Welcome to the 31st Texas Offshore Symposium! It’s a real pleasure for me to be here at the Texas Offshore Symposium—especially in a room filled with people who are actively shaping one of the most dynamic and important sectors of our global economy.
Now, I’ll admit—when people hear that I am the President of a maritime engineering society, they don’t always immediately see the connection to offshore energy. So let me take just a moment to introduce the organization I represent for those who don’t know. SNAME is a global professional society that is made up of marine engineers, naval and ocean architects, shipbuilders, operators, offshore specialists, salvors, and the academics who teach us much of what we need to know. Our mission is straightforward: to advance the art, science, and practice of maritime engineering.
But in practice, what we really do is connect people. We connect disciplines. We connect industries. And perhaps most importantly—we connect generations. Because the challenges we’re all facing today are not going to be solved in silos.
Let me share a quick update on where SNAME stands today. Over the past several years, we’ve seen our membership numbers stabilize—and now our focus has shifted to something even more important: intentional growth. Not just to have growth in numbers, but to have growth in engagement, growth in technical depth, and growth in our relevance to industries like yours. This idea of reminding both our members and the maritime industry of the relevance of SNAME has been a real focus area of mine during my presidency.
To do that, we have worked hard to strengthen our connections with shipyards, ship, barge, and tug operators, offshore companies, and universities. We’ve increased and focused the activities across our many technical Committees, Panels, and of course our local Sections. We have been very deliberate about improving the why and how we communicate, both within our own membership and across the broader industry.
But perhaps the area I’m most encouraged by is our work with students and early-career professionals. We all know the workforce challenge is real. And while it’s easy to talk about it—we’ve made it a priority to act. We’ve been actively engaging students, both at the high school and college level, into real industry environments, exposing them to the opportunities that exist—not just in theory, but in practice. Because if we don’t build that pipeline now, none of the rest of what we’re discussing today will matter ten years from now.
Now, let me step back for a moment and talk about the broader maritime landscape—particularly for those of you who may not spend your day thinking about ships and barges. Maritime is foundational infrastructure; and we are finally seeing that recognized at the highest levels. Roughly 90% of global trade moves by sea. Energy—whether traditional or renewable—depends on marine transportation and the installation capabilities made possible by vessels and systems that we design. And right now, that system is under pressure.
We’re seeing three major forces shaping the future. First, the energy transition. Offshore wind, alternative fuels, electrification, emissions reduction, these are no longer future concepts. They are happening now, and they are driving new vessel designs, new technologies, and new operational models.
Second, fleet renewal and shipbuilding capacity. Much of the global fleet; but especially the US fleet, is aging. At the same time, many of our shipyards are constrained, our internal supply chains are tight, and the demand signal that everyone is waiting for is promised, but is still not evident.
And lastly, as we are hopefully all aware, there is a growing national and strategic focus on our maritime capability, or lack thereof. There is an increasing and important recognition that shipbuilding, marine transportation, and our offshore capabilities are not just economic issues, they are strategic ones.
Now, here’s why that recognition matters to this audience. Everything you are working on in the offshore arena: installation, maintenance, logistics, subsea operations; all of this depends on vessels and marine systems that are now being asked to do more, operate differently, and adapt faster than ever before. And that’s exactly where SNAME fits in.
Our role is to provide the technical leadership. To facilitate the sharing of the latest knowledge and the best industry practices. To bring together people from different parts of the industry who may not normally be in the same room; but who absolutely need to be having the same conversations. Because when industries start to converge, and they clearly are, organizations like SNAME become more important to the discussion, not less.
Looking ahead, our focus is clear. We are continuing to grow, intentionally and inclusively. We are strengthening our partnerships with industry and academia. We are improving how we communicate our value and our relevance. And we are ensuring that SNAME is positioned for long-term impact. But I’m here to say that we cannot do that alone.
If there is one message that I’d leave you with this morning, it’s this: There is a place for the offshore community within SNAME—and frankly, we (and the industry) need you there. Your challenges are maritime challenges. Your innovations are maritime innovations. And your voice is critical to where this industry goes next.
Let me highlight one upcoming opportunity where we can make this collaboration real. Our flagship event, the SNAME Maritime Convention, or SMC , will be held this October 29-30, right here in Houston. The SMC brings together shipbuilders, designers, operators, offshore engineers, and technology leaders from across the industry. It’s one of the few places where these conversations happen across sectors—not just within them. So, if you want to understand where maritime and offshore energy are heading—not separately, but together, I invite you and encourage you to join us in October.
The challenges in front of us—energy transition, infrastructure demands, workforce development, technological change, they are too big for any one market sector to solve alone. Maritime and offshore energy are not separate worlds. They are increasingly part of the same system. And organizations like SNAME exist to help us bring those worlds together, so that we can move forward, together. Join with us!