2024, and Q2 May 3rd, 2024. 47 Society for Underwater Technology ## US Branch ## _contd._ ## **OSIG Committee Roster:** ## **Full Members** Amanda Evans Andrew Haigh Andy Hill Bob Gilbert Chris McHugh Christian Noll Chuck Aubeny Craig Shipp Dan McConnell Dan Spikula Dianna Phu Earl Doyle Ed Clukey Heather Cousson Justin Bailey Justin Carpenter Kerry Campbell Kim Faulk Leonardo Macelloni Logan Brant Patricia Varela Rob Little Ryan Beemer Shawn Williamson Stephanie Watts Favreau Victor Taboada Xiaoyan Long Zack Westgate Zenon Medina-Cetina ## **Associate Members** Agatha Onuwaje Alan Foley Daniel Lanier Deanne Hargraves Diane Baxter Elizabeth Andrews Federico Pisano Francisco Hernandez-Martinez Jack Templeton Jan Van Smirren Jeong-yun Won John Albertson Niall Slowey Nick Clark Ning Luo Patrick Lee Peter Ramsay Rania Aql Roneet Das Shengmin Luo Shuang Hu Stephanie Milne Steven MacDonald ## **Meeting and Quality Presentations:** - **9th International OSIG Conference: Innovative Geotechnologies for Energy Transition** - Poster Finalists - Judges: Andy Hill, Rob Little and Patricia Varela – July 14th, 2023 Andy Hill, Rob Little, and Patricia Varela - **9th International OSIG Conference: Innovative Geotechnologies for Energy Transition** – Participation of the USA branch – September 12th, 2023 Zack Westgate, Elizabeth Hamilton Winner of the Poster Competiton, Johanna Tatum, and Andy Hill Rodolfo Sancio, Zack Westgate, Xiaoyan Long, Cheryl Burgess, Andy Hill 48 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## US Branch _contd._ - **Geoscience and engineering challenges for floating offshore wind** , presentation by Sanjay Arwade, Charles Aubeny, Xiaoyan Long, Dan McConnell, Prosepine Peralta, and Rodolfo Sancio, attendance 44 – November 2nd, 2023 - **OSIG Happy Hour to celebrate Kerry Campbell and Luz Zarate** for their recognitions Hosted by Andy Hill, attendance 15 – May 3rd, 2024 - **EAGE/SUT Workshop on Integrated Site Characterization for Offshore Renewable Energy** by multiple presenters, attendance 80 – May 22nd-23rd, 2024 49 Society for Underwater Technology ## US Branch ## _contd._ - **Pile run challenges and solutions for offshore wind development** by Zack Westgate, Federico Pisanò, Carl Erbrich, Bob Stevens, René Thijssen, and Asitha Senanayak attendance 75 – June 13th, 2024 Asitha Senanayak, René Thijssen, Federico Pisanò, Carl Erbrich, Zack Westgate and Mariana Diaz ## **Future Events:** - **Marine Mineral Panel** organized by Dan McConnell – October 17th, 2024 - **Floating offshore wind dynamic power cable** - Fall 2024 - **“Sediment scour and erosion of the seafloor”** by Ed Clukey – Fall 2024 - **“Efficiencies and challenges in offshore wind foundation design”** by Dr. Phillipe Jeanjean – Q1 2025 ## SEO Atlantic (& Europe) Committee Keshawa Shukla, SEO-Atlantic Chair The Subsea Engineering and Operations Atlantic (& Europe) Committee comprises 30 experts from various fields across the US, Canada, Mexico, and the UK. Members include representatives from Texas A&M University, TechnipFMC, McDermott, Wood, CIGoM, 2H Offshore, Subsea7, Intecsea, Saab Group, Husky Energy, Dominion Diving, Double Engineering, Angler Solutions, Fugro, Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company, and other subsea services and consultancy organizations. Led by Keshawa Shukla (KP) SEO-Atlantic Chair, the SEO Atlantic holds monthly meetings featuring technical presentations and discussions on industry-relevant themes and potential learning programs. A significant focus is on the Energy Transition and the challenges posed by the Net Zero Technology Centre, driven by sectors in the 50 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## US Branch ## _contd._ UKCS North Sea, Aberdeen, Norway, and the US. Key topics include carbon capture and storage, offshore wind, ROV/AUV, and digital twin projects. ## **SEO ATLANTIC Committee Roster:** Keshawa Shukla Chair Chris Roper Nicholas Pacewicz Alison Toth Christopher Bridge Rick Hunt Brian Skeels Colin Johnson Sam Guo Chad Fowlow Joseph Wilhelmi Steve Johnson Charlie Reith Juan Pablo Orozco Muñis Xiaoyan Long Cheryl Burgess Maria Ancheril Chigozirim Cyprian Onyek Mike Paulin ## **Meetings and Quality Presentations:** - Committee Meeting with guest speaker **Christopher Bridge** , presented **Digital Twins and Digitalization** – July 26th, 2023 - Committee Meeting with guest speaker **Joseph Wilhelmi** from Onesubsea, SLB, Houston presented **“The OSS/ Chevron Joint Project to Develop 20Ksi Production Equipment.”** - Committee Meeting with guest speaker **Juan Pablo Orozco Muñis** presented **“Mexican Underwater Glider”** – February 26th, 2024 - Subsea Tieback Meeting, San Antonio, TX, with booth participation – February 26th, 2024 Keshawa Shukla - Committee Meeting with guest speaker **Mr. Jeff Whipple, Doris Group** , presented **“New Design Approach to Filling Gaps of Industry Codes for Submarine Power Cables”** - April 10th, 2024 - **Offshore Technology Conference (OTC24)** – Presentation on the **“Design of Offshore Green Hydrogen Production Systems Utilizing Offshore Wind Power Source”** - May 7, 2024 Keshawa Shukla, and Vy Le 51 Society for Underwater Technology ## US Branch ## _contd._ ## Robotics and Automation Committee Faisal Yousef Zheng Chen University of Houston R&A Chair R&A Chair Elect The Robotics and Automation Committee (R&A) is chaired by Faisal Yousef, P.E., Engineering Consultant / API Lead Auditor. Individuals from the following organizations committed membership: Schlumberger, SAAB, inRobotics, Kongsberg, Chevron, CANRIG, RBR Group, TAMU, UH CL, and Rice University. ## **R & A Committee Roster** Faisal Yousef Chair Dave Gentle Matthew Kowalczyk Chen Zheng Chair Elect Eric Levitt Nathan Ehrenholz Arnt-Helge Olsen Fathi Ghorbel Nick Tillamnn Byul Hur Francesco Bernardini Roneet Das D Fraser Javier Garcia Wenyu Zuo Dabney James Bruster John Allen ## **Meetings and Quality Presentations:** - **Argeo use of AUVs for Deep Sea Mineral Exploration** by Dave Gentle - August 25th, 2023 - **Committee Meeting** - October 20th, 2023 - **Canrig Robotics Presentation** by Hifzi Arnt Committee presentation - January 19th, 2024 - **Magnetic Sensing for Underwater Sensing** by Aaron Becker / Associate professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Houston – April 5th, 2024 - **Tightly coupled electric field, magnetic field, and photogrammetry measurements from ROVs and AUVs for inspection of subsea infrastructure by Matthew Kowalczyk** , Ocean Floor Geophysics Inc. (OFG) - June 21st, 2024 R&A Committee Meeting 52 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## US Branch _contd._ ## **Future Events:** - University of Houston + SPRINT Workforce of the Future - Robotics in Energy organized by **Javier Garcia** and **Zheng Chen** – August 16th, 2024 Aaron Becker, Javier Garcia, Zheng Chen, and David Emery - Lunch & Learn with **Matthew Kowalczyk** presenting some of the OFG technology, experiences and results of our non-contact Cathodic Protection inspection (iCP) system for AUV/ROV/HAUV – October 25th, 2024 - **Canrig Robotics** by **Hifzi Ardic** - Fall 2024 ## Marine Renewable Energy Committee (MREC) Marine Renewable Energy Committee (MREC), this committee aims to provide a recognized forum for marine renewable energies, including wind, ocean currents, river, thermal, solar, and wave energies, along with their associated areas such as Research & Development, Design & Manufacture, Onshore & Offshore Construction, Installation, and Inspection, Maintenance & Repair. Its purpose is to promote best practices within the MREC committee’s remit for the broader renewables industry, serve as a recognized learned body offering advice on technical issues to non-commercial organizations, and organize educational and training courses, workshops, seminars, and international conferences for the offshore industry to foster best practices and knowledge dissemination. Within this group we have individuals from the following organizations: Geosyntec Consultants, Texas A&M University, University of Houston, Wood Group, Siemens, Fugro, Subsea, Power Engineers, Element, JDR Cables, Integral Consulting Services, and BP. ## **Marine Renewable Energy Roster** Carlos Avila Maria Ancheril Luz Zarate Damilola Abe Patricia Varela Zack Westgate Deanne Hargrave Richard Barratt Zenon Medina-Cetina John Allen Roneet Das Keshawa Shukla San Guo ## **Meetings and Quality Presentations:** - “Wind Turbine Technology” by Myra Wong - September 22nd, 2023 - “Regulation and Standards for Marine Renewables, Specifically OWF by Lars Samuelsson – February 16th, 2024 53 Society for Underwater Technology ## US Branch ## _contd._ ## Educational Committee: Damilola Abe, Wood, Educational Committee Chair The Educational committee aims to establish and develop contacts with US universities in areas of mutual interest. It plans to initiate seminars or events with significant educational content, update and revise career information in underwater technology for schools and universities, and engage young people in its activities, particularly those in higher education, through lectures, training, and career advice. This committee has different student participation through Student Chapters. We have Sapna Budhrani Student Chapter Chair at the University of Houston, Mary Zhao Student Chapter Chair at University of Texas at Austin, and David Emery Student Chapter Chair at University of Texas A&M College Station. ## **Events and Activities:** - University of Texas A&M Galveston Student Chapter Kickoff Event – April 9th, 2024 - University of Texas A&M Galveston Student Chapter Recruiting Event – April 30th, 2024 ## School Touring Committee The School Touring Committee, led by Andrew Haigh, offers volunteers the chance to inspire middle and high school students in Houston and nearby areas about STEM subjects. Through this outreach program, volunteers can engage with students by sharing their career journeys, participating in classroom activities, and presenting on topics related to ocean, earth, and space sciences. Unfortunately, this committee has been inactive since COVID. ## Scholarship Committee Six members comprise the Education Committee, chaired by Christopher Curran. This committee is responsible for reviewing SUT US’ annual scholarship applications. The 2023 scholarship recipients were recognized during the Scholarship Awards Ceremony on September 8th, 2023. The selected students by the Scholarships Subcommittee were: 54 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## US Branch _contd._ - Adebowale Adedoyin (University of Southern Mississippi) - Salvatore Fricano (Rutgers State University, New Jersey) - Elias Adediran (University of New Hampshire) - Jesse Noble (Rutgers State University, New Jersey) - Musa Animashaun (University of Southern Mississippi) - Tyler Kleinsasser (Black Hills State University) ## Women in Industry Melissa Gould, WIND Interim Chair The SUT-US Women in Industry Subcommittee (WIND) task force was established to promote awareness of inclusion, diversity, mentoring, and leadership among academia and industry professionals. Its mission is to equally engage both men and women through the Champagne & Conversation Series. This platform allows participants to learn about the industry’s evolution in diversity and inclusion by bringing together senior and 55 Society for Underwater Technology ## US Branch ## _contd._ young professionals from the offshore energy sector to share their experiences and advice for future leaders. The WIND task force is led by interim Chair Melissa Gould, Stress Engineering. The committee includes members from Chevron, Stress Engineering Services, GEMS, Intecsea, Geosyntec, and KBR. ## **WIND Committee Roster** Melissa Gould Interim Chair Heather Cousson Amber Sturrock Kaci Callahan Bia Carboni Kim Faulk Brianna Noris Luz Zarate Catalina Maldonado Mariana Diaz Donald Burris Patricia Varela Patsy Rhymes Stephanie Ingle Tina Drexler Tricia Hill ## **Meetings and Quality Presentations:** - **Champagne & Conversation series: Time Management** Moderated by Melissa Gould and we had a panel discussion formed by Ruby Ramirez, Andrew Haigh, Damilola Abe, Catalina Maldonado, attendees 28 – October 19th, 2023 Melissa Gould Amit Aglawe, Tricia Hill Ruby Ramirez, Damilola Abe, and Catalina Maldonado - **Champagne & Conversation series: Core Values** Moderated by Melissa Gould and we had a table discussion formed by Tina Drexler, Catalina Maldonado, Christopher Curran, Roneet Das, and Kai Callahan, attendees 38 – February 21st, 2024 Colin Johnson and Christopher Curran Velvet Oak Tavern Ed Clukey, Victoria Mant and Roneet Das 56 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## US Branch ## _contd._ - **Champagne & Conversation series: Game Night!** Moderated by Kaci Callahan, attendance 10 - June 19th,2024 Victoria Mant, Melissa Gould, Luz Zarate, Alison Toth, Jon Halliburton, and Tricia Hill Kaci Callaghan and Victoria Mant ## **Future Events:** - **Champagne & Conversation series** Moderated by Kaci Callahan and are planning to have a speaker format on November 2024 - **Champagne & Conversation series** on Spring 2025 ## Young Professionals Committee: Roneet Das, NGI, Young Professionals Chair SUT-US YP serves as a platform for young professionals to exchange ideas, discuss industry insights, and develop skills essential for early-career growth and beyond. It also supports students transitioning into the workforce, encourages community involvement, and fosters lasting relationships. Members can look forward to engaging in learning luncheons, networking events, scholarship funding activities, outreach programs, and social gatherings. This committee meets bi-monthly. ## **Young Professional Committee Roster:** Roneet Das Chair Devvrat Singh Rathore Sola Komolafe Ajay Shastri Lisa Hill Victoria Mant Carlos Avila Muhammet Cuneyt Sakonder Damilola Abe Patricia Varela 57 ## US Branch ## _contd._ ## **Quality Presentations:** - **Connect, Collaborate, Succeed!** Young Professionals Networking Events - Beer Tasting Featuring Ed Clukey’s McClelland Lecture, presented the topic **“The Role of Physical Modeling in Offshore Geotechnical Engineering.”** Attendance 34 people – May 15th, 2024 Roneet Das Ed Clukey ## **Future Events:** - **Connect, Collaborate, Succeed!** Young Professionals Networking: Trivia Night! Victoria Mant as moderator – October 24th, 2024 - **Connect, Collaborate, Succeed!** Young Professionals Networking: Whiskey Tasting – Q1 2025 ## SUT-US Boston: Lisa Hill has started a group in the New England area for Offshore Wind. They had the Boston Offshore Wind Drinks networking co-hosted by SUT on May 23rd, 2024. ## Reports from Commmittees of Council and Special Interest Groups Society for Underwater Technology ## Education ## **Sue John** **Committee** _Chair_ Sue John ducation remains key to SUT’s mission, vision, and charitable objectives as a Learned Society. E Support for education comes directly from the Society’s funds as well as in the provision of training with our expert subject matter presenters, hosts of site visits and dozens of knowledgeable volunteers in organised events with structured learning, webinars, technical meetings, conferences, seminars and workshops; in addition to organising Ocean Career sessions at some supported exhibitions and university career days. SUT’s core training courses: Subsea Awareness, Offshore Wind, OSIG, and new in 2024 Metocean for Renewable attract international delegates from all stages of their careers and continue to deliver both fundamentals and technical information to our delegates. The Educational Support Fund continues to attract applications from internation students across marine, underwater and subsea science, technology and engineering degrees. In reading applications for ESF we have noted not only the high quality of the applicants; but also, the evolving university degrees which cover underwater disciplines and are relevant to the SUT’s sectors and special interest groups. Technology has progressed, moved forward since the ESF was started. So, our consideration of the university degrees by subjects, programmes and disciplines in the student applications will be updated as we look at the challenges of the future such as computer sciences and artificial intelligence. SUT continues to organise Ocean Careers at Oceanology International. In 2024 this well-attended Oi session included speakers from Fugro, MetOffice, RPS, RSAqua, Subsea7, Wood, as well as consultants Steve Hall and Mick Cook. Women in Industry provided speakers from Arup, BP, ERM, and Oceaneering. SUT continues to support Ocean Careers at Ocean Business and is looking forward to OB 2025 and the opportunity to support and participate in the careers sessions as well as speaking to students. SUT+ in Aberdeen organised a maximum capacity event on the road to Chartership with speakers from IChemE, IET, ICE, IMechE, and IMarEST. Attendees were able to have round-table in-depth discussions from the engineering societies, the chartership process and the benefits of chartership within their own organisations. Sebastian Lynch, a standout student from the University of Aberdeen, was been honored with the prestigious Society of Underwater Technology (SUT) Prize for his exceptional Level 4 Underwater Project. Sebastian said, “Throughout my four years at the University of Aberdeen, I have thoroughly enjoyed and excelled in my engineering career, thanks to the well-delivered and structured courses I attended. This has provided me with a strong foundation in offshore and structural engineering. Building on this experience, I am continuing my education by pursuing a Master’s degree, to further expertise in offshore and structural engineering.” The excellence of the universities which engage with SUT, faculties and students can not be praised highly enough. The MASTs conference in Glasgow included SUT’s Decommission and Wreck Removal day organised by the Decom and Salvage SIG engaged with hundreds of Scottish marine science/ engineering students and included attendance by SUT Chair. 60 Annual Report 2023-2024 Education _contd._ CEO, Cheryl Burgess, had the opportunity to address students at Texas A&M University, College Station at a meeting marking the 10th Year SUT-TAMU Student Chapter Anniversary in January 2024. The event marked a significant milestone, celebrating a decade of accomplishments, collaboration, and shared experiences within our vibrant SUT-TAMU Student Chapter community. Seeing familiar faces and welcoming new members added to the joy of the occasion, solidifying the sense of SUT community at TAMU. Our thanks to Billy Hernawan, President 2023-2024, TAMU-SUT, the Student Chapter committee and Professor Medina-Cetina for the organisation and delivery of this exemplary event. The CEO’s Texas visit also included a meeting with students and faculty at the University of Houston courtesy of Dr Gangbing Song with thanks to John Allen, SUT-US Committee. Meeting with Roneet Das, SUT-US, Young Professionals Chair highlighted a opportunity to connect SUT+ (UK) and YES (Perth). Plans to link US universities with Student Chapters to UK university members will be progressed in the next year. The Education committee needs volunteers from our university members, academia, corporate members interested in continuing education for employees and individual members interested in education. Please contact _**info@sut.org**_ to express your interest in joining this group. 