John Siddorn, CEO, National Oceanography Center
In a world increasingly shaped by climate uncertainty and geopolitical volatility, understanding the ocean — Earth’s largest and least explored environment — is no longer a scientific luxury; it's a global imperative. At the helm of one of the world’s premier marine research institutions is John Siddorn, Chief Executive, National Oceanography Centre (NOC), who discussed with Marine Technology Reporter from his office overlooking the Port of Southampton, the people, the priorities and the assets of NOC to effectively, efficiently and safely explore the world’s oceans.
Appointed CEO in 2023, John Siddorn brings more than three decades of expertise in ocean physics and climate modeling to the role. His leadership marks a strategic shift for NOC as it expands its role beyond academic research to become a pivotal partner for government, industry and society in the blue economy.
NOC: A Leader in Ocean Study
The NOC we know it today dates back to precursor institutions, each with long histories. As a national institution, it was formed in 1949 as the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO). NIO grew from the work of scientists working at Antarctic whaling stations and the complimentary voyages of Captain Scott’s Discovery and a small group of young scientists brought together during the war, to study how the movements of the waves affected amphibious landings.
NOC’s operations based in Liverpool stem from the Liverpool Observatory founded in 1843 (to measure the longitude of Liverpool and to measure tides). After a short period based in Liverpool it moved to Bidston and in 1919 became the Liverpool Tidal Institute. It led development of the methods of tidal prediction used world-wide today. It broadened its research over the years into prediction of storm surges and then sea level science more generally, as well as coastal and continental shelf sea oceanography and marine data management.
In 1965 both the NIO and the Liverpool Tidal Institute became part of the then newly-formed Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Both were brought together to form NERC’s Institute of Oceanographic Sciences (IOS) in the 1970s. Both former parts of IOS came back together in 2010 as part of NERC’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC).
Today, NOC is based in Southampton and Liverpool and has quickly become one of the most advanced centers for integrated oceanographic research and engineering worldwide. With a staff of more than 600 and assets ranging from deep-sea research vessels to fleets of autonomous underwater and surface vehicles, NOC serves as the UK’s principal marine science body.
For Siddorn, who began his career as a physical oceanographer in the 1990s and spent significant time at the UK Met Office developing coupled ocean-atmosphere models, the role at NOC is the culmination of a lifetime dedicated to understanding Earth systems.
“This is the best job in the world,” Siddorn says. “What attracted me most is NOC’s ability to unite cutting-edge engineering, advanced science, and real-world societal impact under one roof.”
“NOC is unusual in the sense that it does such a wide range of things in terms of the science it does, but it also does a really wide range of the engineering and the development of the underpinning capabilities that support that science. So, everything exists in this building in the sense that we have the ships to collect the observations. We also have cutting-edge novel technologies around the autonomy and those ships and autonomy coming together with the fixed-point moorings give us very big part of the picture of what the ocean's doing.”
That convergence of capability is what gives NOC its edge. From seabed sensors to satellite-linked gliders, from autonomous platforms to full-scale research ships, NOC delivers the data and insights that shape ocean policy, climate adaptation, and sustainable marine development.
The Backbone of Ocean Intelligence
NOC operates two major research vessels, the RRS Discovery and RRS James Cook, both central to the UK’s national marine science infrastructure. These vessels are not just floating laboratories — they are foundational tools for understanding everything from volcanic seabed activity to carbon cycling in the open ocean.
“Our ships are capital-intensive, but they remain irreplaceable,” Siddorn said. “Autonomous platforms are advancing fast, but ships still provide the necessary human and technical capacity for complex, remote missions.”
One recent voyage in the Mediterranean, for example, focused on seismic activity and gravity waves within an underwater volcanic caldera. Such missions are crucial for monitoring geohazards that threaten subsea infrastructure, including the world’s expanding network of critical data cables. Another expedition in the mid-Atlantic examined the mechanisms by which carbon is sequestered into the deep ocean—a key process in understanding and mitigating global climate change.
“These are not academic exercises,” Siddorn notes. “They underpin our understanding of global systems that affect fisheries, weather patterns, climate policy and international security.”
While air, ocean surface and subsurface autonomous vehicles tend to grab the headlines, Siddorn is resolute in his belief that ships have, and will continue to have for many years, a central role in studying the oceans.
