VALMAS Insights Online Series, Session 1: What Is a Clear Seabed?
About this event
A panel discussion on decommissioning marine artificial structures: oil and gas infrastructure, pipelines and cables now, and offshore wind turbines in future. The UK’s current goal is a clear seabed, but there is no consensus on how to get there, or on what a clear seabed actually means.
The panel will discuss whether clearing the seabed should include removing biodiversity that has colonised structures over decades, the risks of metal pollution in structures and surrounding sediments, and whether the goal extends to the thousands of wrecks on the UK seabed. Panellists include Antony Firth (Historic England), Oliver Goldsmith (Marine Management Organisation) and Nicky Beaumont (National Oceanography Centre), with more to be announced.
What to expect
- Defining a clear seabed for decommissioning
- Biodiversity on ageing structures and metal pollution
- Historic wrecks on the UK seabed
- Perspectives from heritage, regulation and ocean science
Date and time
Thursday 5 November 2026, 10:00 to 11:00 (time zone not specified)
Location and format
Online (virtual)
Registration