61 Society for Underwater Technology ## Educational Support Fund Management he Society for Underwater Technology continues to support students through our Educational Support Fund. Each year we invite applications for scholarships which attract candidates from around the world. TUnfortunately, the Society is not resourced to be able to award funding to everyone who applies. Eighteen applications were reviewed by the judges in the short-list from undergraduates, Masters and Doctoral students. The number and variety of applications challenged the judges to produce a top-ten, then selection of finalists in their consideration of the applicants inspirational expressions of the how they have come to study in the sectors of interest to SUT, their aspirations for the marine, underwater and subsea careers they hope to have, their academic references and the degree programmes the applicants were set to study, The Educational Support Fund is a continued budget expenditure. We hope to be able to grow the number of awards we make each year. The Society thanks all those who donate funds for this purpose. Please contact CEO, Cheryl Burgess or Jane Hinton ( _**jane.hinton@sut.org**_ ) for more information on how to donate to the ESF and Bil Loth funds. In 2023-2024 the Society was able to make two scholarship awards. The recipients of grants from the Educational Support Fund were: Kaito Bremner and Vincentius Wijya. - Kaito Bremner, Oxford University, Christ Church College, Engineering Science. - Vincentius Wijaya, Postgraduate research project, PhD programme, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton Graduating recipients from the 2023-2024 period include Erin Nicholson, St Andrews University, Bartol Sikora, University of Oxford, Ryan Lin, Imperial College London and Francesca Fehlberg, Bangor University all of whom are pursuing marine and subsea-related careers. Our congratulations to them all. Students from all over the world are able to apply for the _**ESF scholarships**_ annually. In addition two of the SUT Branches operate their own scholarship schemes with USA Branch raising thousands of dollars of corporate sponsorship to support students at Texas universities where there are SUT Student Chapters. Perth (Australia) Branch also support scholarships. ## Summary of Undergraduates who graduated in 2024 Engineering Science - University of Oxford Ecology & Conservation - University of St Andrews ## Summary of New/Continuing Undergraduates 2024-25 Engineering Science - University of Oxford Environmental Sciences - University of East Anglia Marine Biology with Oceanography - University of Southampton Marine Science - Scottish Association for Marine Science ## Summary of New/Continuing Postgraduates 2024-25 Offshore Engineering - University of Aberdeen 62 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## International Training ith the transition back to a predominantly face to face training offer last year, the 2023/24 year has focussed more on growing our training Woffer. This has included two presentations of the existing popular online floating wind course in a three-day face-to-face format. Importantly the in-person format allowed us to include site visits, a key USP for SUT training made possible by our strong member support. During the year we also re-worked the existing MetOcean course material focus on renewable energy. This was run as an in-house course for a company working in the marine renewables space. Looking outside the UK Perth and Houston Branches have continued to develop their training offerings during the year including increasing the numbers of awareness course presentations. The international training committee met three times over the year, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the committee members, particularly those calling in outside their normal working day. As reported last year progress on the trial initiative to endorse limited 3rd party training provision was harder than we had hoped and after a review by Council it was agreed this initiative would be suspended. During the year the training committee also spent time discussing input to SUT’s ongoing strategic review. Recognising we have a limited volunteer resource the key areas of agreement were the need to prioritise existing course offers with a focus on in person training, including practical / site visit opportunities. Looking forward there is desire from the committee to incrementally build out from our current core offerings but only where we see clear demand and strategic fit with wider SUT member activity. ## **David Saul** **Committee** _Chair_ David Saul Cheryl Burgess Colin Johnston Leanne Geneve Tricia Hill Richard Luff Bob MacDonald David Newman Ralph Rayner Charlie Reith Paul Ryan Graham Whitehead 63 Society for Underwater Technology ## International **Steve Hall** **Committee** _Chair_ Steve Hall _SUT Chair_ Sue John _Former SUT Chair_ David Saul _Former Chair China Branch_ Frank Lim _SUT CEO_ Cheryl Burgess _Chair Perth Branch_ Brett Phillips _Chair/President USA Branch_ Tricia Hill Richard Binks Jim Neffgen UT currently has Branches in Australia, Brazil, China, Eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus), Malaysia, Middle East (UAE), Norway, Singapore, United Kingdom S(Aberdeen, London and North-East) and United States of America (Houston) with a Canada branch under development. For the most part, our Branches are legally established in their country of operation under local laws and customs, but all operate according to SUT’s Articles of Association and share common membership across the whole Society, with central services provided for the smaller Branches from our UK core team. Larger Branches employ their own administration and events staff where there is sufficient activity and income to justify the investment. All were deeply affected by the COVID pandemic of 2020-21 and this held back growth, putting some into a dormant state, but as business confidence and freedom to travel has returned we are seeing a return to the previous active state of most Branches and we envisage continued growth through the decade. The International Committee is currently Chaired by former SUT CEO Steve Hall and aims to meet twice a year online to receive reports from Branch Chairs / Presidents, share news and suggestions of Best Practise, discuss formation of new branches and if required, the closure of branches that are no longer active. The Committee reports to SUT Council, who will take decisions based the Committee’s advice and recommendations. The Committee is next due to meet in October 2024 to report to Council before year. Current membership is comprised of Branch Chairs Presidents, plus SUT CEO and SUT Chair or Honorary Secretary, as required. Ad-hoc membership – other Branch Chairs when available to attend meetings 64 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Policy Advisory he SUT Policy Advisory Committee has been quiet through the year against changes in the UK government, policies, needing new committee members, Tdeliberating on engagement and delivery in the future and learning more about how special interest groups receive news of from government departments, Parliamentary committees and comments or input on White Papers. This year the Register Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups has seen changes in both Country (and regional) Groups as well as the Subject Groups. The SUT continues to support and participate in Science in Parliament group and has requested engagement in the meetings and activies of the APPG for the Ocean. Renewable and Sustainable Energy has its own APPG. While there is potential for SUT to get involved in Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage, Climate Change, Climate, Nature and Security, Energy Studies, Engineering, Environment, Hydrogen, Net Zero and more, engagement is constrained by time and interests of volunteers. Nonetheless, the Society’s Learned Society status, expertise and focus of SUT’s special interest groups means the SUT is uniquely placed to provide a voice from our members and industry sectors to inform and educate policy makers about the challenges, issues, solutions, innovations, research, aspects and state of the art underwater technology, marine science, and subsea engineering currently available and in development for future use during the coming decades. If members are interested in joining the Policy Committee in 2025, please contact _**info@sut.org**_ . ## **Cheryl Burgess** **Committee** _Chair_ Cheryl Burgess 65 Society for Underwater Technology ## Diving and Crewed Submersibles ## **Martin Sayer** **Committee** _Chair_ Martin Sayer Neil Brock Mark Caney Bob Cole Taira Caton Paul Evans Oliver Firth Steve Hall Garry Momber Bob Pirie Mark Renfou Roland Rogers Don Shires Jolene Towne he Diving and Crewed Submersibles Committee encourages representation from all the main sectors of the diving industry: Commercial Offshore, TCommercial Inshore, Recreational, Media, Scientific & Archaeological, Military, and Police. Additional representation is through industry bodies, divingrelated medicine, and the diving inspectorate at the HSE. The Committee also maintains links with international bodies. Although included in its title, the group has not had representation from any organisations using crewed submersibles for many years. There was, however, considerable interest in this part of the group’s activity following the tragic loss of the Titan submersible in 2023 on a dive visiting the wreck of the Titanic. Following that accident, and in response to the related media exposure, the Submersible Operators Group was established with the objective of supporting inter-community cooperation, partnerships and improvements to submersible operations. The SUT is now represented on that operators group through the Diving and Crewed Submersibles Committee. The committee met in November 2023. It was the first face to face meeting since the pandemic. The meeting heard recent updates from the industry sectors represented. These included: Proposed changes to how dive supervisors may be accredited in the future to oversee diving at work operations in all the industry sectors; revisions to the Association of Diving Contractors supervisor manual; proposed new guidance on diving associated with fish farms; and, new ISO standards in recreational and scientific diving. The committee intends continuing to meet at least once annually. 66 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Environmental Forces UTGEF has continued its usual structure of three meetings per year rotating between City University, Imperial College, and the University of Oxford. We Shave instituted hybrid meetings which have proved popular with a strong online presence—this has boosted numbers attending meetings and allowed a more geographically spread audience—including participants from Australia. The meetings in the last year have had the following speakers: September (126th meeting): Prof Liang Cheng (South China University of Technology) and Ramsay Fraser (BP) January (127th meeting): Dr Emma Edwards (University of Oxford) and Dr Agathoklis Giaralis (Khalifa University of Science and Technology) May (128th meeting): Dr Tianning Tang and Thomas Monahan (Oxford) and Dr Liang Yang (Cranfield) We plan to continue the structure of meetings going forward aiming for one speaker from industry and one from academia. SUTGEF was chaired by Prof Thomas Adcock (Oxford) with Prof Shiqiang Yan (City University) as Secretary. ## **Thomas Adcock** ## **Committee** _Chair_ Prof T Adcock _Secretary_ Prof S Yan R Addlesee Dr R Ahilan Prof N Barltrop Dr WJD Bateman Prof PW Bearman F Beiboer Dr M Birkinshaw Dr E Buldakov D Carter Prof DM Causon Prof JR Chaplin Dr M Christou RL Davies Dr KR Drake Prof R Eatock Taylor AJ Fyfe Dr R Gibson Prof D Greaves G Grewal Dr J Hamilton Dr G Jeans Dr E Spentza Prof C Swan W Tan M Johnson Dr J Spinneken Prof P Taylor R Webb I Leggett R Sproson Dr P Tromans Dr G Weymouth Dr A Raby Dr R Standing T van den Bremer Dr J Zang Dr R Sheikh Prof P Stansby A Watson 67 Society for Underwater Technology ## Marine Environmental Science ## **Katie Cross** he MES SIG has held meetings approximately every quarter over the last 12 months, two of which have been London hybrid events (held at ERM’s Toffice and Orsted’s office) and one social event at Oceanology International. I would like to take this opportunity to thank both Orsted and ERM for allowing us to use their office space. We have welcomed a number of speakers, both external and members, to our meetings covering topics including: - Carbon capture; - Assessing trace element inputs and the risks of co-locating aquaculture; - Updates from OWIC (Offshore Wind Industry Council); - Tidal range opportunities; - Current research into noise limits for pile driving; - An introduction to the world of USVs (Unmanned surface vessels). _Chair_ Katie Cross _Secretary_ Lucy Shuff Ainslie Casson Andy Matkin Bethan Owens Becky Hitchin Cemlyn Barlow Claire Hinton Clara Johnston Daisy Chamberlain Deborah Morgan Edward Wort Elena Rainey Emily Boddy Gary Nicol Gillian Allen Gorka Aguirre Giandinoto Ian Wilson Inge Smith James Harding Marja Aberson Michael Thompson Mick Cook Muhammad Ullah Nicola Harris Rhiannon Alger Ryan Mowat Sam Strutton Samuel Stanton Similarly to last year, the committee is looking forward to the next 12 months we will continue to hold meetings every quarter, with the aim of at least every other of these events being hybrid. Along with the UXO SIG and OSIG SIG we are having an exciting joint in person event in December, in London, which will also include dinner! As the Chair of the SIG, I would like to see more members attend in person in future (repeating a message from previous reports) so that we can really explore the networking that being a member of a SIG gives you. We are continuing to grow our membership with new people attending every meeting. Targets though are still to encourage regulators and operators to join us and of course to keep the new attendees! I am hoping that as some members are now ex. operators/regulators we may be able to encourage a wider network to join the SIG. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Nathan Formosa for his time on the committee. He unfortunately had to step down early in the year. In addition to this, due to an impending maternity leave we are also looking for new members to join us on the committee, either permanently or on a temporary basis. Volunteers welcome! 68 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Marine Renewable Energies our meetings have been held over the year as normal. These have been online resulting in higher attendance due to the need not to travel to London. There Fhas been a speaker at each meeting which has included presentations on wave and tidal development from Crown Estate Scotland (Sian Wilson), Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy programme (Deborah Greaves), size and scaling up of tidal turbines (Peter Fraenkel) and recent activities of the Crown Estate in floating wind (Duncan Ayling). A benefit of the online access is that members of other SUT technical groups can be invited to join, which has proved successful. During the year the committee has continued to work with the US MREC, with representatives from each committee contributing to the meetings. In addition, we have had input from the newly formed SUT Perth renewable energy committee. Floating wind is a growing area and is on the agenda for each meeting. In addition, floating solar has been added to the Committee’s portfolio, with discussion at meetings. The careers part of the SUT website on marine renewables has been recognised as not reflecting the rapid progress that has been made in this field in recent years. This has now been revised with new pictures with help from Committee members ( _**click here to view the updated page**_ ). The committee reviewed its annual plan at the beginning of the year and highlighted some areas where little progress had been made for consideration at future meetings. The Lennard-Senior prize for 2023 which is voted on by members of the committee was presented at the All-Energy event in Glasgow in May and was awarded to Professor Deborah Greaves as Director of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Decarbonisation and Renewable Energy at Plymouth University. She was also the speaker at the January MREC meeting. ## **John Sharp** **Committee** _Chair_ Prof J Sharp _Clerk_ E Boddy M Ancheril D Ayling D Brookes J Colby P Fraenkel S George J Griffiths J Hulm D Kerr Dr S Merry Dr R Norman J Patten MBE G Plant A Smith S Wilson M Wright I Wylie 69 Society for Underwater Technology ## Offshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics ## **Karen Dalton** ## **Committee** _Chair_ Karen Dalton _Secretary_ Tim Carrington Alasdair Maconochie Darren Burbury Mick Cook Neil Morgan Toby Powell Simon Oakley Andy Barwise he past twelve months (from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024) have been both busy and successful for the OSIG Special Interest Group. We have worked Thard to organise engaging events, foster learning, and advance the field of offshore site investigation and geotechnics. Below is a summary of some of the key highlights from the year. ## Meetings Held and Presentations Received Over the course of the year, we held several important meetings: - 4 October 2023: Our meeting took place as scheduled. - 27 November 2023: This was a hybrid meeting held at Ørsted’s London offices, - followed by a curry for those attending in person. - 13 March 2024: We gathered in person at Arup’s offices in London and online, just ahead of the Rankine Lecture. - 6 June 2024: This meeting was held at Bristol University, coinciding with the SW Geoforum. We presented a case study on the landfall of a power cable from an offshore wind farm, along with a discussion on the proliferation and lack of standardisation in terms related to geophysical investigations (e.g., HD, UHD). ## Events and Courses Contributed To or Held This year, we were involved in some major events and courses: - The OSIG International Conference 2023: Our biggest event of the year, held at Imperial College, saw a sell-out, and record number of 600 attendees. A detailed report on this was included in last year’s annual report. Aggie Georgiopoulou Aime Harrison Alex Searle Alexander Smith Alice Maynard Alice Ridgway Hill Alice Roux Ana Ivanovic Andrea Diambra Andrew Benson Andrew Deeks Andrew Kirkland Anna WolowiczTrouwborst Avi Shonberg Bambang Sampurno Brian Bell Chris Almond Chris Martin Chris Smith Dafydd Lloydjones Daniel Sumner David Colliard David Donaghy David Rushton David White Dei Huws Ed Self Eric Cauquil Felix Schroeder Francesca Ciavaglia Gareth Carter Gareth Ellery Gareth Wood Giorgio Giuliani Helen Dingle Jim Edmunds Jim Pyrah John Arthur John Davidson Joseph Hine Julian Dix Julian Osborne Kevin Black Kevin Hampson Rich Metters Kirstin Johnson Richard Jardine Maarten Vanneste Richard Orren Majid Hesar Roi Soage Santos Mark Finch Rupert Rowland Mark Lawrence Sarah Elkhatib Mick Cousins Scott Whyte Mike Baker Simon Hviid Mike Brown Simona Caruso Mike Fearn Stelios Panayides Nigel Carey Suzanne Lacasse Olivier Poudens Thejesh Kumar Garala Oyvind Ruden Thomas Darnell Paul Baggaley Tom Lunne Paul Stock Tom Perry Peter Allan Victor Terente Peter Larkin Vincent Latron Phil Durrant William Cleverly Phil Edwards William Hodson Phil Wilson Wouter Zuijderduijn Ray Hobbs Ricardo Argiolas 70 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Offshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics _contd._ - May 2024: We held a two-day short course titled “An Introduction to Offshore Geophysics and Geotechnical Engineering” in Southampton, which was a sell-out with 40 participants. - June 2024: We organised a one-day course aimed at master’s students, “Introduction to Offshore Geophysics and Geotechnical Engineering,” held at Imperial College and streamed live online. The event attracted around 200 students and included a session on careers in the offshore industry. - SW Geoforum 2024: Hosted at Bristol University in June, this event was attended by 75 participants and included insightful discussions on offshore geophysics and geotechnics. ## Looking Ahead We have exciting plans for the upcoming year: - NW Geoforum 2024: We will be holding the NW Geoforum in Newcastle in September 2024, expecting around 90 attendees. - Joint SIG Meeting: In December 2024, we will organise a joint meeting with other SUT Special Interest Groups, coinciding with the SUT AGM. - Conference 2027: The conference organising committee has been formed, and preparations for our next major conference in 2027 are already underway. - EAGE/SUT Europe Offshore Wind Workshop: We are in the process of organising a joint workshop with EAGE, focusing on offshore wind. Tentative dates for this event are 30 April and 1 May 2024, and we aim to replicate the successful formats of previous workshops in Boston and Perth. - SW Geoforum 2025: The SW Geoforum will be held again in June 2025, following its success in 2024. - Short Course at Imperial College: Another short course will take place at Imperial College in June 2025, continuing our commitment to training and development. - Events in Aberdeen and East of England: We are beginning discussions about potential events in Aberdeen and the East of England. - Workshop on Geoscience for Floating Offshore Wind: In June 2025, we will host a day workshop in Edinburgh, targeting non-geoscientists such as project managers and stakeholders who need a better understanding of geoscience in floating wind development. ## Awards and Scholarships The Mick Cook Award was presented to Tor Inge Tjelta during the OSIG Conference, recognising his outstanding contributions to the field. ## Educational Outreach This year, we took significant steps toward expanding our educational outreach efforts. A working group has been established to create a material pack for OSIG members to use when visiting schools. The goal is to inspire young students to pursue studies and careers in geoscience. We’re also considering expanding this initiative to include universities and potentially integrating it into public events. It has been a fulfilling year for the OSIG SIG, and I’m excited about the continued growth and development of our community. We are looking forward to another successful year ahead, with even more opportunities for learning, collaboration, and contribution to the offshore geotechnics field. 71 Society for Underwater Technology ## Salvage and Decommissioning fter twelve years of successful operation, the Salvage & Decommissioning Committee (S&DC) is reviewing where it applies its effort. During this Aperiod it has been at the forefront of discussion with respect to the negative ecosystem impact of the OSPAR 98/3 Decision, as it currently stands. Through discussion and collaboration with marine scientists, industry, regulators and other users of the ocean space; espescially the bringing of them together at the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology Scotland (MASTS) Annual Science Meeting and in parallel with the INSITE initiaitve _**https://insitenorthsea.org**_ ; the ecosystem impact of anthrogenic structures in the marine ecosystem has been well and truly aired; and in the process trust built up; connections made; and knowledge and information shared; with the result that the Natural Environmental Research Council launched its £5.6 programme, Value of Marine Artifical Structures (ValMAS) earlier this year. This is an entirely positive step forward, but still leaves the offshore oil and gas and offshore wind communities significantly lagging behind the maritime industry in their thinking; for centuries almost two centuries, modern vessels have been considered on the basis of hull and machinery and cargo; and bunkers removal and/ or cargo recovery to remove hazardous or noxious substances, whilst leaving the steel structure (as long as it is not a navigational hazard), to be assimilated into the water column by corroding over decades and providing micronutrients, for iron-loving bacteria upwards, has been considered as both a proportionate and responsible course of action. Therefore, it seems that though change is happening, and many people’s opinions have changed, the pace in the face of ‘The Climate Emergency’ is positively tardy. Therefore, having done its bit, The Salvage and Decommissioning Committee is turning its attention to MASS, MATTER and MATERIALS, to again, widen the discussion. This is currently work in progress and an update of plans will be shared with the Council of the SUT early in the New Year. Dr Abigail Davies, Chair of the SUT Decommissioning and Wreck Removal Sub-Committee, who has written its report, overleaf, is a key member of the team that will be reviewing the three component parts of the S&DC; the other two subcommitees, which have taken a back set for a while, being Salvage & Emergency Subsea Response and Innovation. Tony Laing Thomas Miller Bill Ritchie Mark Lawrence Joel Mills Murray Roberts Hannah Lawson Peter Oliver Sally Rouse Andy Liddell Kilian Palop Erin Sherratt Andy Matkin David Paterson Mark Shields ## **Moya Crawford** ## **Committee** _Chair_ Moya Crawford _Chair_ Abigail Davies _Former Chair_ Karen Seath _SUT CEO_ Cheryl Burgess Vidar Åhjem Eliana Mercy Araujo Felicity Arthur John Baxter Alison Brand Simon Burney Kevin Campbell Sarah Canning Andrew Chamberlain Nick Donnelly Arnstein Eknes Jim Elliott Mike Elliot Kate Gormley Lee Hanlon Becky Hitchin Hannah Hood Mark James Nigel James Dan Stewart Simon Swallow Win Thornton Tom Walters Martin Watts 72 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Salvage and Decommissioning _contd._ he SUT Diving and Wreck Removal (DWR) committee went through a period of change this year, with the stepping down of the long standing chair and Tchampion, Karen Seath in December 2023. Karen was chair of the SUT DWR committee for over 12 years and in that time used her considerable network and people skills to successfully bring together a wide group of experts from academia, policy and industry for honest, open and frank discussions about decommissioning and wreck removal in the marine environment. The SUT DWR would like to thank Karen for her time and effort in making the SUT DWR successful, vibrant and impactful. Another successful series of workshops were held in Glasgow in December 2023 as part of the MASTS Science meeting. This year we also invited PhD students to present their research work and this was well received by the audience. Although workshop attendance numbers were lower than previous years, the workshops were well received. **Abigal Davies** Dr Abigail Davies took over as chair in January 2024, and her main aims for the coming year include building on engagement of the committee and workshops and highlighting and celebrating the success of the last 12 years. 