MarineLabs teams up with Canada's Ocean Supercluster on $4.5M project

Plus, will an underwater volcano off the B.C. coast erupt soon?

Author

Emily Edwards
January 19, 2025

Welcome to this week’s Sunday Briefing. In this issue, read about the impending eruption of an underwater volcano, how to foster connection and collaboration in remote teams, and a Victoria company improving mental health assessments.

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Scott Beatty, CEO of MarineLabs with the Hullo ferry crew. Photo: Innovate BC

MarineLabs teams up with Canada's Ocean Supercluster on $4.5M project

On Thursday, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster announced three new projects valued at over $9 million, including a partnership with Victoria’s MarineLabs on the Forecast AI Project.

Forecast AI enables hyper-localized, highly accurate weather forecasts for the marine industry. Current publicly available forecasting models struggle to capture the precise topographic features influencing local wind and wave formation, hindering marine operations such as mariner working conditions and vessel port approaches. More accurate weather intelligence for port operations and vessel pilots will mean better efficiency, improved marine safety, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

MarineLabs will lead the project, in partnership with Go Deep International in Saint John, NB, and LeeWay Marine in Dartmouth, NS. The Ocean Supercluster will invest $1.8 million, with the balance of funding coming from project partners.

“This investment in Forecast AI is a testament to Canada's leadership in ocean-related AI innovation,” said Scott Beatty, CEO of MarineLabs. “By leveraging our expanding sensor network, hundreds of new sensor nodes, and thousands of machine learning models trained on our unique coastal observations, we're setting a new standard in coastal intelligence. This project is more than a step forward for maritime safety — it’s about empowering marine operators with the precise, actionable insights needed to ensure safer operations and support sustainable growth in coastal environments.”

The Forecast AI Project is expected to directly support the creation and maintenance of more than 50 jobs and indirectly support the creation of 250 jobs.

MarineLabs is an ocean economy company providing real-time and predictive intelligence on ports and coastlines to help vessel pilots, port operators, coastal engineers and local authorities improve safety and optimize operations. MarineLabs’ customers have included the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Coast Guard, BC Ferries, the Prince Rupert Port Authority, and the Port of Halifax.

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📰 More Victoria innovation news

🌋 Boom, boom, boom, boom: Scientists are getting ready for the potential eruption of an underwater volcano located 500 kilometres off the B.C. coast.

🤝 I’ll be seeing you: Christine Tatham, chief people officer at Redbrick, a Victoria-based software company, shared insights on connection and collaboration for remote teams and key takeaways from the company’s leadership summit.

🧠 Let’s get down to business: Jason Morehouse, CEO of Victoria-based mental health platform HiBoop, shared how the company is trying to make mental health assessments more efficient to get people help more quickly.

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