S EA T ECHNOLOGY I NCLUDING U NDER S EA T ECHNOLOGY Charles H. Bussmann Founder and Publisher 1924-1999 publisher managing editor production manager assistant design/ website manager advertising service manager ® The Industry’s Recognized Authority for Design, Engineering and Application of Equipment and Services in the Global Ocean Community Josh Carter , Program Director, Washington Maritime Blue editorial C. Amos Bussmann Aileen Torres-Bennett Russell S. Conward Joshua Ortega Susan M. Ingle Owen T Accelerating Innovation In the US Paci c Northwest ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES: HEADQUARTERS C. Amos Bussmann 4600 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 304 Arlington, VA 22203-1553 Tel: (703) 524-3136 seatechads@sea-technology.com EASTERN U.S.A. & CANADA/G.O.M. Ray Mahr, Jr. KRK Consultants Ltd. 17476 Slipper Shell Way, Ste. 6 Lewes, DE 19958 Tel: (302) 569-0019 (M) rmahrjr@gmail.com WESTERN U.S.A. & CANADA John Sabo Barbara Sabo Gregory Sabo John Sabo Associates 447 Herondo St. #305 Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 Tel: (310) 374-2301 bsabo@jsaboassoc.com EUROPE John Gold John F. Gold & Associates “Highview” 18a Aultone Way Sutton, Surrey, SM1 3LE, England Phone/FAX Nat’l: 020-8641-7717 Int’l: +44-20-8641-7717 johnfgold@gmail.com Sea Technology back issues available on microform. Contact: NA Publishing, Inc. P.O. Box 998, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-0998 1-800-420-6272 COMPASS PUBLICATIONS, INC. 4600 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 304 Arlington, VA 22203-1553 Tel: (703) 524-3136 oceanbiz@sea-technology.com www.sea-technology.com publishers of: Sea Technology Commercial Fisheries News Fish Farming News Commercial Marine Directory Fish Farmers Phone Book/Directory Sea Technology Buyers Guide/Directory Sea Tech e-News Celebrating more than 58 years of serving the global ocean community -Since 1963 -he maritime industry is ripe for disruption. While the industry tends to be conservative, the ecosystem is starting to take notice of start-up companies that would like to bring ef ciency to ports and port operators who are nd-ing themselves overwhelmed, especially during the pandemic. Port activities show that we are not making the most of the latest technologies to move commerce faster. Maritime Blue aims to facilitate innovators looking to move the U.S. Pa-ci c Northwest region’s maritime industry to the next level. Born out of the Washington State Commerce Department, Maritime Blue helps build inno-vation clusters throughout the state and region in order to connect resources, industry partners and collaborators. These collaborations result in, for exam-ple, more ef cient ferries through Puget Sound and sustainable platforms to protect our most vulnerable sea-based population. The Maritime Blue Innovation Accelerator is a mentor-based program to help early-stage innovators grow their businesses, culminating in a showcase that gives ecosystem partners a chance to connect and, in some cases, fund these start-ups. Founders have a path forward as they look at how their busi-nesses can grow at scale. Since the program began in 2020, the Maritime Blue Innovation Acceler-ator has helped more than 20 companies connect with new customers, part-ners and investors. These companies have gone on to raise millions in venture funding and to create hundreds of jobs for the state and region. The founders from different cohorts of the Maritime Blue Innovation Ac-celerator have also connected with each other to grow their businesses and create lasting partnerships, such as the one between Pure Watercraft and Sil-verback Marine. They recently won a grant to help the Port of Lopez build an all-electric pump-out vessel. Delivery is expected by the end of the year. While this collaboration is an example of how two companies can achieve big things for our region, some partnerships are smaller and take more time to realize big successes. We facilitate this process through platforms such as Slack, which connects all of the companies that have gone through our pro-gram past and present. This platform is invaluable to help founders bounce ideas off each other, vent frustrations and talk about their collective journeys. While COVID-19 did a lot to keep our founders physically apart—last year’s program was completely virtual—founders still managed to connect with and help each other. With COVID cases starting to decrease, we are bringing some of the founders from our latest cohort to our of ces to further facilitate collaboration and help companies build long-lasting relationships. As we look to the rest of the year and beyond, one thing is becoming clear: The more we work together as a community to help these founders, the more the state and the region will reap the rewards. We know that ear-ly-stage companies can become the next big job creators if we do our part to help connect them with the tools they need to take their businesses to the next level. Through our partnerships with organizations including the Port of Seattle, Washington Department of Commerce, Boatsetter and Ericsson, we are growing a unique cluster organization. We are excited to look forward while re ecting on the tremendous impact the program has already made for the founders, their partners and the state. With over 300 jobs being created and over $200 million in venture funding so far, we’ve only just begun. We are thrilled for this latest cohort, which in-cludes companies providing training to diversify the maritime workforce. We are proudly part of this rising tide of innovation and community. ST www.sea-technology.com April 2022 | ST 7
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