73 Society for Underwater Technology ## International Underwater Vehicles and Robotics Group ## **Neil Bose** ## **Committee** _Former Chair_ Neil Bose Luke Alden Mario Brito Cheryl Burgess Brian Claus Nathan Ehrenholz Shuangshuang Fan Alex Forrest Gwyn Griffiths David Hopkin Alex Johnson Chris Kaminski Bill Kirkwood Florie Mancel Richard Mills Alex Phillips Supun Randeni Rolly Rogers João Sousa Ivan Stenius Bo Thanyamanta Maxine von Eye Anna Wahlin Bungy Williams Jingjing Xu Wen Xu Yanwu Zhang Fumin Zhang Ting Zou Mingxi Zhou nderwater robotics continue to have global interest across multiple sectors and disciplines. The SUT/ECOR Panel on Underwater Robotics has Uinternational membership, online meetings and communications. The field underwater robotics continues to feature in conferences and exhibitions around the world as both a single focus subject as well as in technical sessions, providing meeting points for SUT members to showcase technology and contribute to the discussions on current innovations in robotics and autonomous vehicles as well as challenges in the field. The Gwyn Griffiths Underwater Robotics Award (GGURA) is bestowed by the Panel recognising individuals under 40, early to mid-stages of their careers who have made outstanding contributions in the field of underwater robotics. Open to all, by nomination or application we thank Gwyn Griffiths for both his sponsorship of this Award and his on-going participation in the Panel. Previously, the panel announced their wish to create pre-recorded lectures on underwater robotics linking to the focus topics for the Panel and the other SUT Special Interest Groups which have robotics as an area of interest. Members interested in participating in this initiative should contact SUT centre. Our thanks to Dr Neil Bose, President and Vice Chancellor pro tempore, Memorial University, Chair of the Underwater Robotics Panel and Professor Mario Brito, Southampton University, panel co-Chair for their services to the SUT robotics panel, their expertise and input. Members are invited to contact SUT HQ, _**info@sut.org**_ to express their interest in joining the Underwater Robotics Panel or contributing our recorded lectures and demonstrations initiative. 74 Annual Report 2023-2024 ## Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) t the time of writing this report the UXO SIG has now been functioning for more almost three years. The primary purpose of the SIG is still as it Awas when first set up: to identify and to address marine UXO issues within the burgeoning offshore wind and to seek to provide guidance and education to practitioners. Throughout its existence, membership has been confined to offshore windfarm developers and representation includes some 15+ organisations. At an appropriate point in the future, membership will be opened-up to all stakeholders. The SIG is very much an international group including representatives from the UK, USA, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, and The Netherlands, but we are always looking to expand our geographical reach; particularly in SE Asia. The UXO SIG meets quarterly with two meetings online and two face-face. In September 2023 we held a successful face-to-face meeting at Orsted’s offices in Victoria, London immediately prior to the OSIG conference in London with some 15 members in attendance. Then in March 2024 we organised an afternoon seminar at the Oceanology Exhibition & Conference in London. This was chaired by Dorthe Erbs-Hansen (formerly of Orsted) and presentations were provided by Jack Brighouse and Dr. Sara Lise Underhay of ALM Geophysics and Deep BV, respectively, Wino Snip (Tennet), Dr. Peter Menzel (Tennet), Gunnar Moller (Royal Swedish Navy), Sei-Him Cheong (National Physics Laboratory, UK) and Prof. Edmund Masser (Inst. Toxicology and Pharmacology, University of SchleswigHolstein Medical School, Kiel). This was a very successful seminar. Indeed, the seminar room was full to capacity. Prior to the seminar we held a meeting of the UXO SIG. And, after the event we met for drinks at a nearby hotel. In January 2024, we began preparation of Guidance Notes for UXO in offshore wind and convened a sub-committee to produce these. Preparation of the Guidance Notes was ongoing at the time of writing this report. During the year, I have received several requests from individuals not working for developers wishing to join the UXO SIG. I will raise this issue again at the next meeting of the SIG. Should you have any questions about the business of the UXO SIG, please do not hesitate to contact me. ## **Mick Cook** Committee _Chair_ Mick Cook _Events Secretary_ Dorthe Reng ErbsHansen Andy Barwise Kevin Clements Eric Cauquil Sally-Ann David Anja Drews Michael Hahn Lucy Malou Henningsen Christian Herrisson Richard Hill Simon Hviid Deanne Hargrave Benoit Jouy Rasmus Juncher Andrew Kirkland Robert Koens Matthew Le Maitre Eoin McGregor Julian Osborne Dave Sharp Frank Steinhoff Soren Stricker Mathiasen Wolfgang Thiessen Annelies Vanstraelen Helge Vosberg 75 **Charity registration number 256659 (England and Wales)** **Charity registration number SC043942 (Scotland) Company registration number 00932590 (England and Wales)** ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE) ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024** ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION** |**President**|B Sykes| |---|---| |**Chair and Vice President**|S John| |**Hon Treasurer**|G Schultz| |**Hon Secretary**|D Brookes| |**Chief Executive (CEO)**|C A Burgess| |**Registered office**|2-4 Packhorse Road| ||Gerrards Cross| ||Buckinghamshire| ||SL9 7QE| |**Charity number (England and Wales)**|256659| |**Charity number (Scotland)**|SC043942| |**Company number**|00932590| |**Auditor**|Anova| ||The Barn, Meadow Court| ||Faygate Lane| ||Faygate| ||Horsham| ||West Sussex| ||RH12 4SJ| |**Bankers**|Barclays Bank plc and Bank of Scotland plc| |**Solicitors**|Gordons Partnership| ||22 Great James Street| ||London| ||WC1N 3ES| ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **CONTENTS** ||**Page**| |---|---| |Chair's report|1 - 3| |Council Members' report|4 - 10| |Independent auditor's report|11 - 14| |Statement of financial activities|15 - 16| |Balance sheet|17| |Statement of cash flows|18| |Notes to the financial statements|19 - 33| ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **CHAIR'S REPORT** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **Annual Report of the Chair, Sue John** As I conclude my term as the elected Chair of Council with this AGM and report, I am once again amazed by the dedication of SUT volunteers, who have generously given their time during an incredibly busy year. A glance at the Society’s events webpage reveals just how active our special interest groups and branches have been, organising a wide range of professional, networking, and social events, from conferences and technical evenings to webinars, podcasts, and the revival of SUT Branches. Over the past year, they've delivered more than 15 training sessions, 32 technical meetings, 25 social events, and 15 conferences/workshops, along with site visits and contributions to SUT publications. I must also acknowledge the invaluable contributions of our volunteer training course presenters. Not only do they deliver our industry-recognised courses, but they also help develop the content, ensure it remains current, and contribute to the delegate programmes. Additionally, I would like to thank the member companies that host site visits for course delegates, as well as for SUT+ and ECOSSIG activities. I extend my heartfelt thanks to all members who generously give their time and expertise to support the Society in achieving the successes I’ve highlighted. Of course, the SUT’s strength doesn’t lie with volunteers alone—we are also fortunate to have a dedicated team of staff. Their work is crucial to the Society’s future, with staff based across three continents—in Perth, Western Australia; Houston, Texas; and here in the UK. Whether they are managing our finances, promoting events, coordinating memberships, or simply providing support when needed, their efforts ensure the smooth running of the Society’s operations worldwide. ## **Finance and Accounts** Before approving the 2023-2024 budget, SUT Council members recognised that the 9th OSIG Conference, held in London in September 2023, would generate a significant surplus for the Society. Sponsorship for the event was secured early, starting in the 2022-2023 financial year, and delegate registrations exceeded targets by mid-2023, with the event selling out prior to the registration deadline. The 2023-2024 accounts also reflect the strong performance of SUT’s training courses, including the Subsea Awareness Course in Aberdeen, the Offshore Wind Course in Newcastle, the OSIG course in Southampton, and the online Metocean course for offshore renewable energy. Each contributed to the Society's surplus. Additional sponsorship for various SUT events helped keep costs down for members, allowing some events to be free or cost-neutral, with pricing for chargeable events reflecting member benefits. I would like to extend my gratitude to all the sponsors who supported SUT events over the past year. ## **Conferences** The 9th International OSIG Conference, which had been postponed due to Covid, made a highly successful return in 2023. Thanks to the hard work of the OSIG organising committee, led by Conference Chair Toby Powell, and the support of SUT staff, the event was a sell-out with global attendance. I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of Mick Cook and Mike Fearn for their efforts in managing the conference finances and securing sponsors, helping to further establish OSIG as a globally recognised brand. A total of 412 abstracts were submitted, with 250 accepted, leading to three full days of presentations to standing-room-only audiences. Plans are already underway for the next OSIG Conference in September 2027. OSIG was not the only event in 2023/2024. SUT's presence was felt across various conferences and exhibitions, including the Autonomous Marine Technology Conference, SPE Offshore Europe, ADIPEC, the Annual Salvage, Decommissioning and Wreck Removal Workshop in Glasgow, Subsea Expo, Oceanology International, MCE-DD, AOG Perth, Subsea Technology Eastern Mediterranean, All-Energy in Glasgow, and The Combined Naval Event in Farnborough. Importantly, the Society does not operate in isolation. Throughout the year, we have collaborated with key industry organisations, including the Global Underwater Hub and the International Marine Contractors Association. We also partnered as the Learned Society with RX, DMG, and Endeavour B2B to support major industry events, contributing to their technical programmes and side sessions. - 1 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **CHAIR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **Strategy Working Group** In July 2023, the SUT Council established a limited-term Strategy Working Group (SWG), co-chaired by Ralph Rayner and Nick Swift. The purpose of this sub-committee is to develop a long-term Strategic Framework and Strategic Plan to guide the Society's future growth in service of its members and in line with its charitable aims. This initiative has brought together international perspectives on key strategic themes, and I extend my thanks to all participants in the working group. There are no quick or simple solutions to the challenges the SUT will face in the coming years, but we eagerly anticipate the completion of the Strategic Framework and look forward to your feedback. As we approach SUT’s 60th Anniversary in 2026, we encourage members to contribute their ideas for events and meetings. Please share your suggestions with SUT CEO, Cheryl Burgess. ## **Educational Support Fund** The Society's Educational Support Fund (ESF) awarded scholarships in 2023 to undergraduate and postgraduate students across various disciplines, including engineering and environmental science. Graduating recipients from the 2023-2024 period include Erin Nicholson, Bartol Sikora, Ryan Lin, and Francesca Fehlberg, all of whom are pursuing marine and subsea-related careers. ## **Awards** The Society remains committed to recognising exceptional contributions to our industry sectors, as well as inspiring achievements. The inaugural Mick Cook Award for Marine Site Investigation celebrates excellence in marine site investigations and characterisations across the global disciplines of geophysics and geotechnics. This year, the award was presented to Tor Inge Tjelta at the OSIG 2023 conference, where the judging panel acknowledged his innovative contributions to offshore site investigations and geotechnical engineering, highlighting his integrated geological, geophysical, and geotechnical approaches in complex project settings. The President’s Award was awarded to Ali Hynd, an inspirational teacher at Mintlaw Academy in Aberdeenshire, for his dedication to the school’s ROV club, where students design and build their own remotely operated vehicles. Through his efforts, Ali is helping to nurture the next generation of professionals in robotics and subsea engineering. We commend all teachers whose passion ignites curiosity and encourages students to pursue careers in our beloved industries. Additionally, the Lennard-Senior Memorial Prize was presented to Professor Deborah Greaves, OBE, at All-Energy in Glasgow, recognising her outstanding individual achievements in the field of Marine Renewable Energy. Finally, Dr Peter Girguis, a Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and Adjunct Oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, received the prestigious Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration at Oceanology International in March 2024. Described by his peers as "the epitome of a deepsea explorer" and "a man for all ocean seasons," Peter's contributions to ocean exploration are truly commendable. ## **Communications** The Underwater Technology Podcast, hosted by Martin Stemp and produced by Emily Boddy, continues to deliver engaging and informative episodes for members and those with an interest in underwater technology, marine science, and subsea engineering. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend tuning in—downloads have now exceeded 28,600. In addition, members have access to our quarterly newsletter, _Big Blue World_ , as well as _UT2_ and _Underwater Robotics_ magazine. I encourage all members to contribute news, articles on innovation, project updates, or thought pieces for inclusion in _Big Blue World_ . - 2 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **CHAIR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ This year, I would like to recognise the exceptional contribution of one staff member in particular. Our Membership and Finance Officer, Jane Hinton, has just completed 30 years of service with the SUT. Initially joining as a temporary employee, Jane’s potential was quickly recognised, leading to her becoming a permanent and invaluable member of the team. As the key contact for membership enquiries and finance, Jane’s professionalism and meticulous management of the Society’s accounts have been outstanding. While retirement may eventually call, we are fortunate to have her continued dedication and expertise, and we extend our deepest thanks for her remarkable service. Lastly, I want to express our gratitude to our corporate members, whose sponsorship underpins the efforts of our volunteers. Over the past three years, we’ve seen the Society bounce back from the challenges of the Covid pandemic, launching a new branch in the Eastern Mediterranean and revitalising our Norway branch. Interest in new branches, training courses, and innovations continues to grow, with our Special Interest Groups playing a crucial role in advancing science and technology. Thank you to all SUT staff, volunteers, corporate members, and sponsors for making this success possible. .............................. S John **Chair of the Council** 3rd December 2024 Date: ......................... - 3 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **COUNCIL MEMBERS' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ The Council Members present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2024. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). ## **Introduction** Earlier this year was the 4[th] anniversary of the start of the Covid pandemic and the ensuing lockdown. It is hard to believe how much our lives changed and how long we will have to live with the longer-term impacts of what happened. Thankfully, the SUT continues to rebound, and our activities and events over this last year are reflective of this return to a more recognizable normality and growth. Of particular note was the running one of the SUT’s premier events, the 9th edition of the International OSIG Conference “Innovative Geotechnologies for Energy Transition” held in September 2023 in London. I know how much effort goes into organizing this event and making it the success that it is. In recent years, the SUT Council has been focused on financial matters, then the pandemic, but this was the year when the Council's focus shifted to the future, and how the SUT can embrace the opportunities ahead of it. It is, of course, important that the Council remains reflective of the SUT membership if it is to guide the SUT in the years ahead and ensure the continued vibrancy of the Society. ## **Objectives and activities** The Society is principally engaged in the promotion of awareness in all aspects related to underwater technology. Its Mission and Strategic Vision are described as follows: ## _Mission_ The Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) is an international body actively promoting the development, dissemination and exchange of ideas, information and technology arising from or related to the underwater environment. ## _Strategic Vision_ To maintain and develop SUT as the foremost society worldwide focusing on underwater technology, building on a reputation for high standards in publications, conferences and training courses; having a growing membership in the UK and abroad; and having significant influence with government and industry in relevant policy areas, and encouraging people to attain suitable qualifications and enter the field of underwater technology. ## _Public benefit_ In keeping with the Charity Commission's key principles that there must be an identifiable benefit to the public or a section of the public, the Society has undertaken the following activities during this financial year: • It has supported 45 undergraduate students and 1 post-graduate student on relevant courses at a total cost of £8,500 (2023: £8,800). • Provided free of charge, to both members and non-members, the most highly acclaimed online magazine in the field of underwater technology and subsea engineering, entitled _UT2_ , and _Underwater Robotics_ . • Provided _'Big Blue World'_ : the newsletter of the Society for Underwater Technology, free of charge to both members and non-members. - 4 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **COUNCIL MEMBERS' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ • The Society has provided a free Christmas lecture programme for schools prior to Covid. Once again, in 2024 this has not been possible because of a lack of sponsorship in the local groups and the workload around the Society’s September 2023 OSIG conference. A conference traditionally held every four years, but due to the impact of the Covid pandemic, returning to The Society’s events programme after a five-year break. The Society is exploring developing online lectures for schools and events with schools timed at other points in the academic year, other than at Christmas, and developing these programmes with other like-minded bodies, associations and charities. • Provided high quality subsidised training courses for industry. ## _Grant making policy_ Grants are awarded to high-quality students at either undergraduate or postgraduate (one-year taught MSc) level undertaking courses relevant to the area of interest of the Society with the aim of encouraging more entrants to the marine disciplines. ## **Strategic report** The description under the headings "Achievements and performance" and "Financial review" meet the company law requirements for the Council Members to present a strategic report. ## **Achievements and performance** We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning our future activities. The Unrestricted Funds of the Society were increased by £360,602 after allowing for £17,852 in gains on investments . ## _Strategic Review_ In my previous report, it was announced that the SUT was initiating a Strategic Review of the aims and activities of the Society; the purpose of this review is to ensure that the Society is positioned to seize the opportunities resulting from the growth of the ocean economy and ensure the SUT’s continued relevance as a Learned Society in the years ahead. The SUT Council formed a Strategy Working Group (SWG) to perform the Strategic Review on behalf of the SUT. The primary objective of the SWG has been to guide the SUT’s response to the changes that are occurring across the ocean economy as it transitions in response to pressing environmental, societal and economic challenges, as well as in recognition of the impact of emerging technologies. Initial deliverables for the SWG are the Strategic Framework and Strategic Plan; to then be followed by an implementation plan. I know Strategy Working Group welcomes the contribution of members and especially our younger members who represent the Society’s future. ## _Membership_ One of the main drivers for the Strategic Review is to ensure that membership of the Society continues to be of value to our members