Industry leaders will gather at the University of Plymouth for the two-day Ocean Tech Expo on 17–18 June
Plymouth, Britain’s Ocean City, will host the region’s largest marine and maritime event this June, as Maritime UK South West’s Ocean Tech Expo returns to the University of Plymouth. Held biennially and attracting hundreds of industry leaders, the Expo takes place across two days: Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th June.
Ocean Tech Expo 2026 comes at a transformative time for the South West. The region has recently celebrated a wide range of investments and other opportunities within defence, marine autonomy, maritime decarbonisation and infrastructure, including:
- The £50 million Plymouth Defence Growth Deal,
- Up to £20 million through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund to establish a Global Autonomy Cluster that spans land, sea and air;
- The official launch of the UK’s National Centre for Marine Autonomy all strengthening the region’s existing, and fast developing, capabilities.
The two-day expo will showcase leading technical capability and near market innovation being developed in the region that is capable of decarbonising, enhancing national security and increasing productivity.
Sheldon Ryan, CEO, Maritime UK South West:”This will be the fifth Ocean Tech Expo and each event continues to build momentum from the last. The event provides a platform for the defence, marine and maritime industries to convene, not only to understand what the recent announcements may mean for the region and their businesses, but to discuss new partnerships and collaborative endeavours, network and explore further the global excellence which exists in the South West’s ocean economy.”
The event is attracting leading industry figures to deliver keynotes and will also include practical business support sessions, an investor and property focused breakfast event hosted by the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport, and an evening boat cruise around Plymouth Sound which will also include at-sea demos from local marine autonomy businesses.
Ocean Tech Expo is supported by a wide range of organisations, including Gold sponsors – Teledyne Marine, Great South West, University of Plymouth and MSubs.
