Global Underwater Hub (GUH) is the leading trade and industry development body for the UK’s underwater sectors. It represents, promotes and supports all sectors of the underwater industry by providing members with market information, connections and access to specialist expertise.
GUH’s Newcastle site, situated in Walker near the banks of the River Tyne, was opened in 2023 and as a member, we’ve been visiting the facility for events such as the March’s Marine Energy Conference.
Here, Regional Director Ricci Boston, who is based in Newcastle, shares his insights into GUH’s work with North East England’s supply chain, the impact of the recently launched 10 Year Vision and Strategy for North East Offshore Wind on the subsea sector, and the exciting opportunities created by CCUS and tidal energy…
Why did GUH decide to open the Walker site and in the years since opening, what impact has its presence made in North East England?
We have always had a large, engaged group of GUH members around the Newcastle area going back to our Subsea UK (GUH’s former identity) days. Subsea UK had always been Aberdeen based, so the idea was to open hubs in areas of particular supply chain interest.
We have members all along the River Tyne, up the coast to Blyth and south of the region in Teesside too, so in terms of basing ourselves in a new area, Walker gave us a central location with a pre-installed community!
In terms of the underwater supply chain, we have lots of advanced manufacturing in the region including specialists in subsea cables, flexible pipelines, umbilicals and robotics. World class port services and infrastructure are on our doorstep, just up the road in Blyth, and across Wearside and Teesside.
The facility has proved a real success – we have gained fantastic momentum after opening the site.
GUH’s next North East England event is on Carbon Capture. How significant is this opportunity for companies working in subsea, and why should people attend this event?
A core part of GUH’s role is to support our members to diversify into adjacent and emerging markets. The underwater supply chain has always been cyclical, with periods of intense activity followed by inevitable slowdowns. Major project delays tend to have the greatest impact on lower‑tier suppliers, so building exposure across a broader portfolio of sectors is critical to long‑term business resilience and sustainability.
Carbon Capture presents a particularly strong opportunity for companies with a background in subsea oil and gas. Much of the technology and capability within our membership was originally developed for offshore pipelines and infrastructure and many of those competencies translate well into carbon transport and storage. While there will be engineering adaptations, core areas such as pipelines, valves, high‑pressure containment systems, subsea cabling and power infrastructure are highly relevant and well aligned to the emerging CCUS landscape.
Even for companies that may not yet see carbon capture as a short/medium term strategic priority, the event is a valuable opportunity to reconnect with the regional underwater community, understand how the market is evolving and assess where future opportunities may lie. Bringing people together to share insight, build relationships and explore new directions is at the heart of what GUH does and this event is a strong example of that in action.
GUH recently launched the Underwater Robotics and Autonomy Forum – why is this important to GUH and the wider sector?
GUH has always had a large subsea robotics community in its membership and much of it is based in North East England.
Robotics and autonomous systems underpin activity across almost every underwater market: offshore wind, oil and gas, defence, telecommunications and beyond. Subsea robotics support critical tasks such as seabed survey, inspection, trenching, cable installation and subsea intervention.
These forums are designed to tackle specific technical and commercial challenges year on year, ensuring that capability continues to move forward even during periods of market uncertainty. With the slower than hoped progression of some large fixed and floating offshore wind projects, there is a real risk that innovation stalls or that companies divert their focus to markets where capital deployment is more immediate. The UK already holds a globally advanced position in underwater technology and engineering expertise and GUH’s role is to help ensure that position is maintained and strengthened while the market matures.
The Underwater Robotics and Autonomy Forum sits alongside other GUH special interest groups, including operator, developer and cables forums. These groups are designed to convene subject matter experts from across the supply chain, creating spaces where knowledge can be shared, challenges articulated and solutions shaped collaboratively.
Importantly, the forums are not siloed; they interact where appropriate to ensure supply and demand perspectives are aligned. The outputs include best practice guidance and recommendations, end user innovation challenges and opportunities for companies within our membership.
The recent Marine Energy Conferenceat GUH’s North East England site was a great success. What is your perspective on the evolution and potential of wave and tidal energy? And how is GUH supporting this?
Whatever the endgame of the energy transition will be, it will be some kind of energy mix. We can’t tell what the ratios will be, but there will be some traditional gas, wind, nuclear, hydrogen and hopefully some hydrogen. We need to maintain a baseline of power and some of the sources (particularly wind) fluctuate and are not long term forecastable. Tides can be predicted for decades in advance.
Wave and tidal energy is another example of an underwater industry that does not have high visibility, but offers a great opportunity for many of our members to use their already developed underwater expertise.
GUH have an ongoing strategic partnership with the Marine Energy Council and will definitely be hosting further events in the future.
The 10 Year Vision and Strategy for North East Offshore Wind was launched earlier this month – what impact could this have on the subsea community in the region?
North East England is in the enviable position of already having a highly developed offshore wind supply chain.
From a Global Underwater Hub perspective, the 10 Year Vision and Strategy for North East England Offshore Wind is fundamentally about anchoring long term subsea capability in the region, rather than allowing expertise to dissipate during periods of market delay. GUH have long pushed the ‘mind the gap’ mantra that if the energy transition is too steep and there is a period without projects (and thus money flowing through supply chain) then we will lose the talent and capability.
Critically, the vision positions the North East as a delivery and integration hub, not simply a development location. This has clear relevance for subsea contractors, cable specialists, robotics providers and underwater engineering firms, as it prioritises industrial‑scale activity in areas where subsea installation, inspection, maintenance and seabed intervention are essential. For many GUH members, this represents an opportunity to move from fluctuating offshore wind work to more predictable, repeatable demand.
As projects move into deeper water and floating wind becomes more prominent, subsea capability becomes increasingly central rather than peripheral – this is where the likes of our Mooring and Anchoring forum will become particularly important.
By recognising subsea, robotics and environmental services as core enablers of offshore wind, the vision supports the retention of skills, technology readiness and innovation capacity within the UK supply chain while projects continue to progress through development phases.
Overall, the strategy signals a shift from participation to leadership for the North East subsea supply chain.
It creates a framework that allows underwater companies to engage earlier, influence delivery models and diversify their order books in line with offshore wind’s long‑term trajectory. For GUH, it provides a credible roadmap to ensure that when investment accelerates, the UK’s subsea supply chain is not only ready but integral to delivery.
What’s on the horizon for GUH for the remainder of 2026? What should members look out for?
We have several conferences scheduled including the Subsea Cable Insurance Conference and Workshop in London on May 20, The Underwater Robotics Conference in Edinburgh on June 30, and our second UXO conference. We also have regional events lined up such as the Carbon Capture In Focus: Networking Breakfast in Newcastle on May 12 and the Working with the MOD Breakfast networking event at our Bristol hub on May 14, which covers another key area for our members.
We’re also working continuously with our members to raise their profiles in the industry with the main aim of promoting and supporting the underwater sector here in the region and the UK. Locally, there will be a sponsored breakfast every month in the Newcastle hub so it will be great to keep the momentum going locally. Anyone reading who is considering becoming a member, please reach out if you want to try before you buy!
For more information on GUH, visit www.globalunderwaterhub.com