both individual and corporate. We do not take the support of our existing members for granted and need to ensure they continue to see value in their membership. Individual membership of the SUT experienced growth because of the OSIG conference and the differential conference fees for members and non-members. We hope that individuals joining the SUT for this reason will continue to see value in SUT membership. Corporate membership is steady. However, there is some flux in membership depending on when they renew their membership. Our recently established special interest groups on Marine Environmental Science and Unexploded Ordnance continue to establish their presence and have developed new members from these sectors including new members from the offshore windfarm operators and representation from SMEs and academia as well as contributing to conference programmes. - 5 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **COUNCIL MEMBERS' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## _Training_ This last year has seen the SUT’s in-person training courses re-assert their popularity over virtual options. The added value of physical attendance at training courses is clearly recognised by our members for the greater opportunities to interact with both the course instructors and other attendees. The USP of SUT training courses are the expertise of the presenters together with the courses site visits cannot be under-estimated. This year, the SUT has run multiple Subsea Awareness Courses as well as the sell-out Introductory courses to Offshore Geophysics & Geotechnical Engineering and the Offshore Wind course. In addition, a training course for Metocean for Renewable Energy was run during the year. The Metocean course is intended to be a regular addition to the SUT training course offering. The strong response to these courses identifies both an ongoing need but also an appreciation of the added benefits of in person courses. Going forward there is space for both virtual and in person training courses to suit audience location and their availability. Whilst the number of online webinars has prolifarated, the Aberdeen SUT+ and ECOIG have developed their own distincitve offering and regularly attract significant attendee numbers of online attendees. ## _Awards_ This was the first year of the new Mick Cook Marine Site Investigation Award; this award is open all working in the field of marine site investigations and characterisations globally. The award recognises industry professionals who have made a significant contribution to Marine Site Investigation and Characterisation, covering the broad disciplines of Geophysics and Geotechnic. The SUT was pleased to announce Tor Inge Tjelta as the inaugral winner of this prestigious new award. The President’s Award was shared by Mr Ali Hynd and the ROV Club of Mintlaw Academy. The 2023 President’s Award recognised Ali Hynd as an inspirational teacher and mentor to the ROV Club of Mintlaw Academy showing passion and highlighting the careers potential in the subsea and underwater industries to his students and the acknowledged ROV Club pupils endeavours in building their own ROV along with acquiring the engineering skills that will help students find their careers in the underwater, subsea sector so vital to today’s world. The Lennard-Senior Prize was presented to Professor Deborah Greaves, OBE FREng, University of Plymouth at All-Energy. The Lennard-Senior Prize is presented in recognition of outstanding individual achievement in the field of Marine Renewable Energy. Professor Greaves was recognised for her remarkable impact on the frontiers of Ocean Engineering and Renewable Energy; in academia and research, work with COAST, Supergen OREHub and the projects focused on technological advances to meet the future clean energy demands. The Captain Don Walsh Award, a joint award with MTS, was presented at Oceanology International to Dr Peter Girguis, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and Adjunct Oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. This award focused on achievement is ocean exploration recognised Dr Girguis’ focus on understanding how marine organisms in the deep-sea have adapted to their habitats and how they respond to a changing world. His pioneering efforts continued with the development of innovative methods to grow the deep-sea microbes that are responsible to keeping methane out of the atmosphere. ## **Financial review** A summary of the Society’s accounts and financial statements for 2023-2024 has been included in the Annual Report. SUT acting Honorary Treasurer, Mick Cook, will present The Report and Financial Statements at the Society’s AGM. - 6 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **COUNCIL MEMBERS' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## _Going concern_ The Council Members have given due consideration to the ability of The Society to continue as a going concern. The Society has returned a surplus of £360,602 for the financial year and at the balance sheet date the net assets of the Society are £689,428. This year has seen an unusually high surplus due to the holding of the 5-yearly OSIG conference. The society is not expected to return a surplus as large next year, and the next OSIG conference will be held in 2027. The Society’s core income streams have all continued to recover after the impact of the COVID19 pandemic and the trend towards online courses. Membership income has increased by 4.4%; Conferences and Seminars income has achieved 605.1% growth generating £864,613 of income and a £426,634 surplus for the year. Including in this figure is income generated by the OSIG conference of £692,065, and a surplus of £307,898. Conferences and Seminars income is up 40.7% excluding the income generated from OSIG 2023. We expect the upward trend on core income to continue and The Society continues to meet its minimum reserves policy of holding fifty percent of the expected next year’s expenditure in reserves. The Members are, therefore, satisfied that the going concern basis remains appropriate. ## _Reserves policy_ The Unrestricted Fund at 30 June 2024 amounted to £689,428 compared with an amount of £328,826 at the end of the previous year, including donations and legacies, and after allowing for gains on investments. ## _Educational support fund_ A report for the year ending 30 June 2024 from the Educational Support Fund Management is included in this Annual Report. The financial statement regarding the Educational Support Fund appear in note 9 and included as part of the Society’s Charitable Activities in the annual accounts Statement of Financial Activities including Income and Expenditure Account. ## _Investment policy_ There are no formal restrictions on the investments made by the Society. ## _Major risks_ The Council Members actively review the major risks which the charity faces and confirm that they have established systems to mitigate the significant risks. ## _Financial Risk_ The Members remain cautious in terms of the Society's investment strategy and are satisfied they have taken appropriate steps to ensure that reserves are not placed at any undue risk. During the period and at the Balance Sheet date, the majority of balances held at bank were held in either current or deposit accounts with High Street banks. The make-up of fixed asset investments is given in note 17 of the Financial Statements. The majority of these investments are placed in two Charities Official Investment Funds ## **Plans for future periods** In the future, the Society plans to completely revitalise and overhaul its website. This will allow for, increased functionality and a more sophisticated system to help the Society manage and oversee the various activities it undertakes. It will enable streamlined communications and transfers of information between branches of the charity, as well as simplifying and enhancing the user experience. The Society expects costs for this to be in the region of £60k to £80k. The Society has hired a new part-time administrator since the year-end to help with the increasing administrative demands and provision of support across the SUT centre staff and deliverables. There are also tentative plans to increase human resources and staff further in the future, subject to budgetary constraints. - 7 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **COUNCIL MEMBERS' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **Structure, governance and management** The Society's governing document is the Memorandum and Articles of Association and its full name is the Society for Underwater Technology Limited. The Society is a registered company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. The Council Members, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were: |M Theobald|(Resigned 24 May 2024)| |---|---| |N J Swift|(Resigned 29 May 2024)| |D M Saul|| |R E Luff|(Resigned 7 December 2023)| |I S Knight|(Resigned 7 December 2023)| |M R Cook|(Appointed 7 December 2023 and resigned 27 February 2024)| |A C Connelly|(Resigned 7 December 2023)| |N Carey|(Resigned 7 December 2023)| |M A Atmanand|(Resigned 7 December 2023)| |G J Whitehead|(Appointed 7 December 2023)| |B J Sykes|(Appointed 7 December 2023)| |M M Stemp|(Appointed 7 December 2023)| |T H A Sloane|| |R F Rayner|| |J A I Patten|| |J Morgan|| |S F John|| |S V Duffield|(Appointed 7 December 2023)| |M M Crawford|(Resigned 24 October 2024)| |S Elkatib|| |A Elkadi|(Appointed 7 December 2023)| |G Schultz|(Appointed 24 October 2024)| |D Brookes|(Appointed 24 October 2024)| None of the Members of the Council has any financial interest in the Society that requires disclosure under the Companies Act 2006. For Related Party transactions please see notes 12, 13 and 25. Council Members are appointed for three years by a ballot among members of the Society (members comprising the classes of Fellow, Individual Member and Corporate Member), and are drawn from among these Members. Candidates must be proposed and seconded by any two other Members. Ballot forms must be sent to Members twenty-eight days before the election, which is by simple majority, and this shall take place seven days before the Annual General Meeting. Those elected shall hold office from the conclusion of this Annual General Meeting. At the end of three years, a Council Member may stand for re-election, but no Member of Council may serve for more than six consecutive years. New Council Members were previously not provided with a formal induction pack following their election but instead, briefed verbally at the first meeting and individually as requested. However, this has now changed, and Council Members will receive a formal induction pack. - 8 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **COUNCIL MEMBERS' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## _Organisational structure_ A Board of Trustees (The Council) of up to or similar to 18 members, who meet quarterly, administer the Society. A Chief Executive (CEO), who is not a trustee, is appointed by The Council to manage the day-to-day operations of the Society. Branches of the Society are established under the authority of Council in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of the Society. They will have their own organising committee with elected officers. The results of branches of the Society whereby the UK charity either has control, or the branch is not deemed to be administratively autonomous are consolidated in the Financial Statements. Details of remuneration of key management personnel are disclosed in note 13. Remuneration levels for key management personnel and other employees are set by the Executive Committee, whose members are set out on the information page. The overall gross salary allowance as presented in the budget is then ratified by the full Council. ## **Funds held as custodian trustee** No funds are held as custodian trustee on behalf of the others. ## **Statement of Council Members' responsibilities** The Council Members, who are also the directors of Society for Underwater Technology (The) for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Council Members' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company Law requires the Council Members to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year. In preparing these financial statements, the Council Members are required to: - select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; - observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP; - make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; - state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and - prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation. The Council Members are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. ## **Auditor** In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Anova be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting. - 9 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **COUNCIL MEMBERS' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **Emissions, energy consumption and energy efficiency** The SUT is concerned not only with ocean and underwater environmental protection, but also with the Society’s own environmental impact as a UK charity. During the Covid-19 pandemic, SUT staff transitioned to home-based working. Office leases ending in 2021 were not renewed, reducing the Society’s carbon footprint. No longer paying for unoccupied office space, lowered usage of utilities and no longer requiring staff to commute to London are just a few of the positive implications this change has had. Using less energy is the most important way of reducing carbon emissions, accounting for around a half of the reduction in emissions targeted by 2050. As such, the SUT continues to consider how we incur energy demands, including: consumption in the running of the Society, the use of spaces for SUT events, requirements for the sustainability of the Society and our contribution to net zero targets. To enable this we have increased our use of digital meeting platforms, using partner meeting spaces, public transport is used as much as possible and encouraging recycling whenever possible, both in waste disposal and purchase of new supplies. Energy efficiency is critical in every aspect of how we obtain, generate and use energy and for all three of the 'trilemma' parameters: decarbonisation, security of supply and affordability. ## **Disclosure of information to auditor** Each of the Council Members has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information. The Council Members' report, including the strategic report, was approved by the Board of Council Members. **----- Start of picture text -----**
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.............................. .............................. I. Knight (Acting Hon. Secretary) S F John 3rd December 2024 Date: ............................................. - 10 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT** ## **TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **Opinion** We have audited the financial statements of Society for Underwater Technology (The) (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 30 June 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 _The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland_ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). In our opinion, the financial statements: - give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 30 June 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, for the year then ended; - have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and - have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). ## **Basis for opinion** We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the _Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements_ section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. ## **Conclusions relating to going concern** In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Council Members' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue. Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Council Members with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. ## **Other information** The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The Council Members are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard. - 11 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)** ## **TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception** We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) require us to report to you if, in our opinion: - the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the Council Members' report; or - sufficient and proper accounting records have not been kept; or - the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or - we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit. ## **Responsibilities of Council Members** As explained more fully in the statement of Council Members' responsibilities, the Council Members, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Council Members determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the Council Members are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Council Members either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. ## **Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements** We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and report in accordance with the Acts and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder. Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below. We identify and assess risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and noncompliance with laws and regulations, we considered the following: - the nature of the industry and sector, control environment and business performance; - results of our enquiries of management about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities; - any matters we identified having obtained and reviewed the charitable company's documentation of their policies and procedures relating to: - identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance; - detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; - the internal controls established to mitigate risks of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations; - the matters discussed among the audit engagement team regarding how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud. - 12 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)** ## **TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** As a result of these procedures, we considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the organisation for fraud. In common with all audits we are also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override. We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the company operates in. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the UK Companies Act and Charities Act 2011. In addition we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which may be fundamental to the company's ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. As a result of performing the above, we did not identify any key matters related to the potential risk of fraud or noncompliance with laws and regulations. Our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following: - reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with relevant laws and regulations described as having a direct effect on the financial statements; - enquiring of management concerning actual and potential litigation and claims; - performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud; - reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance, reviewing internal reports and reviewing correspondence with regulators, and; - in addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments, assessing whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias and evaluating the business rationale for any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business. We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indication of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit. A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https:// www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report. ## **Other matters** It should be duly noted that the financial statements of the prior period are unaudited and thus the corresponding figures in this years' financial statements are unaudited. ## **Use of our report** This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. - 13 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)** ## **TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** **Matthew Cleghorn FCA BSc (Hons) (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Anova** ......................... **Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor** The Barn, Meadow Court Faygate Lane Faygate Horsham West Sussex RH12 4SJ Anova is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006. - 14 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ |**Current financial year**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**2024**
**Notes**
**£**
**Income and endowments from:**
Donations and legacies
**3**
2,578
Charitable activities
**4**
1,063,952
Investments
**6**
12,054
Other income
**7**
683
**Total income**
1,079,267
**Expenditure on:**
**5**
Charitable activities
**8**
736,517
**Total expenditure**
736,517
Net gains/(losses) on investments
**14**
17,852
**Net income and movement in funds**
360,602
**Reconciliation of funds:**
Fund balances brought forward
328,826
**Fund balances carried forward**
689,428|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
2,802
308,755
6,489
163| |---|---| ||318,209
288,412| ||288,412| ||6,240| ||36,037
292,789| ||328,826| The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. The notes on pages 19 to 33 form part of these financial statements. - 15 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (CONTINUED) INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ |**Prior financial year**
**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**funds**
**2023**
**2023**
**Notes**
**£**
**£**
**Income and endowments from:**
Donations and legacies
**3**
-
2,802
Charitable activities
**4**
308,755
-
Investments
**6**
6,489
-
Other income
**7**
163
-
**Total income**
315,407
2,802
**Expenditure on:**
**5**
Charitable activities
**8**
285,610
2,802
**Total expenditure**
285,610
2,802
Net gains/(losses) on investments
**14**
6,240
-
**Net income and movement in funds**
36,037
-
**Reconciliation of funds:**
Fund balances at 1 July 2022
292,789
-
**Fund balances at 30 June 2023**
328,826
-|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
2,802
308,755
6,489
163| |---|---| ||318,209
288,412| ||288,412| ||6,240| ||36,037