“Ships are presently the only way we can get out into the deep ocean in a consistent way, carrying large payloads. There are some elements of autonomy now that are moving in that direction, but largely, they work in synergy rather than separately. You can use your ships to transport autonomy. And the way I see it in the future being the growth of this activity is that you'll have ships and autonomy scaling up where perhaps ships aren't necessary to do all of the heavy lifting in terms of gathering the data, but they are doing a lot of heavy lifting in terms of getting kit into the right place,” said Siddorn. “You can't do novel engineering at 4,000 meters on a submersible. You can do it 10,000 miles away from a coastline on a ship with people on board testing things, checking to ensure things are working. So, you need the ships to progress science even where autonomy is a partner in that.”
The Rise of Autonomy
While ships remain vital, NOC is leading the transition toward more scalable, cost-effective, and carbon-efficient methods of ocean observation. Its fleet of autonomous platforms — subsea gliders, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and unmanned surface vessels — represents one of the most diverse in the world.
Siddorn sees autonomy not as a replacement for traditional research infrastructure, but as a powerful force multiplier.
“Autonomy is at an inflection point. Five years ago, we couldn't dream of doing eDNA sampling or real-time chemistry from these platforms. Now we can,” he says. “This technology is absolutely key to monitoring at scale.”
With autonomy comes the challenge of scale. Siddorn envisions a future where NOC’s ships act as motherships for fleets of autonomous vehicles, deploying and retrieving them for operations that stretch over thousands of miles and months at sea.
“There’s a shift from bespoke, manual deployments to persistent, scalable monitoring systems,” he says. “To meet the growing demands of the blue economy and climate observation, we must move toward more intelligent, distributed observation networks.”
The manual nature of how we've done things in the past is just not going to solve the problems in the future. So, autonomy is very much the solution of the coming decades, absolutely.
Alongside autonomy, Siddorn notes another transformative force: digitalization. From artificial intelligence to digital twins of ocean basins, advanced computing is allowing scientists to not only visualize the ocean in real time but also predict future changes with unprecedented accuracy.
Since joining NOC in 2020 as Associate Director of Digital Ocean, Siddorn has championed the embedding of digital approaches to furthering science, including through the use of digital twins and has been key to thought leadership in his field and in shaping the current landscape of digital twin innovation.
By integrating data from satellites, ships, sensors and simulations, NOC is building a global-scale, near-real-time digital replica of the ocean — one that can be used to track carbon, forecast extreme weather, or assess offshore infrastructure risk. “This is where the future of oceanography lies,” Siddorn said. “You can’t manage what you can’t measure, and digital systems allow us to measure, model and manage marine environments more effectively.”
Science for Society & Industry
Historically, NOC has been focused on serving public research and government needs. But Siddorn is keenly aware of the growing role industry must play in achieving sustainable ocean stewardship. Whether it’s offshore wind, deep-sea mining, aquaculture, or subsea telecoms, private-sector actors are increasingly shaping the marine environment. “NOC has a duty to engage more deeply with industry,” Siddorn says. “The blue economy is growing fast, and companies need access to the best science and tools to operate responsibly.”
That’s why NOC is ramping up its partnerships in commercial sectors, offering data services, autonomous platforms, and scientific expertise to help industries reduce their environmental impact and improve resilience.
“We can help maritime operators understand their carbon footprint, plan cable routes more safely, or monitor biodiversity at their offshore installations,” Siddorn notes. “There’s tremendous value in bringing our science to industry.”
Challenges Ahead for All
While the people, facilities and maritime assets under Siddorn’s command are diverse and impressive, he acknowledges the challenges ahead. Decarbonizing NOC’s own fleet, funding high-cost infrastructure and aligning long-term scientific goals with immediate operational pressures are just some of the complexities he faces as CEO.
But what is his biggest priority? Ensuring NOC remains forward-looking.
“Our mission is to ask and answer the questions that matter most—questions about climate, hazards, food security, and biodiversity,” he says. “That means investing not just in today’s tools, but in tomorrow’s solutions.”
Siddorn’s leadership is already having an impact. He’s working to ensure NOC’s next generation of scientists and engineers reflect a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives. He’s investing in simulator-based training and AI-enhanced analytics. And he’s helping NOC play a central role in global efforts like the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
“We have to look ahead 10, 20, 30 years,” he said. “Our job is to ensure the ocean is understood well enough today so that it can be protected, used wisely, and sustained tomorrow, so our children and grandchildren don't end up with a world that's worse than the one we are in.”
The interview with John Siddorn, as well as other stories, can be watched below and on Marine Technology TV.