Page 32: of Marine Technology Magazine (July 2022)

CTO IN FOCUS SHEPARD SMITH, XOCEAN anymore. We have a lot of operations, talent and experience we want to be able to do [regular maintenance, upgrades and baked into what we do. replacements] locally, so we’re putting together a quality con- [Our vessels are) small and light, and as a result we have trol maintenance system that goes with a global ? eet. this logistical nimbleness. We can deploy from a normal boat ramp and refuel at a service station, an advantage as road fuel You’ve had a long career and I’m sure along the way is cleaner than marine fuel. And our survey system is all cloud there have been many that have helped you. Can you based; all processing is done in the cloud, and we don’t own discuss your most in? uential mentor?

a single server anywhere. So our surveyors can be working I’m going to call out one guy, and it’s hard for me because he around the clock, we can put a lot of people on a project to passed away last year. Rick Brennan was like a professional get it done quickly and use all the bene? ts of cloud resource. brother to me. He and I were more or less the same sort of se- niority coming up all the way through NOAA and we had this

The job is still relatively new to you but stepping into the way of clicking, a shorthand communication, knowing how job day one, can you discuss what your priorities would the other was reacting to a situation without any real verbal be for the coming 12 to 24 months? clues. Rick had talents, particularly with people. I never have

We’re a fast-growing company, building a new boat a month been the master with people that Rick was, and he could take right now and we expect demand to be increasing such that a vision and inspire people with it.

we’ll need to do that more or less inde? nitely. The other parts He had set up some really visionary ways of integrating the of the expansion [include modi? cations and integration of ocean mapping program at NOAA, not only across NOAA so different sensors and systems to ensure] we can meet most that the work we are doing for safety and navigation could also demands from our clients. And we’re looking at global ex- work for habitat and in ? sheries, but also outside of NOAA so pansion, too. Right now, we do most of our construction and that we could do joint projects with the USGS and [others], to maintenance in Greenore, Ireland, just north of Dublin. But be able to learn from each other and do joint projects and really when we start to have a signi? cant [globally distributed] ? eet, take this vision to reality of getting this done. Rick, himself, had 32 July/August 2022

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