292,789| ||328,826| - 16 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **BALANCE SHEET** ## _**AS AT 30 JUNE 2024**_ |**Notes**
**Fixed assets**
Tangible assets
**16**
Investments
**17**
**Current assets**
Stocks
**18**
Debtors
**19**
Cash at bank and in hand
**Creditors: amounts falling due within**
**one year**
**20**
**Net current assets**
**Total assets less current liabilities**
**The funds of the charity**
Unrestricted funds
**24**
**Total charity funds**|**2024**
**£**
18,532
24,870
474,750
518,152
(62,608)|**2023**
**£**
**£**
1,926
231,958
233,884
9,779
217,341
318,895
546,015
(432,453)
455,544
689,428
689,428
689,428|**£**
1,158
214,106| |---|---|---|---| ||||215,264
113,562| ||||328,826| ||||328,826| ||||328,826| Total funds as stated above include a Fair Value Reserve of £190,193 (2023: £172,341) (see note 17) The notes on pages 19 to 33 form part of these financial statements. The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 30 June 2024, although an audit has been carried out under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011. The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements. The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements under the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, for the year in question in accordance with section 476. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime. The financial statements were approved by the Council Members on ......................... .............................. S F John Company registration number 00932590 (England and Wales) - 17 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ |**2024**
**Notes**
**£**
**Cash flows from operating activities**
Cash generated from operations
**27**
**Investing activities**
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
(1,922)
Investment income received
12,054
**Net cash generated from investing**
**activities**
**Net cash used in financing activities**
**Net increase in cash and cash equivalents**
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
**Cash and cash equivalents at end of year**
The notes on pages 19 to 33 form part of these financial statements.|**£**
145,723
10,132
-
155,855
318,895
474,750|**2023**
**£**
(1,053)
6,489|**£**
267,986
5,436
-| |---|---|---|---| ||||273,422
45,473| ||||318,895| ||||| - 18 - **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **1 Accounting policies** ## **Charity information** Society for Underwater Technology (The) is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 2-4 Packhorse Road, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, SL9 7QE. ## **1.1 Accounting convention** The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued in October 2019 and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), Charities Act 2011, Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and UK Generally Accepted Practice as it applies from 1 January 2019. Society for Underwater Technology meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s). The legal and actual status of affiliated operations is periodically assessed by the charity. As a result the charity concludes that the operations in Perth (Australia), Houston (USA), Melbourne (Australia), West Africa, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Singapore and Beijing (China) do not qualify as subsidiaries under the Companies Acts 2006 or as branches under the guidance laid out by the Charities SORP (FRS 102). The detailed review of the constitutions and operations concluded that they are administratively autonomous and should therefore not be consolidated. The Society for Underwater Technology Norway NUF was established as a Norwegian branch of a foreign enterprise (NUF). The constitution of this operation varies from those mentioned above and it qualifies as a branch under the Charities SORP (FRS 102) as a result is treated as a subsidiary. The Society has taken advantage of the exemption from preparing group accounts as per SORP FRS102 S.24.6 Appendix 3 A.11. The presentation currency is £ Sterling rounded to nearest £1. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below. ## **1.2 Going concern** At the time of approving the financial statements, the Council Members have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Council Members continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements. The Society has returned a surplus of £360,602 (2023: £36,037) for the financial year and at the balance sheet date the net assets of the Society are £689,428 (2023: £328,826). The Society's core income streams have remained consistent with the prior year, with a one-off, exceptional amount being recognised in the current year courtesy of the 5-yearly OSIG conference, which took place in September 2023. Total income for the society is expected to return to more routine levels next year, with the next 5-yearly OSIG conference scheduled to take place in 2027, however, we expect to see the regular income streams continue on their steady, upwards trend. The members are therefore satisfied that the going concern basis remains appropriate. ## **1.3 Charitable funds** ## _Unrestricted general funds_ These are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the Trustees. - 19 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **1 Accounting policies** ## **(Continued)** ## _Designated general funds_ The Society has designated general funds which it applies to the provision of the awards made to students. Monies that are designated by the Council Members can be moved back within the unrestricted general funds should the Council Members so decide. ## _Restricted funds_ These funds can only be used for this purpose within the objects of the Society. The Society's restricted funds were all fully expended during the year and, therefore, there is no fund analysis relating to balance sheet values at the year end. ## **1.4 Income** Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received. Cash donations and voluntary income are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation. Legacies are recognised on receipt or otherwise if the charity has been notified of an impending distribution, the amount is known, and receipt is expected. If the amount is not known, the legacy is treated as a contingent asset. Membership subscriptions are accounted for on a receivable basis and events income is included when receivable. ## **1.5 Expenditure** Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use. Grants payable are charged against income upon approval of the grant, in so far as the grant is payable from current resources. ## **1.6 Tangible fixed assets** Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses. Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases: Office furniture and equipment 20% reducing balance Computers 33% straight line The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities. - 20 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **1 Accounting policies** ## **(Continued)** ## **1.7 Fixed asset investments** Investments are valued at the prevailing market price as at the Balance Sheet date. Realised and unrealised gains (or losses) are reflected in the Statement of Financial Activities in the year in which they occur. No distinction is made between realised and unrealised gains in the Statement of Financial Activities as the Trustees consider that the disclosure of total gains/losses show a truer and fairer view. ## **1.8 Impairment of fixed assets** At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). ## **1.9 Stocks** Stock is valued at the lower of net realisable value and cost. Cost is valued on a first in first out basis. Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution. ## **1.10 Cash and cash equivalents** Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities. ## **1.11 Financial instruments** The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments. Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously. ## _**Basic financial assets**_ Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised. ## _**Basic financial liabilities**_ Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised. Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method. Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. - 21 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **1 Accounting policies** ## **(Continued)** ## _**Derecognition of financial liabilities**_ Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled. ## **1.12 Employee benefits** The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received. Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits. ## **1.13 Retirement benefits** Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due. ## **1.14 Foreign exchange** Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the rate of exchange ruling at the Balance Sheet date. Transactions are translated at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the transaction. All exchange differences are reflected in the Statement of Financial Activities. ## **1.15 Redundancy payments** Redundancy payments due to employees for termination of employment during the year are fully recognised in the current financial year. ## **1.16 Government grants receivable** Government grants are recognised when there is reasonable assurance that the grant conditions will be met and that the grants will be received. ## **2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements** In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the Council Members are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods. ## **3 Income from donations and legacies** |**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**funds**
**2024**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
Donations and gifts
1,578
-
Sponsorships for awards
1,000
-
2,578
-|**Total**
**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**funds**
**2024**
**2023**
**2023**
**£**
**£**
**£**
1,578
-
2,802
1,000
-
-
2,578
-
2,802|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
2,802
-| |---|---|---| |||2,802| - 22 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **4 Income from charitable activities** ||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**| |---|---|---| ||**funds**|**funds**| ||**2024**|**2023**| ||**£**|**£**| |**Membership subscriptions**||| |Corporate members|143,122|138,711| |Individual members|42,467|39,108| |**Conferences and seminars**||| |Training courses|140,765|109,000| |Conferences and workshops|19,765|884| |OSIG 2023 conference (5-yearly)|692,065|-| |Other events|-|125| |Branch activities|12,018|12,607| |**Publications, journals, newsletters and educational products**||| |Other income|13,750|8,320| ||1,063,952|308,755| ## **5 Conferences and seminars** |**Conferences and seminars**||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||**2024**||||**2023**|| ||**Income**|**ExpenditureSurplus/(deficit)**|||**Income**|**ExpenditureSurplus/(de**||| ||||||||**ficit)**|| |**OSIG 2023 Conference (5-Yearly)**|692,065||384,167|307,898||-|-|-| |**Training Courses**||||||||| |OSIG Course Jan 2023||-|-|-|29,100||267|28,833| |Wind Course Feb 2023||-|-|-|8,970||-|8,970| |Qualification of New Technology||-|-|-||-|16|(16)| |VSAG - Wood||-|-|-|10,230||-|10,230| |Defence SIG @ OB||-|-|-|1,400||1,480|(80)| |SW Geoform 6||-|-|-|4,800||4,163|637| |SSAC Sept 2022||-|-|-|16,600||3,321|13,279| |SAC March 2023||-|-|-|17,400||2,840|14,560| |SAC May 2023||-|-|-|20,500||3,159|17,341| |SAC November 2023|20,200||3,118|17,082||-|-|-| |SAC February 2024|19,900||3,551|16,349||-|-|-| |SAC June 2024|18,900||4,432|14,468||-|-|-| |OSIG Course May 2024 - Southampton|29,680||7,528|22,152||-|-|-| |Offshore Wind Energy Course - Newcastle|10,030||3,470|6,561||-|-|-| |MetOcean course for ScottishPower||||||||| |Renewables|15,400||6,000|9,400||-|-|-| |Wind Course April 2024|9,894||4,299|5,595||-|-|-| |DSTL Project|12,333||10,533|1,800||-|-|-| |UXO in the Marine Environment @ OI||||||||| |(free event)||-|8|(8)||-|-|-| |LSE Lunch & Learn 29.02.24 - free event||-|8|(8)||-|-|-| - 23 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ |**5**
**Conferences and seminars**
OSIG SW Geoforum 7
ECOSIGG Industry Insights & Networking
**Conference and workshops**
SUT/Masts Workshop
Oceanology International Conference (Bi-
Annual)
**Events**
Annual General Meeting
**Branch activities**
**Aberdeen**
Breakfast Meeting
SUT + Chartership
SUT/THSIS/IMCA Seminar
Worlds First Hydrogen Producing Offshore
Wind Turb
AGM
CCUS
Subsea Electrification
AGM + Pub Quiz January 2024
Business Breakfast - Jan 2024
Protecting Offshore Systems from Cyber
Threats - P
SUT+ Chartership Event (free - expenses
only)
THSIS/SUT
Gadgets & Widgets 2023
**London**
"Something Old, Something New"
SustainaVERSE @ Lloyds
Pub Quiz
LSE Pub Quiz 2023
LSE Eve Mtg Sept 2023
**Newcastle**
Nov 2022/Offshore Turbines
Feb 2023/Subsea Motor Devs
June 2023 + Enshore visit
Biomimetics and Biofouling
Subsea Imaging & VR
NoE Eve Meeting June 2024
**Middle East**
UAE Online conference - Developments in
Umbilical|4,428
-
140,765
1,765
18,000
19,765
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
911
2,059
-
-
470
1,545
-
-
-
1,704
247
-
-
-
50
129
104
-|1,221
8
44,176
2,515
-
2,515
2,144
2,144
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
759
1,087
10
300
21
627
-
-
-
1,227
129
-
-
-
25
51
33
-|3,207
(8)
96,589
(750)
18,000
17,250
(2,144)
(2,144)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
152
972
(10)
(300)
449
918
-
-
-
477
117
-
-
-
25
78
71
-|-
-
109,000
884
-
884
125
125
1,365
-
929
600
-
580
435
-
-
-
-
-
-
307
-
1,133
-
-
243
148
153
-
-
-
1,600|**(Continued)**
-
-
-
-
15,246
93,754
2,877
(1,993)
-
-
2,877
(1,993)
1,231
(1,106)
1,231
(1,106)
1,265
100
229
(229)
7
922
477
123
343
(343)
396
184
379
56
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
112
195
114
(114)
620
513
-
-
-
-
43
200
52
96
25
128
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,600| |---|---|---|---|---|---| - 24 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ |**5**
**Conferences and seminars**
UAE web "New Eyes in the Deep"
UAE - Emergency Pipeline Repair
Systems
UAE - Decommissioning Technologies
Road to COP28/Renewables (UAE)
UAE event - Why Subsea Industry Data
Matters for COP28
UAE HVDC Systems|-
-
-
2,112
1,088
1,599
12,018
864,613|-
-
-
297
85
325
4,976
437,979|-
-
-
1,815
1,002
1,274
7,042
426,634|1,112
2,352
1,650
-
-
-
12,607
122,616|**(Continued)**
-
1,112
851
1,501
-
1,650
-
-
-
-
-
-
4,913
7,694
24,267
98,349|**(Continued)**
-
1,112
851
1,501
-
1,650
-
-
-
-
-
-
4,913
7,694
24,267
98,349| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||||7,694| |||||||98,349| ## **6 Income from investments** |||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**| |---|---|---|---| |||**funds**|**funds**| |||**2024**|**2023**| |||**£**|**£**| ||Interest and dividends receivable|12,054|6,489| |**7**|**Other income**||| ||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**| |---|---|---| ||**funds**|**funds**| ||**2024**|**2023**| ||**£**|**£**| |Other income|683|163| - 25 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **8 Expenditure on charitable activities** |**Other direct**
**charitable**
**expenditure**
**Grants**
**2024**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**Direct costs**
Staff costs
144,882
-
Depreciation and
impairment
808
-
Publications, journals and
newsletters
4,540
-
Training courses
44,176
-
Conferences and
workshops
2,515
-
OSIG 2023 conference
(5-yearly)
384,167
-
Other events
2,144
-
Branch activities
4,976
-
Computer maintenance
7,696
-
Insurance
1,417
-
Travel
8,656
-
Marketing and advertising
15,543
-
Postage
84
-
Staff recruitment and
training
92
-
Stationery and office
expenses
6,259
-
Subscriptions
225
-
Telephone
1,177
-
629,357
-
Grant funding of activities
(see note 9)
-
10,400
**Share of support and governance costs (see note 10)**
Support
96,760
-
726,117
10,400
**Analysis by fund**
Unrestricted funds
726,117
10,400
Restricted funds
-
-
726,117
10,400|**Total**
**Other direct**
**charitable**
**expenditure**
**2024**
**2023**
**£**
**£**
144,882
133,492
808
874
4,540
4,750
44,176
15,246
2,515
2,877
384,167
-
2,144
1,231
4,976
4,913
7,696
5,716
1,417
1,541
8,656
8,001
15,543
4,093
84
160
92
269
6,259
5,556
225
205
1,177
1,200
629,357
190,124
10,400
-
96,760
86,868
736,517
276,992
736,517
276,992
-
-
736,517
276,992|**Grants**
**2023**
**£**
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
11,420
-
11,420
8,618
2,802
11,420|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
133,492
874
4,750
15,246
2,877
-
1,231
4,913
5,716
1,541
8,001
4,093
160
269
5,556
205
1,200| |---|---|---|---| ||||190,124
11,420
86,868| ||||288,412| ||||285,610
2,802| ||||288,412| - 26 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **9 Grants payable** |**Grants payable**||| |---|---|---| |Grants to individuals
Comprising of:
Educational support fund
Other awards|**Grants**
**2024**
**£**
10,400
8,500
1,900
10,400|**Grants**
**2023**
**£**
11,420| |||10,000
1,420| |||11,420| ## **10 Support costs allocated to activities** |**Other direct**
**charitable**
**expenditure**
**2024**
**£**
**_Basis of allocation_**
Staff costs
_Allocated on time_
62,093
Depreciation
_Allocated on time_
346
Bank charges
_Wholly attributable_
3,806
Computer maintenance
_Allocated on time_
3,299
Insurance
_Allocated on time_
608
Postage
_Usage allocation_
10
Software licences
_Wholly attributable_
2,476
Staff recruitment and training
_Allocated on time_
40
Stationery and office expenses
_Usage allocation_
1,565
Subscriptions
_Apportioned equally_
226
Telephone
_Usage allocation_
505
Marketing
_Apportioned equally_
5,032
Governance
_Wholly attributable_
16,754
96,760
**2024**
**Governance costs comprise:**
**£**
Audit fees
6,500
Accountancy
3,559
Legal and professional
6,695
Bad debts
-
16,754|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
57,211
375
3,569
2,450
661
18
2,776
115
1,389
205
515
4,094
13,490| |---|---| ||86,868| ||**2023**
**£**
3,150
8,100
-
2,240| ||13,490| - 27 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ |**11**|**Net movement in funds**|**2024**|**2023**| |---|---|---|---| |||**£**|**£**| ||The net movement in funds is stated after charging/(crediting):||| ||Fees payable for the audit of the charity's financial statements|6,500|3,150| ||Depreciation of owned tangible fixed assets|1,154|1,249| ## **12 Council Members** None of the Council Members (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year. Council members were re-imbursed for expenditure relating to the activities of the society, totalling £3,428. The total balance owed to council members at the balance sheet date was £182. ## **13 Employees** The average monthly number of employees during the year was: |Direct charitable activities
Management and administration of the charity
Total
**Employment costs**
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs|**2024**
**Number**
2
2
4
**2024**
**£**
185,441
16,571
4,963
206,975|**2023**
**Number**
2
2| |---|---|---| |||4| |||**2023**
**£**
167,110
18,580
5,013| |||190,703| The number of employees whose annual remuneration was more than £60,000 is as follows: |||**2024**|**2023**| |---|---|---|---| |||**Number**|**Number**| |£80,001|-£90,000|-|1| |£90,001|-£100,000|1|-| - 28 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **13 Employees** ## **(Continued)** ## **Remuneration of key management personnel** The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows: ||**2024**|**2023**| |---|---|---| ||**£**|**£**| |Aggregate compensation|90,296|81,097| ## **14 Gains and losses on investments** ||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**| |---|---|---| ||**funds**|**funds**| ||**2024**|**2023**| |Gains/(losses) arising on:|**£**|**£**| |Revaluation of investments|17,852|6,240| ## **15 Taxation** The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes. ## **16 Tangible fixed assets** |**Tangible fixed assets**|| |---|---| |**Office**
**furniture and**
**equipment**
**Computers**
**£**
**£**
**Cost**
At 1 July 2023
4,477
46,098
Additions
-
1,922
At 30 June 2024
4,477
48,020
**Depreciation and impairment**
At 1 July 2023
4,129
45,288
Depreciation charged in the year
67
1,087
At 30 June 2024
4,196
46,375
**Carrying amount**
At 30 June 2024
281
1,645
At 30 June 2023
348
810|**Total**
**£**
50,575
1,922| ||52,497| ||49,417
1,154| ||50,571| ||1,926| ||1,158| - 29 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **17 Fixed asset investments** |**Listed**
**investments**
**Charities**
**Official**
**Investment**
**Fund**
**£**
**£**
**Cost or valuation**
At 1 July 2023
356
213,750
Valuation changes
139
17,713
At 30 June 2024
495
231,463
**Carrying amount**
At 30 June 2024
495
231,463
At 30 June 2023
356
213,750|**Total**
**£**
214,106
17,852| |---|---| ||231,958| ||231,958| ||214,106| ## **Fixed asset investments revalued** All investments have been revalued at the balance sheet date based on the market value at that date. The historical cost of the investments is: Listed investments £2,106 (2023: £2,106) and Charities Official Investment Fund £39,659 (2023: £39,659). ## **18 Stocks** |Books for resale
**19**
**Debtors**
**Amounts falling due within one year:**
Trade debtors
Amounts owed by fellow group undertakings
Prepayments and accrued income|**2024**
**£**
18,532
**2024**
**£**
20,684
3,252
934
24,870|**2023**
**£**
9,779| |---|---|---| |||**2023**
**£**
53,392
3,252
160,697| |||217,341| - 30 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **20 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year** |**Notes**
Other taxation and social security
Deferred income
**21**
Trade creditors
Other creditors
Accruals|**2024**
**£**
9,516
31,697
6,491
3,655
11,249
62,608|**2023**
**£**
23,329
391,550
4,430
4,067
9,077| |---|---|---| |||432,453| Income is deferred when it has been either invoiced or received in the current financial year, but relates to future periods. ## **21 Deferred income** |**21**
**Deferred income**|| |---|---| |**2024**
**£**
Other deferred income
31,697
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
**2024**
**£**
Deferred income is included within:
Current liabilities
31,697
Movements in the year:
Deferred income at 1 July 2023
391,550
Released from previous periods
(391,327)
Resources deferred in the year
31,474
Deferred income at 30 June 2024
31,697
**22**
**Retirement benefit schemes**
**2024**
**Defined contribution schemes**
**£**
Charge to profit or loss in respect of defined contribution schemes
4,963|**2023**
**£**
391,550| ||**2023**
**£**
391,550| ||4,507
(4,507)
391,550| ||391,550| ||**2023**
