University of Plymouth Marine Institute

Contact Information

Contact Name:
Kevin Forshaw

Contact Position:
Director of Industrial & Strategic Partnerships

Telephone:
+44 (0)1752 584 956

Email:
Email University of Plymouth Marine Institute

Address:

Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA, United Kingdom

Website:
www.plymouth.ac.uk/marine

Company Information

Summary:
The University of Plymouth is globally leading in all aspects of marine and maritime research, and applies specialist facilities and expertise to create thought leadership for a future of safe, sustainable and efficient maritime operations.

Description:

The COAST Lab Wave Basin

The Ocean Basin is a unique facility that allows waves and currents to be generated at any relative orientation and can be run at different water depths. This basin can be used to create unidirectional and directional wave fields, regular waves, wave spectra and currents in three dimensions putting it at the forefront of testing for marine renewable energy device, arrays and operation. Future developments of the facility include the provision of a wind generation facility.

Maritime Simulation Lab

With its newly installed Kongsberg DP Simulator, The University of Plymouth’s Maritime Simulation Laboratory offers an innovative networking solution that allows real-time collaboration between multiple simulators, software, or hardware. Simulations or experiments can be run with different independent components which can share information with each other. This enables emergent behaviour and complexity to be introduced into simulations, giving researchers an opportunity to reproduce, analyse, and understand non-linear phenomena.

Cyber-SHIP Lab

A £3.2 million hardware-based, fully configurable maritime IT&OT cyber security research platform. Individual ships’ bridges, or system-of-systems’ cyber resilience evaluation across all ship classes. Actionable research outputs: knowledge tools and training addressing maritime cyber security issues from hardware to software to people.

Marine Autonomous Fleet

Extensive fleet of surface and underwater platforms, with partnership with the Royal Navy on Marine Autonomy Research and use of Smart Sound. the world's most heavily instrumented stretch of ocean.

Marine Science

Our pioneering research responds to 21st Century global challenges through a systems-thinking approach to solutions, from climate change and storm impacts to the blue economy and maritime cybersecurity, all framed against the socio-political dimensions that explicitly link the land and the ocean.
We’ve published significant marine research with over 960 institutions in 80 countries since 2016, established strong international collaborations and delivered multi-million-pound projects.

Keywords:
Above Water Sensors and Radars; Autonomous Vessels, Remote Operated Vehicles and Robotics; Cyber Security and Data Management; Data Acquisition and Analysis; University, College and Research Institution

News

17 September 2026

UK Docks joins the Society of Maritime Industries (SMI)

UK Docks Marine Services has joined The Society of Maritime Industries (SMI), the trade association for the UK’s maritime engineering, science and technology community. The membership represents an important step for both organisations and reflects a shared commitment to supporting the growth, innovation and long-term success of the UK's maritime sector.

15 September 2026