**£**
5,013| The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund. - 31 - **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **23 Restricted funds** The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. |**Previous year:**|**At 1 July 2022**|**Incoming**|**Resources**|**At 30 June**| |---|---|---|---|---| |||**resources**|**expended**|**2023**| ||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**| |Educational Support Fund|-|2,802|(2,802)|-| The Education Support Fund was established to provide educational grants to students. The original restricted funds have all been expended. The Society continues to collect small amounts for the fund during the year at events and through the Just Giving platform. the amounts collected during the year are fully expended during the year. ## **24 Unrestricted funds** The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes. |**At 1**
General funds
**Previous year:**
**At 1**
General funds|**July 2023**
**Incoming**
**resources**
**Resources**
**expended**
**Gains and**
**losses**
**At 30 June**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
328,826
1,079,267
(736,517)
17,852
689,428
**July 2022**
**Incoming**
**resources**
**Resources**
**expended**
**Gains and**
**losses**
**At 30 June**
**2023**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
292,789
315,407
(285,610)
6,240
328,826| |---|---| ## **25 Limited liability of members** In accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association, Fellows, Individual Members and Corporate Members (but not Associate Members and Student Members) are deemed to be Members of the Society within the context and as such have a limited liability of £5 per member in the event of the Society being wound up. ## **26 Related party transactions** ## **Transactions with related parties** During the year the charity entered into the following transactions with related parties: - 32 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **26 Related party transactions** **(Continued)** The total amount of income received without conditions from trustees during the year was £252 (2023: £1,286). Transactions with trustees are disclosed in note 12. Key management personnel remuneration is disclosed in note 13. There are no other disclosable related party transactions during the year. ## **27 Cash generated from operations** |||| |---|---|---| |**Cash generated from operations**|**2024**|**2023**| ||**£**|**£**| |Surplus for the year|360,602|36,037| |Adjustments for:||| |Investment income recognised in statement of financial activities|(12,054)|(6,489)| |Fair value gains and losses on investments|(17,852)|(6,240)| |Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets|1,154|1,249| |Movements in working capital:||| |(Increase)/decrease in stocks|(8,753)|71| |Decrease/(increase) in debtors|192,471|(166,005)| |(Decrease)/increase in creditors|(9,992)|22,320| |(Decrease)/increase in deferred income|(359,853)|387,043| |**Cash generated from operations**|145,723|267,986| ## **28 Analysis of changes in net funds** The charity had no material debt during the year. - 33 - **Charity registration number 256659 (England and Wales)** **Charity registration number SC043942 (Scotland) Company registration number 00932590 (England and Wales)** ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE) ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024** ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION** |**President**|B Sykes| |---|---| |**Chair and Vice President**|S John| |**Hon Treasurer**|G Schultz| |**Hon Secretary**|D Brookes| |**Chief Executive (CEO)**|C A Burgess| |**Registered office**|2-4 Packhorse Road| ||Gerrards Cross| ||Buckinghamshire| ||SL9 7QE| |**Charity number (England and Wales)**|256659| |**Charity number (Scotland)**|SC043942| |**Company number**|00932590| |**Auditor**|Anova| ||The Barn, Meadow Court| ||Faygate Lane| ||Faygate| ||Horsham| ||West Sussex| ||RH12 4SJ| |**Bankers**|Barclays Bank plc and Bank of Scotland plc| |**Solicitors**|Gordons Partnership| ||22 Great James Street| ||London| ||WC1N 3ES| ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **CONTENTS** ||**Page**| |---|---| |Chair's report|1 - 3| |Council Members' report|4 - 10| |Independent auditor's report|11 - 14| |Statement of financial activities|15 - 16| |Balance sheet|17| |Statement of cash flows|18| |Notes to the financial statements|19 - 33| ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **CHAIR'S REPORT** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **Annual Report of the Chair, Sue John** As I conclude my term as the elected Chair of Council with this AGM and report, I am once again amazed by the dedication of SUT volunteers, who have generously given their time during an incredibly busy year. A glance at the Society’s events webpage reveals just how active our special interest groups and branches have been, organising a wide range of professional, networking, and social events, from conferences and technical evenings to webinars, podcasts, and the revival of SUT Branches. Over the past year, they've delivered more than 15 training sessions, 32 technical meetings, 25 social events, and 15 conferences/workshops, along with site visits and contributions to SUT publications. I must also acknowledge the invaluable contributions of our volunteer training course presenters. Not only do they deliver our industry-recognised courses, but they also help develop the content, ensure it remains current, and contribute to the delegate programmes. Additionally, I would like to thank the member companies that host site visits for course delegates, as well as for SUT+ and ECOSSIG activities. I extend my heartfelt thanks to all members who generously give their time and expertise to support the Society in achieving the successes I’ve highlighted. Of course, the SUT’s strength doesn’t lie with volunteers alone—we are also fortunate to have a dedicated team of staff. Their work is crucial to the Society’s future, with staff based across three continents—in Perth, Western Australia; Houston, Texas; and here in the UK. Whether they are managing our finances, promoting events, coordinating memberships, or simply providing support when needed, their efforts ensure the smooth running of the Society’s operations worldwide. ## **Finance and Accounts** Before approving the 2023-2024 budget, SUT Council members recognised that the 9th OSIG Conference, held in London in September 2023, would generate a significant surplus for the Society. Sponsorship for the event was secured early, starting in the 2022-2023 financial year, and delegate registrations exceeded targets by mid-2023, with the event selling out prior to the registration deadline. The 2023-2024 accounts also reflect the strong performance of SUT’s training courses, including the Subsea Awareness Course in Aberdeen, the Offshore Wind Course in Newcastle, the OSIG course in Southampton, and the online Metocean course for offshore renewable energy. Each contributed to the Society's surplus. Additional sponsorship for various SUT events helped keep costs down for members, allowing some events to be free or cost-neutral, with pricing for chargeable events reflecting member benefits. I would like to extend my gratitude to all the sponsors who supported SUT events over the past year. ## **Conferences** The 9th International OSIG Conference, which had been postponed due to Covid, made a highly successful return in 2023. Thanks to the hard work of the OSIG organising committee, led by Conference Chair Toby Powell, and the support of SUT staff, the event was a sell-out with global attendance. I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of Mick Cook and Mike Fearn for their efforts in managing the conference finances and securing sponsors, helping to further establish OSIG as a globally recognised brand. A total of 412 abstracts were submitted, with 250 accepted, leading to three full days of presentations to standing-room-only audiences. Plans are already underway for the next OSIG Conference in September 2027. OSIG was not the only event in 2023/2024. SUT's presence was felt across various conferences and exhibitions, including the Autonomous Marine Technology Conference, SPE Offshore Europe, ADIPEC, the Annual Salvage, Decommissioning and Wreck Removal Workshop in Glasgow, Subsea Expo, Oceanology International, MCE-DD, AOG Perth, Subsea Technology Eastern Mediterranean, All-Energy in Glasgow, and The Combined Naval Event in Farnborough. Importantly, the Society does not operate in isolation. Throughout the year, we have collaborated with key industry organisations, including the Global Underwater Hub and the International Marine Contractors Association. We also partnered as the Learned Society with RX, DMG, and Endeavour B2B to support major industry events, contributing to their technical programmes and side sessions. - 1 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **CHAIR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **Strategy Working Group** In July 2023, the SUT Council established a limited-term Strategy Working Group (SWG), co-chaired by Ralph Rayner and Nick Swift. The purpose of this sub-committee is to develop a long-term Strategic Framework and Strategic Plan to guide the Society's future growth in service of its members and in line with its charitable aims. This initiative has brought together international perspectives on key strategic themes, and I extend my thanks to all participants in the working group. There are no quick or simple solutions to the challenges the SUT will face in the coming years, but we eagerly anticipate the completion of the Strategic Framework and look forward to your feedback. As we approach SUT’s 60th Anniversary in 2026, we encourage members to contribute their ideas for events and meetings. Please share your suggestions with SUT CEO, Cheryl Burgess. ## **Educational Support Fund** The Society's Educational Support Fund (ESF) awarded scholarships in 2023 to undergraduate and postgraduate students across various disciplines, including engineering and environmental science. Graduating recipients from the 2023-2024 period include Erin Nicholson, Bartol Sikora, Ryan Lin, and Francesca Fehlberg, all of whom are pursuing marine and subsea-related careers. ## **Awards** The Society remains committed to recognising exceptional contributions to our industry sectors, as well as inspiring achievements. The inaugural Mick Cook Award for Marine Site Investigation celebrates excellence in marine site investigations and characterisations across the global disciplines of geophysics and geotechnics. This year, the award was presented to Tor Inge Tjelta at the OSIG 2023 conference, where the judging panel acknowledged his innovative contributions to offshore site investigations and geotechnical engineering, highlighting his integrated geological, geophysical, and geotechnical approaches in complex project settings. The President’s Award was awarded to Ali Hynd, an inspirational teacher at Mintlaw Academy in Aberdeenshire, for his dedication to the school’s ROV club, where students design and build their own remotely operated vehicles. Through his efforts, Ali is helping to nurture the next generation of professionals in robotics and subsea engineering. We commend all teachers whose passion ignites curiosity and encourages students to pursue careers in our beloved industries. Additionally, the Lennard-Senior Memorial Prize was presented to Professor Deborah Greaves, OBE, at All-Energy in Glasgow, recognising her outstanding individual achievements in the field of Marine Renewable Energy. Finally, Dr Peter Girguis, a Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and Adjunct Oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, received the prestigious Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration at Oceanology International in March 2024. Described by his peers as "the epitome of a deepsea explorer" and "a man for all ocean seasons," Peter's contributions to ocean exploration are truly commendable. ## **Communications** The Underwater Technology Podcast, hosted by Martin Stemp and produced by Emily Boddy, continues to deliver engaging and informative episodes for members and those with an interest in underwater technology, marine science, and subsea engineering. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend tuning in—downloads have now exceeded 28,600. In addition, members have access to our quarterly newsletter, _Big Blue World_ , as well as _UT2_ and _Underwater Robotics_ magazine. I encourage all members to contribute news, articles on innovation, project updates, or thought pieces for inclusion in _Big Blue World_ . - 2 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **CHAIR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ This year, I would like to recognise the exceptional contribution of one staff member in particular. Our Membership and Finance Officer, Jane Hinton, has just completed 30 years of service with the SUT. Initially joining as a temporary employee, Jane’s potential was quickly recognised, leading to her becoming a permanent and invaluable member of the team. As the key contact for membership enquiries and finance, Jane’s professionalism and meticulous management of the Society’s accounts have been outstanding. While retirement may eventually call, we are fortunate to have her continued dedication and expertise, and we extend our deepest thanks for her remarkable service. Lastly, I want to express our gratitude to our corporate members, whose sponsorship underpins the efforts of our volunteers. Over the past three years, we’ve seen the Society bounce back from the challenges of the Covid pandemic, launching a new branch in the Eastern Mediterranean and revitalising our Norway branch. Interest in new branches, training courses, and innovations continues to grow, with our Special Interest Groups playing a crucial role in advancing science and technology. Thank you to all SUT staff, volunteers, corporate members, and sponsors for making this success possible. .............................. S John **Chair of the Council** 3rd December 2024 Date: ......................... - 3 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **COUNCIL MEMBERS' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ The Council Members present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2024. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). ## **Introduction** Earlier this year was the 4[th] anniversary of the start of the Covid pandemic and the ensuing lockdown. It is hard to believe how much our lives changed and how long we will have to live with the longer-term impacts of what happened. Thankfully, the SUT continues to rebound, and our activities and events over this last year are reflective of this return to a more recognizable normality and growth. Of particular note was the running one of the SUT’s premier events, the 9th edition of the International OSIG Conference “Innovative Geotechnologies for Energy Transition” held in September 2023 in London. I know how much effort goes into organizing this event and making it the success that it is. In recent years, the SUT Council has been focused on financial matters, then the pandemic, but this was the year when the Council's focus shifted to the future, and how the SUT can embrace the opportunities ahead of it. It is, of course, important that the Council remains reflective of the SUT membership if it is to guide the SUT in the years ahead and ensure the continued vibrancy of the Society. ## **Objectives and activities** The Society is principally engaged in the promotion of awareness in all aspects related to underwater technology. Its Mission and Strategic Vision are described as follows: ## _Mission_ The Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) is an international body actively promoting the development, dissemination and exchange of ideas, information and technology arising from or related to the underwater environment. ## _Strategic Vision_ To maintain and develop SUT as the foremost society worldwide focusing on underwater technology, building on a reputation for high standards in publications, conferences and training courses; having a growing membership in the UK and abroad; and having significant influence with government and industry in relevant policy areas, and encouraging people to attain suitable qualifications and enter the field of underwater technology. ## _Public benefit_ In keeping with the Charity Commission's key principles that there must be an identifiable benefit to the public or a section of the public, the Society has undertaken the following activities during this financial year: • It has supported 45 undergraduate students and 1 post-graduate student on relevant courses at a total cost of £8,500 (2023: £8,800). • Provided free of charge, to both members and non-members, the most highly acclaimed online magazine in the field of underwater technology and subsea engineering, entitled _UT2_ , and _Underwater Robotics_ . • Provided _'Big Blue World'_ : the newsletter of the Society for Underwater Technology, free of charge to both members and non-members. - 4 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **COUNCIL MEMBERS' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ • The Society has provided a free Christmas lecture programme for schools prior to Covid. Once again, in 2024 this has not been possible because of a lack of sponsorship in the local groups and the workload around the Society’s September 2023 OSIG conference. A conference traditionally held every four years, but due to the impact of the Covid pandemic, returning to The Society’s events programme after a five-year break. The Society is exploring developing online lectures for schools and events with schools timed at other points in the academic year, other than at Christmas, and developing these programmes with other like-minded bodies, associations and charities. • Provided high quality subsidised training courses for industry. ## _Grant making policy_ Grants are awarded to high-quality students at either undergraduate or postgraduate (one-year taught MSc) level undertaking courses relevant to the area of interest of the Society with the aim of encouraging more entrants to the marine disciplines. ## **Strategic report** The description under the headings "Achievements and performance" and "Financial review" meet the company law requirements for the Council Members to present a strategic report. ## **Achievements and performance** We have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning our future activities. The Unrestricted Funds of the Society were increased by £360,602 after allowing for £17,852 in gains on investments . ## _Strategic Review_ In my previous report, it was announced that the SUT was initiating a Strategic Review of the aims and activities of the Society; the purpose of this review is to ensure that the Society is positioned to seize the opportunities resulting from the growth of the ocean economy and ensure the SUT’s continued relevance as a Learned Society in the years ahead. The SUT Council formed a Strategy Working Group (SWG) to perform the Strategic Review on behalf of the SUT. The primary objective of the SWG has been to guide the SUT’s response to the changes that are occurring across the ocean economy as it transitions in response to pressing environmental, societal and economic challenges, as well as in recognition of the impact of emerging technologies. Initial deliverables for the SWG are the Strategic Framework and Strategic Plan; to then be followed by an implementation plan. I know Strategy Working Group welcomes the contribution of members and especially our younger members who represent the Society’s future. ## _Membership_ One of the main drivers for the Strategic Review is to ensure that membership of the Society continues to be of value to our members both individual and corporate. We do not take the support of our existing members for granted and need to ensure they continue to see value in their membership. Individual membership of the SUT experienced growth because of the OSIG conference and the differential conference fees for members and non-members. We hope that individuals joining the SUT for this reason will continue to see value in SUT membership. Corporate membership is steady. However, there is some flux in membership depending on when they renew their membership. Our recently established special interest groups on Marine Environmental Science and Unexploded Ordnance continue to establish their presence and have developed new members from these sectors including new members from the offshore windfarm operators and representation from SMEs and academia as well as contributing to conference programmes. - 5 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **COUNCIL MEMBERS' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## _Training_ This last year has seen the SUT’s in-person training courses re-assert their popularity over virtual options. The added value of physical attendance at training courses is clearly recognised by our members for the greater opportunities to interact with both the course instructors and other attendees. The USP of SUT training courses are the expertise of the presenters together with the courses site visits cannot be under-estimated. This year, the SUT has run multiple Subsea Awareness Courses as well as the sell-out Introductory courses to Offshore Geophysics & Geotechnical Engineering and the Offshore Wind course. In addition, a training course for Metocean for Renewable Energy was run during the year. The Metocean course is intended to be a regular addition to the SUT training course offering. The strong response to these courses identifies both an ongoing need but also an appreciation of the added benefits of in person courses. Going forward there is space for both virtual and in person training courses to suit audience location and their availability. Whilst the number of online webinars has prolifarated, the Aberdeen SUT+ and ECOIG have developed their own distincitve offering and regularly attract significant attendee numbers of online attendees. ## _Awards_ This was the first year of the new Mick Cook Marine Site Investigation Award; this award is open all working in the field of marine site investigations and characterisations globally. The award recognises industry professionals who have made a significant contribution to Marine Site Investigation and Characterisation, covering the broad disciplines of Geophysics and Geotechnic. The SUT was pleased to announce Tor Inge Tjelta as the inaugral winner of this prestigious new award. The President’s Award was shared by Mr Ali Hynd and the ROV Club of Mintlaw Academy. The 2023 President’s Award recognised Ali Hynd as an inspirational teacher and mentor to the ROV Club of Mintlaw Academy showing passion and highlighting the careers potential in the subsea and underwater industries to his students and the acknowledged ROV Club pupils endeavours in building their own ROV along with acquiring the engineering skills that will help students find their careers in the underwater, subsea sector so vital to today’s world. The Lennard-Senior Prize was presented to Professor Deborah Greaves, OBE FREng, University of Plymouth at All-Energy. The Lennard-Senior Prize is presented in recognition of outstanding individual achievement in the field of Marine Renewable Energy. Professor Greaves was recognised for her remarkable impact on the frontiers of Ocean Engineering and Renewable Energy; in academia and research, work with COAST, Supergen OREHub and the projects focused on technological advances to meet the future clean energy demands. The Captain Don Walsh Award, a joint award with MTS, was presented at Oceanology International to Dr Peter Girguis, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and Adjunct Oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. This award focused on achievement is ocean exploration recognised Dr Girguis’ focus on understanding how marine organisms in the deep-sea have adapted to their habitats and how they respond to a changing world. His pioneering efforts continued with the development of innovative methods to grow the deep-sea microbes that are responsible to keeping methane out of the atmosphere. ## **Financial review** A summary of the Society’s accounts and financial statements for 2023-2024 has been included in the Annual Report. SUT acting Honorary Treasurer, Mick Cook, will present The Report and Financial Statements at the Society’s AGM. - 6 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **COUNCIL MEMBERS' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## _Going concern_ The Council Members have given due consideration to the ability of The Society to continue as a going concern. The Society has returned a surplus of £360,602 for the financial year and at the balance sheet date the net assets of the Society are £689,428. This year has seen an unusually high surplus due to the holding of the 5-yearly OSIG conference. The society is not expected to return a surplus as large next year, and the next OSIG conference will be held in 2027. The Society’s core income streams have all continued to recover after the impact of the COVID19 pandemic and the trend towards online courses. Membership income has increased by 4.4%; Conferences and Seminars income has achieved 605.1% growth generating £864,613 of income and a £426,634 surplus for the year. Including in this figure is income generated by the OSIG conference of £692,065, and a surplus of £307,898. Conferences and Seminars income is up 40.7% excluding the income generated from OSIG 2023. We expect the upward trend on core income to continue and The Society continues to meet its minimum reserves policy of holding fifty percent of the expected next year’s expenditure in reserves. The Members are, therefore, satisfied that the going concern basis remains appropriate. ## _Reserves policy_ The Unrestricted Fund at 30 June 2024 amounted to £689,428 compared with an amount of £328,826 at the end of the previous year, including donations and legacies, and after allowing for gains on investments. ## _Educational support fund_ A report for the year ending 30 June 2024 from the Educational Support Fund Management is included in this Annual Report. The financial statement regarding the Educational Support Fund appear in note 9 and included as part of the Society’s Charitable Activities in the annual accounts Statement of Financial Activities including Income and Expenditure Account. ## _Investment policy_ There are no formal restrictions on the investments made by the Society. ## _Major risks_ The Council Members actively review the major risks which the charity faces and confirm that they have established systems to mitigate the significant risks. ## _Financial Risk_ The Members remain cautious in terms of the Society's investment strategy and are satisfied they have taken appropriate steps to ensure that reserves are not placed at any undue risk. During the period and at the Balance Sheet date, the majority of balances held at bank were held in either current or deposit accounts with High Street banks. The make-up of fixed asset investments is given in note 17 of the Financial Statements. The majority of these investments are placed in two Charities Official Investment Funds ## **Plans for future periods** In the future, the Society plans to completely revitalise and overhaul its website. This will allow for, increased functionality and a more sophisticated system to help the Society manage and oversee the various activities it undertakes. It will enable streamlined communications and transfers of information between branches of the charity, as well as simplifying and enhancing the user experience. The Society expects costs for this to be in the region of £60k to £80k. The Society has hired a new part-time administrator since the year-end to help with the increasing administrative demands and provision of support across the SUT centre staff and deliverables. There are also tentative plans to increase human resources and staff further in the future, subject to budgetary constraints. - 7 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **COUNCIL MEMBERS' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **Structure, governance and management** The Society's governing document is the Memorandum and Articles of Association and its full name is the Society for Underwater Technology Limited. The Society is a registered company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. The Council Members, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were: |M Theobald|(Resigned 24 May 2024)| |---|---| |N J Swift|(Resigned 29 May 2024)| |D M Saul|| |R E Luff|(Resigned 7 December 2023)| |I S Knight|(Resigned 7 December 2023)| |M R Cook|(Appointed 7 December 2023 and resigned 27 February 2024)| |A C Connelly|(Resigned 7 December 2023)| |N Carey|(Resigned 7 December 2023)| |M A Atmanand|(Resigned 7 December 2023)| |G J Whitehead|(Appointed 7 December 2023)| |B J Sykes|(Appointed 7 December 2023)| |M M Stemp|(Appointed 7 December 2023)| |T H A Sloane|| |R F Rayner|| |J A I Patten|| |J Morgan|| |S F John|| |S V Duffield|(Appointed 7 December 2023)| |M M Crawford|(Resigned 24 October 2024)| |S Elkatib|| |A Elkadi|(Appointed 7 December 2023)| |G Schultz|(Appointed 24 October 2024)| |D Brookes|(Appointed 24 October 2024)| None of the Members of the Council has any financial interest in the Society that requires disclosure under the Companies Act 2006. For Related Party transactions please see notes 12, 13 and 25. Council Members are appointed for three years by a ballot among members of the Society (members comprising the classes of Fellow, Individual Member and Corporate Member), and are drawn from among these Members. Candidates must be proposed and seconded by any two other Members. Ballot forms must be sent to Members twenty-eight days before the election, which is by simple majority, and this shall take place seven days before the Annual General Meeting. Those elected shall hold office from the conclusion of this Annual General Meeting. At the end of three years, a Council Member may stand for re-election, but no Member of Council may serve for more than six consecutive years. New Council Members were previously not provided with a formal induction pack following their election but instead, briefed verbally at the first meeting and individually as requested. However, this has now changed, and Council Members will receive a formal induction pack. - 8 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **COUNCIL MEMBERS' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## _Organisational structure_ A Board of Trustees (The Council) of up to or similar to 18 members, who meet quarterly, administer the Society. A Chief Executive (CEO), who is not a trustee, is appointed by The Council to manage the day-to-day operations of the Society. Branches of the Society are established under the authority of Council in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of the Society. They will have their own organising committee with elected officers. The results of branches of the Society whereby the UK charity either has control, or the branch is not deemed to be administratively autonomous are consolidated in the Financial Statements. Details of remuneration of key management personnel are disclosed in note 13. Remuneration levels for key management personnel and other employees are set by the Executive Committee, whose members are set out on the information page. The overall gross salary allowance as presented in the budget is then ratified by the full Council. ## **Funds held as custodian trustee** No funds are held as custodian trustee on behalf of the others. ## **Statement of Council Members' responsibilities** The Council Members, who are also the directors of Society for Underwater Technology (The) for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Council Members' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company Law requires the Council Members to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year. In preparing these financial statements, the Council Members are required to: - select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; - observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP; - make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; - state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and - prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation. The Council Members are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. ## **Auditor** In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Anova be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting. - 9 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **COUNCIL MEMBERS' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **Emissions, energy consumption and energy efficiency** The SUT is concerned not only with ocean and underwater environmental protection, but also with the Society’s own environmental impact as a UK charity. During the Covid-19 pandemic, SUT staff transitioned to home-based working. Office leases ending in 2021 were not renewed, reducing the Society’s carbon footprint. No longer paying for unoccupied office space, lowered usage of utilities and no longer requiring staff to commute to London are just a few of the positive implications this change has had. Using less energy is the most important way of reducing carbon emissions, accounting for around a half of the reduction in emissions targeted by 2050. As such, the SUT continues to consider how we incur energy demands, including: consumption in the running of the Society, the use of spaces for SUT events, requirements for the sustainability of the Society and our contribution to net zero targets. To enable this we have increased our use of digital meeting platforms, using partner meeting spaces, public transport is used as much as possible and encouraging recycling whenever possible, both in waste disposal and purchase of new supplies. Energy efficiency is critical in every aspect of how we obtain, generate and use energy and for all three of the 'trilemma' parameters: decarbonisation, security of supply and affordability. ## **Disclosure of information to auditor** Each of the Council Members has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information. The Council Members' report, including the strategic report, was approved by the Board of Council Members. **----- Start of picture text -----**
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.............................. .............................. I. Knight (Acting Hon. Secretary) S F John 3rd December 2024 Date: ............................................. - 10 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT** ## **TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **Opinion** We have audited the financial statements of Society for Underwater Technology (The) (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 30 June 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 _The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland_ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). In our opinion, the financial statements: - give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 30 June 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, for the year then ended; - have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and - have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). ## **Basis for opinion** We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the _Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements_ section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. ## **Conclusions relating to going concern** In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Council Members' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue. Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Council Members with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. ## **Other information** The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The Council Members are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard. - 11 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)** ## **TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception** We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) require us to report to you if, in our opinion: - the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the Council Members' report; or - sufficient and proper accounting records have not been kept; or - the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or - we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit. ## **Responsibilities of Council Members** As explained more fully in the statement of Council Members' responsibilities, the Council Members, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Council Members determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the Council Members are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Council Members either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. ## **Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements** We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and report in accordance with the Acts and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder. Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below. We identify and assess risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and noncompliance with laws and regulations, we considered the following: - the nature of the industry and sector, control environment and business performance; - results of our enquiries of management about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities; - any matters we identified having obtained and reviewed the charitable company's documentation of their policies and procedures relating to: - identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance; - detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; - the internal controls established to mitigate risks of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations; - the matters discussed among the audit engagement team regarding how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud. - 12 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)** ## **TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** As a result of these procedures, we considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the organisation for fraud. In common with all audits we are also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override. We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the company operates in. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the UK Companies Act and Charities Act 2011. In addition we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which may be fundamental to the company's ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. As a result of performing the above, we did not identify any key matters related to the potential risk of fraud or noncompliance with laws and regulations. Our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following: - reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with relevant laws and regulations described as having a direct effect on the financial statements; - enquiring of management concerning actual and potential litigation and claims; - performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud; - reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance, reviewing internal reports and reviewing correspondence with regulators, and; - in addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments, assessing whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias and evaluating the business rationale for any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business. We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indication of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit. A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https:// www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report. ## **Other matters** It should be duly noted that the financial statements of the prior period are unaudited and thus the corresponding figures in this years' financial statements are unaudited. ## **Use of our report** This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed. - 13 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED)** ## **TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** **Matthew Cleghorn FCA BSc (Hons) (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Anova** ......................... **Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor** The Barn, Meadow Court Faygate Lane Faygate Horsham West Sussex RH12 4SJ Anova is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006. - 14 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ |**Current financial year**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**2024**
**Notes**
**£**
**Income and endowments from:**
Donations and legacies
**3**
2,578
Charitable activities
**4**
1,063,952
Investments
**6**
12,054
Other income
**7**
683
**Total income**
1,079,267
**Expenditure on:**
**5**
Charitable activities
**8**
736,517
**Total expenditure**
736,517
Net gains/(losses) on investments
**14**
17,852
**Net income and movement in funds**
360,602
**Reconciliation of funds:**
Fund balances brought forward
328,826
**Fund balances carried forward**
689,428|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
2,802
308,755
6,489
163| |---|---| ||318,209
288,412| ||288,412| ||6,240| ||36,037
292,789| ||328,826| The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities. The notes on pages 19 to 33 form part of these financial statements. - 15 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (CONTINUED) INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ |**Prior financial year**
**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**funds**
**2023**
**2023**
**Notes**
**£**
**£**
**Income and endowments from:**
Donations and legacies
**3**
-
2,802
Charitable activities
**4**
308,755
-
Investments
**6**
6,489
-
Other income
**7**
163
-
**Total income**
315,407
2,802
**Expenditure on:**
**5**
Charitable activities
**8**
285,610
2,802
**Total expenditure**
285,610
2,802
Net gains/(losses) on investments
**14**
6,240
-
**Net income and movement in funds**
36,037
-
**Reconciliation of funds:**
Fund balances at 1 July 2022
292,789
-
**Fund balances at 30 June 2023**
328,826
-|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
2,802
308,755
6,489
163| |---|---| ||318,209
288,412| ||288,412| ||6,240| ||36,037
292,789| ||328,826| - 16 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **BALANCE SHEET** ## _**AS AT 30 JUNE 2024**_ |**Notes**
**Fixed assets**
Tangible assets
**16**
Investments
**17**
**Current assets**
Stocks
**18**
Debtors
**19**
Cash at bank and in hand
**Creditors: amounts falling due within**
**one year**
**20**
**Net current assets**
**Total assets less current liabilities**
**The funds of the charity**
Unrestricted funds
**24**
**Total charity funds**|**2024**
**£**
18,532
24,870
474,750
518,152
(62,608)|**2023**
**£**
**£**
1,926
231,958
233,884
9,779
217,341
318,895
546,015
(432,453)
455,544
689,428
689,428
689,428|**£**
1,158
214,106| |---|---|---|---| ||||215,264
113,562| ||||328,826| ||||328,826| ||||328,826| Total funds as stated above include a Fair Value Reserve of £190,193 (2023: £172,341) (see note 17) The notes on pages 19 to 33 form part of these financial statements. The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 30 June 2024, although an audit has been carried out under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011. The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements. The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements under the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, for the year in question in accordance with section 476. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime. The financial statements were approved by the Council Members on ......................... .............................. S F John Company registration number 00932590 (England and Wales) - 17 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ |**2024**
**Notes**
**£**
**Cash flows from operating activities**
Cash generated from operations
**27**
**Investing activities**
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
(1,922)
Investment income received
12,054
**Net cash generated from investing**
**activities**
**Net cash used in financing activities**
**Net increase in cash and cash equivalents**
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
**Cash and cash equivalents at end of year**
The notes on pages 19 to 33 form part of these financial statements.|**£**
145,723
10,132
-
155,855
318,895
474,750|**2023**
**£**
(1,053)
6,489|**£**
267,986
5,436
-| |---|---|---|---| ||||273,422
45,473| ||||318,895| ||||| - 18 - **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **1 Accounting policies** ## **Charity information** Society for Underwater Technology (The) is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 2-4 Packhorse Road, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, SL9 7QE. ## **1.1 Accounting convention** The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued in October 2019 and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), Charities Act 2011, Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and UK Generally Accepted Practice as it applies from 1 January 2019. Society for Underwater Technology meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s). The legal and actual status of affiliated operations is periodically assessed by the charity. As a result the charity concludes that the operations in Perth (Australia), Houston (USA), Melbourne (Australia), West Africa, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Singapore and Beijing (China) do not qualify as subsidiaries under the Companies Acts 2006 or as branches under the guidance laid out by the Charities SORP (FRS 102). The detailed review of the constitutions and operations concluded that they are administratively autonomous and should therefore not be consolidated. The Society for Underwater Technology Norway NUF was established as a Norwegian branch of a foreign enterprise (NUF). The constitution of this operation varies from those mentioned above and it qualifies as a branch under the Charities SORP (FRS 102) as a result is treated as a subsidiary. The Society has taken advantage of the exemption from preparing group accounts as per SORP FRS102 S.24.6 Appendix 3 A.11. The presentation currency is £ Sterling rounded to nearest £1. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below. ## **1.2 Going concern** At the time of approving the financial statements, the Council Members have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Council Members continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements. The Society has returned a surplus of £360,602 (2023: £36,037) for the financial year and at the balance sheet date the net assets of the Society are £689,428 (2023: £328,826). The Society's core income streams have remained consistent with the prior year, with a one-off, exceptional amount being recognised in the current year courtesy of the 5-yearly OSIG conference, which took place in September 2023. Total income for the society is expected to return to more routine levels next year, with the next 5-yearly OSIG conference scheduled to take place in 2027, however, we expect to see the regular income streams continue on their steady, upwards trend. The members are therefore satisfied that the going concern basis remains appropriate. ## **1.3 Charitable funds** ## _Unrestricted general funds_ These are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the Trustees. - 19 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **1 Accounting policies** ## **(Continued)** ## _Designated general funds_ The Society has designated general funds which it applies to the provision of the awards made to students. Monies that are designated by the Council Members can be moved back within the unrestricted general funds should the Council Members so decide. ## _Restricted funds_ These funds can only be used for this purpose within the objects of the Society. The Society's restricted funds were all fully expended during the year and, therefore, there is no fund analysis relating to balance sheet values at the year end. ## **1.4 Income** Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received. Cash donations and voluntary income are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation. Legacies are recognised on receipt or otherwise if the charity has been notified of an impending distribution, the amount is known, and receipt is expected. If the amount is not known, the legacy is treated as a contingent asset. Membership subscriptions are accounted for on a receivable basis and events income is included when receivable. ## **1.5 Expenditure** Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use. Grants payable are charged against income upon approval of the grant, in so far as the grant is payable from current resources. ## **1.6 Tangible fixed assets** Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses. Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases: Office furniture and equipment 20% reducing balance Computers 33% straight line The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities. - 20 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **1 Accounting policies** ## **(Continued)** ## **1.7 Fixed asset investments** Investments are valued at the prevailing market price as at the Balance Sheet date. Realised and unrealised gains (or losses) are reflected in the Statement of Financial Activities in the year in which they occur. No distinction is made between realised and unrealised gains in the Statement of Financial Activities as the Trustees consider that the disclosure of total gains/losses show a truer and fairer view. ## **1.8 Impairment of fixed assets** At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). ## **1.9 Stocks** Stock is valued at the lower of net realisable value and cost. Cost is valued on a first in first out basis. Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution. ## **1.10 Cash and cash equivalents** Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities. ## **1.11 Financial instruments** The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments. Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously. ## _**Basic financial assets**_ Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised. ## _**Basic financial liabilities**_ Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised. Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method. Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. - 21 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **1 Accounting policies** ## **(Continued)** ## _**Derecognition of financial liabilities**_ Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled. ## **1.12 Employee benefits** The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received. Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits. ## **1.13 Retirement benefits** Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due. ## **1.14 Foreign exchange** Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the rate of exchange ruling at the Balance Sheet date. Transactions are translated at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the transaction. All exchange differences are reflected in the Statement of Financial Activities. ## **1.15 Redundancy payments** Redundancy payments due to employees for termination of employment during the year are fully recognised in the current financial year. ## **1.16 Government grants receivable** Government grants are recognised when there is reasonable assurance that the grant conditions will be met and that the grants will be received. ## **2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements** In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the Council Members are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates. The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods. ## **3 Income from donations and legacies** |**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**funds**
**2024**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
Donations and gifts
1,578
-
Sponsorships for awards
1,000
-
2,578
-|**Total**
**Unrestricted**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**funds**
**2024**
**2023**
**2023**
**£**
**£**
**£**
1,578
-
2,802
1,000
-
-
2,578
-
2,802|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
2,802
-| |---|---|---| |||2,802| - 22 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **4 Income from charitable activities** ||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**| |---|---|---| ||**funds**|**funds**| ||**2024**|**2023**| ||**£**|**£**| |**Membership subscriptions**||| |Corporate members|143,122|138,711| |Individual members|42,467|39,108| |**Conferences and seminars**||| |Training courses|140,765|109,000| |Conferences and workshops|19,765|884| |OSIG 2023 conference (5-yearly)|692,065|-| |Other events|-|125| |Branch activities|12,018|12,607| |**Publications, journals, newsletters and educational products**||| |Other income|13,750|8,320| ||1,063,952|308,755| ## **5 Conferences and seminars** |**Conferences and seminars**||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||**2024**||||**2023**|| ||**Income**|**ExpenditureSurplus/(deficit)**|||**Income**|**ExpenditureSurplus/(de**||| ||||||||**ficit)**|| |**OSIG 2023 Conference (5-Yearly)**|692,065||384,167|307,898||-|-|-| |**Training Courses**||||||||| |OSIG Course Jan 2023||-|-|-|29,100||267|28,833| |Wind Course Feb 2023||-|-|-|8,970||-|8,970| |Qualification of New Technology||-|-|-||-|16|(16)| |VSAG - Wood||-|-|-|10,230||-|10,230| |Defence SIG @ OB||-|-|-|1,400||1,480|(80)| |SW Geoform 6||-|-|-|4,800||4,163|637| |SSAC Sept 2022||-|-|-|16,600||3,321|13,279| |SAC March 2023||-|-|-|17,400||2,840|14,560| |SAC May 2023||-|-|-|20,500||3,159|17,341| |SAC November 2023|20,200||3,118|17,082||-|-|-| |SAC February 2024|19,900||3,551|16,349||-|-|-| |SAC June 2024|18,900||4,432|14,468||-|-|-| |OSIG Course May 2024 - Southampton|29,680||7,528|22,152||-|-|-| |Offshore Wind Energy Course - Newcastle|10,030||3,470|6,561||-|-|-| |MetOcean course for ScottishPower||||||||| |Renewables|15,400||6,000|9,400||-|-|-| |Wind Course April 2024|9,894||4,299|5,595||-|-|-| |DSTL Project|12,333||10,533|1,800||-|-|-| |UXO in the Marine Environment @ OI||||||||| |(free event)||-|8|(8)||-|-|-| |LSE Lunch & Learn 29.02.24 - free event||-|8|(8)||-|-|-| - 23 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ |**5**
**Conferences and seminars**
OSIG SW Geoforum 7
ECOSIGG Industry Insights & Networking
**Conference and workshops**
SUT/Masts Workshop
Oceanology International Conference (Bi-
Annual)
**Events**
Annual General Meeting
**Branch activities**
**Aberdeen**
Breakfast Meeting
SUT + Chartership
SUT/THSIS/IMCA Seminar
Worlds First Hydrogen Producing Offshore
Wind Turb
AGM
CCUS
Subsea Electrification
AGM + Pub Quiz January 2024
Business Breakfast - Jan 2024
Protecting Offshore Systems from Cyber
Threats - P
SUT+ Chartership Event (free - expenses
only)
THSIS/SUT
Gadgets & Widgets 2023
**London**
"Something Old, Something New"
SustainaVERSE @ Lloyds
Pub Quiz
LSE Pub Quiz 2023
LSE Eve Mtg Sept 2023
**Newcastle**
Nov 2022/Offshore Turbines
Feb 2023/Subsea Motor Devs
June 2023 + Enshore visit
Biomimetics and Biofouling
Subsea Imaging & VR
NoE Eve Meeting June 2024
**Middle East**
UAE Online conference - Developments in
Umbilical|4,428
-
140,765
1,765
18,000
19,765
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
911
2,059
-
-
470
1,545
-
-
-
1,704
247
-
-
-
50
129
104
-|1,221
8
44,176
2,515
-
2,515
2,144
2,144
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
759
1,087
10
300
21
627
-
-
-
1,227
129
-
-
-
25
51
33
-|3,207
(8)
96,589
(750)
18,000
17,250
(2,144)
(2,144)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
152
972
(10)
(300)
449
918
-
-
-
477
117
-
-
-
25
78
71
-|-
-
109,000
884
-
884
125
125
1,365
-
929
600
-
580
435
-
-
-
-
-
-
307
-
1,133
-
-
243
148
153
-
-
-
1,600|**(Continued)**
-
-
-
-
15,246
93,754
2,877
(1,993)
-
-
2,877
(1,993)
1,231
(1,106)
1,231
(1,106)
1,265
100
229
(229)
7
922
477
123
343
(343)
396
184
379
56
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
112
195
114
(114)
620
513
-
-
-
-
43
200
52
96
25
128
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,600| |---|---|---|---|---|---| - 24 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ |**5**
**Conferences and seminars**
UAE web "New Eyes in the Deep"
UAE - Emergency Pipeline Repair
Systems
UAE - Decommissioning Technologies
Road to COP28/Renewables (UAE)
UAE event - Why Subsea Industry Data
Matters for COP28
UAE HVDC Systems|-
-
-
2,112
1,088
1,599
12,018
864,613|-
-
-
297
85
325
4,976
437,979|-
-
-
1,815
1,002
1,274
7,042
426,634|1,112
2,352
1,650
-
-
-
12,607
122,616|**(Continued)**
-
1,112
851
1,501
-
1,650
-
-
-
-
-
-
4,913
7,694
24,267
98,349|**(Continued)**
-
1,112
851
1,501
-
1,650
-
-
-
-
-
-
4,913
7,694
24,267
98,349| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||||||7,694| |||||||98,349| ## **6 Income from investments** |||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**| |---|---|---|---| |||**funds**|**funds**| |||**2024**|**2023**| |||**£**|**£**| ||Interest and dividends receivable|12,054|6,489| |**7**|**Other income**||| ||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**| |---|---|---| ||**funds**|**funds**| ||**2024**|**2023**| ||**£**|**£**| |Other income|683|163| - 25 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **8 Expenditure on charitable activities** |**Other direct**
**charitable**
**expenditure**
**Grants**
**2024**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**Direct costs**
Staff costs
144,882
-
Depreciation and
impairment
808
-
Publications, journals and
newsletters
4,540
-
Training courses
44,176
-
Conferences and
workshops
2,515
-
OSIG 2023 conference
(5-yearly)
384,167
-
Other events
2,144
-
Branch activities
4,976
-
Computer maintenance
7,696
-
Insurance
1,417
-
Travel
8,656
-
Marketing and advertising
15,543
-
Postage
84
-
Staff recruitment and
training
92
-
Stationery and office
expenses
6,259
-
Subscriptions
225
-
Telephone
1,177
-
629,357
-
Grant funding of activities
(see note 9)
-
10,400
**Share of support and governance costs (see note 10)**
Support
96,760
-
726,117
10,400
**Analysis by fund**
Unrestricted funds
726,117
10,400
Restricted funds
-
-
726,117
10,400|**Total**
**Other direct**
**charitable**
**expenditure**
**2024**
**2023**
**£**
**£**
144,882
133,492
808
874
4,540
4,750
44,176
15,246
2,515
2,877
384,167
-
2,144
1,231
4,976
4,913
7,696
5,716
1,417
1,541
8,656
8,001
15,543
4,093
84
160
92
269
6,259
5,556
225
205
1,177
1,200
629,357
190,124
10,400
-
96,760
86,868
736,517
276,992
736,517
276,992
-
-
736,517
276,992|**Grants**
**2023**
**£**
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
11,420
-
11,420
8,618
2,802
11,420|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
133,492
874
4,750
15,246
2,877
-
1,231
4,913
5,716
1,541
8,001
4,093
160
269
5,556
205
1,200| |---|---|---|---| ||||190,124
11,420
86,868| ||||288,412| ||||285,610
2,802| ||||288,412| - 26 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **9 Grants payable** |**Grants payable**||| |---|---|---| |Grants to individuals
Comprising of:
Educational support fund
Other awards|**Grants**
**2024**
**£**
10,400
8,500
1,900
10,400|**Grants**
**2023**
**£**
11,420| |||10,000
1,420| |||11,420| ## **10 Support costs allocated to activities** |**Other direct**
**charitable**
**expenditure**
**2024**
**£**
**_Basis of allocation_**
Staff costs
_Allocated on time_
62,093
Depreciation
_Allocated on time_
346
Bank charges
_Wholly attributable_
3,806
Computer maintenance
_Allocated on time_
3,299
Insurance
_Allocated on time_
608
Postage
_Usage allocation_
10
Software licences
_Wholly attributable_
2,476
Staff recruitment and training
_Allocated on time_
40
Stationery and office expenses
_Usage allocation_
1,565
Subscriptions
_Apportioned equally_
226
Telephone
_Usage allocation_
505
Marketing
_Apportioned equally_
5,032
Governance
_Wholly attributable_
16,754
96,760
**2024**
**Governance costs comprise:**
**£**
Audit fees
6,500
Accountancy
3,559
Legal and professional
6,695
Bad debts
-
16,754|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
57,211
375
3,569
2,450
661
18
2,776
115
1,389
205
515
4,094
13,490| |---|---| ||86,868| ||**2023**
**£**
3,150
8,100
-
2,240| ||13,490| - 27 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ |**11**|**Net movement in funds**|**2024**|**2023**| |---|---|---|---| |||**£**|**£**| ||The net movement in funds is stated after charging/(crediting):||| ||Fees payable for the audit of the charity's financial statements|6,500|3,150| ||Depreciation of owned tangible fixed assets|1,154|1,249| ## **12 Council Members** None of the Council Members (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year. Council members were re-imbursed for expenditure relating to the activities of the society, totalling £3,428. The total balance owed to council members at the balance sheet date was £182. ## **13 Employees** The average monthly number of employees during the year was: |Direct charitable activities
Management and administration of the charity
Total
**Employment costs**
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs|**2024**
**Number**
2
2
4
**2024**
**£**
185,441
16,571
4,963
206,975|**2023**
**Number**
2
2| |---|---|---| |||4| |||**2023**
**£**
167,110
18,580
5,013| |||190,703| The number of employees whose annual remuneration was more than £60,000 is as follows: |||**2024**|**2023**| |---|---|---|---| |||**Number**|**Number**| |£80,001|-£90,000|-|1| |£90,001|-£100,000|1|-| - 28 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **13 Employees** ## **(Continued)** ## **Remuneration of key management personnel** The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows: ||**2024**|**2023**| |---|---|---| ||**£**|**£**| |Aggregate compensation|90,296|81,097| ## **14 Gains and losses on investments** ||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**| |---|---|---| ||**funds**|**funds**| ||**2024**|**2023**| |Gains/(losses) arising on:|**£**|**£**| |Revaluation of investments|17,852|6,240| ## **15 Taxation** The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes. ## **16 Tangible fixed assets** |**Tangible fixed assets**|| |---|---| |**Office**
**furniture and**
**equipment**
**Computers**
**£**
**£**
**Cost**
At 1 July 2023
4,477
46,098
Additions
-
1,922
At 30 June 2024
4,477
48,020
**Depreciation and impairment**
At 1 July 2023
4,129
45,288
Depreciation charged in the year
67
1,087
At 30 June 2024
4,196
46,375
**Carrying amount**
At 30 June 2024
281
1,645
At 30 June 2023
348
810|**Total**
**£**
50,575
1,922| ||52,497| ||49,417
1,154| ||50,571| ||1,926| ||1,158| - 29 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **17 Fixed asset investments** |**Listed**
**investments**
**Charities**
**Official**
**Investment**
**Fund**
**£**
**£**
**Cost or valuation**
At 1 July 2023
356
213,750
Valuation changes
139
17,713
At 30 June 2024
495
231,463
**Carrying amount**
At 30 June 2024
495
231,463
At 30 June 2023
356
213,750|**Total**
**£**
214,106
17,852| |---|---| ||231,958| ||231,958| ||214,106| ## **Fixed asset investments revalued** All investments have been revalued at the balance sheet date based on the market value at that date. The historical cost of the investments is: Listed investments £2,106 (2023: £2,106) and Charities Official Investment Fund £39,659 (2023: £39,659). ## **18 Stocks** |Books for resale
**19**
**Debtors**
**Amounts falling due within one year:**
Trade debtors
Amounts owed by fellow group undertakings
Prepayments and accrued income|**2024**
**£**
18,532
**2024**
**£**
20,684
3,252
934
24,870|**2023**
**£**
9,779| |---|---|---| |||**2023**
**£**
53,392
3,252
160,697| |||217,341| - 30 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **20 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year** |**Notes**
Other taxation and social security
Deferred income
**21**
Trade creditors
Other creditors
Accruals|**2024**
**£**
9,516
31,697
6,491
3,655
11,249
62,608|**2023**
**£**
23,329
391,550
4,430
4,067
9,077| |---|---|---| |||432,453| Income is deferred when it has been either invoiced or received in the current financial year, but relates to future periods. ## **21 Deferred income** |**21**
**Deferred income**|| |---|---| |**2024**
**£**
Other deferred income
31,697
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
**2024**
**£**
Deferred income is included within:
Current liabilities
31,697
Movements in the year:
Deferred income at 1 July 2023
391,550
Released from previous periods
(391,327)
Resources deferred in the year
31,474
Deferred income at 30 June 2024
31,697
**22**
**Retirement benefit schemes**
**2024**
**Defined contribution schemes**
**£**
Charge to profit or loss in respect of defined contribution schemes
4,963|**2023**
**£**
391,550| ||**2023**
**£**
391,550| ||4,507
(4,507)
391,550| ||391,550| ||**2023**
**£**
5,013| The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund. - 31 - **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **23 Restricted funds** The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. |**Previous year:**|**At 1 July 2022**|**Incoming**|**Resources**|**At 30 June**| |---|---|---|---|---| |||**resources**|**expended**|**2023**| ||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**| |Educational Support Fund|-|2,802|(2,802)|-| The Education Support Fund was established to provide educational grants to students. The original restricted funds have all been expended. The Society continues to collect small amounts for the fund during the year at events and through the Just Giving platform. the amounts collected during the year are fully expended during the year. ## **24 Unrestricted funds** The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes. |**At 1**
General funds
**Previous year:**
**At 1**
General funds|**July 2023**
**Incoming**
**resources**
**Resources**
**expended**
**Gains and**
**losses**
**At 30 June**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
328,826
1,079,267
(736,517)
17,852
689,428
**July 2022**
**Incoming**
**resources**
**Resources**
**expended**
**Gains and**
**losses**
**At 30 June**
**2023**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
292,789
315,407
(285,610)
6,240
328,826| |---|---| ## **25 Limited liability of members** In accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association, Fellows, Individual Members and Corporate Members (but not Associate Members and Student Members) are deemed to be Members of the Society within the context and as such have a limited liability of £5 per member in the event of the Society being wound up. ## **26 Related party transactions** ## **Transactions with related parties** During the year the charity entered into the following transactions with related parties: - 32 - ## **SOCIETY FOR UNDERWATER TECHNOLOGY (THE)** ## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** ## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2024**_ ## **26 Related party transactions** **(Continued)** The total amount of income received without conditions from trustees during the year was £252 (2023: £1,286). Transactions with trustees are disclosed in note 12. Key management personnel remuneration is disclosed in note 13. There are no other disclosable related party transactions during the year. ## **27 Cash generated from operations** |||| |---|---|---| |**Cash generated from operations**|**2024**|**2023**| ||**£**|**£**| |Surplus for the year|360,602|36,037| |Adjustments for:||| |Investment income recognised in statement of financial activities|(12,054)|(6,489)| |Fair value gains and losses on investments|(17,852)|(6,240)| |Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets|1,154|1,249| |Movements in working capital:||| |(Increase)/decrease in stocks|(8,753)|71| |Decrease/(increase) in debtors|192,471|(166,005)| |(Decrease)/increase in creditors|(9,992)|22,320| |(Decrease)/increase in deferred income|(359,853)|387,043| |**Cash generated from operations**|145,723|267,986| ## **28 Analysis of changes in net funds** The charity had no material debt during the year. - 33 -