The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has started supplying bathymetric survey data for non-UK waters to the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), after signing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project (Seabed 2030) earlier this year.

The MOU was signed with the goal of advancing the industry’s understanding of ocean bathymetry and supporting the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The UKHO has agreed to provide bathymetric data gridded map products and advise on data management methods and best practice, to support the ambitious goal of completely mapping the world’s oceans by 2030 (Seabed 2030).

The UKHO has started supplying data that covers the South Atlantic and the waters around Antarctica to GEBCO via the Seabed 2030 Southern Ocean Regional Centre – located at the Alfred Wegener Institute. This data is an important contribution to the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO), GEBCO and Seabed 2030. The supplied data has contributed 3,753,614 new data points to IBCSO and GEBCO, covering a combined 13,500 nm², including South Georgia (1,500 nm² with 55,539 data points) and Antarctica (12,000 nm² with 2,931,105 data points).

This marks the first time, outside of the UK, that the UKHO has supplied data directly to GEBCO for inclusion in its products. It follows the success of a 2021 trial that saw the UKHO collaborate closely with the Alfred Wegener Institute on an initial trial data set covering South Georgia, to ensure it met supply requirements and contained all the data and metadata required. The trial data set – which contained a deconflicted 100m resolution bathymetric surface covering 1,500 nm² – was supplied to the Alfred Wegener Institute in November 2021 and was successfully integrated into the IBCSO data pipeline.

This announcement supports the UKHO’s presence at the GEBCO ‘Map the Gaps’ Symposium. The event, hosted by NOC (the UK’s National Oceanography Centre) in association with the UKHO, takes place at the end of October 2022. Rhett Hatcher, UK National Hydrographer and Director of Data Acquisition & Defence, UKHO, will deliver an opening speech.

Commenting on this milestone, Rear Admiral Rhett Hatcher, UK National Hydrographer and Director of Data Acquisition at the UKHO, said:

It is fantastic to announce that we have started supplying bathymetric data surveys to GEBCO for inclusion in its products. This also marks an important milestone in our partnership with Seabed 2030, which is part of the UKHO’s wider commitment to the full mapping of the world’s oceans to support safe, secure, and thriving oceans.

Next, we plan to submit data into the Caribbean region, and look forward to further opportunities to continue to engage with the wider geospatial community and support the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Boris Dorschel, Head of Southern Ocean Regional Centre, Alfred Wegener Institute, added:

High-quality marine geospatial data plays an instrumental role in Seabed 2030 and is essential to fulfil our task of mapping the world’s oceans. We are very grateful to the UKHO for its data contributions and expertise on ocean mapping solutions to realise this goal, and to progressing the Seabed 2030 efforts to produce the complete map of the ocean floor by 2030.

Seabed 2030 – a flagship programme of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development – is a collaborative project between The Nippon Foundation and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) to map the world’s oceans completely by 2030, and to compile all bathymetric data into the freely available GEBCO Ocean Map. GEBCO is a joint programme of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and is the only organisation with a mandate to map the entire ocean floor.

Thank you, Mr President.

Thank you Acting High Commissioner for your report.

The United Kingdom supported the council’s Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar and its’ important work to shine a light on the military’s economic interests. We call on all States to engage with its recommendations, which remain all the more important amid today’s calamitous situation in the country.

We are committed to working with partners to target the regime’s access to finance and arms, which facilitate the most egregious human rights violations. These violations must stop.

The UK has a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar and we are clear that no Member State should sell arms to Myanmar; doing so exasperates conflict and instability and directly contributes to violations in the country.

Since the coup, we have announced targeted sanctions on the military leadership, and its access to revenue, arms and military equipment.

While responsible businesses have a role to play in Myanmar in job creation, poverty alleviation and standard setting, we must ensure that their work does not inadvertently support the military regime. For this reason, the UK has also strengthened its advice to UK business, encouraging enhanced due diligence to avoid inadvertent support for the military.

Madam Acting High Commissioner,

What more can the international community to do to pressure those who sell arms to the military?

Thank you.

Following a successful drive to build a network of advocates to promote diversity and inclusion in the insolvency and restructuring profession, the insolvency Steering Group is proud to announce they have appointed 19 Diversity and Inclusion Champions.

Supported by R3 and the Insolvency Service, the new champions hail from organisations across the insolvency and restructuring landscape, from insolvency practitioner firms and legal practices to regulatory bodies.

Together they will act as role models and will have an important role assisting the Steering Group, sharing their experience and best practice to inspire change in the insolvency and restructuring profession.

The new Diversity and Inclusion Champions will participate in outreach work to raise awareness of insolvency and restructuring as an attractive career pathway and take part in research to identify barriers, as well as help amplify existing great practice.

The Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, established in 2021 to tackle barriers and boost diversity and inclusion in the insolvency and restructuring profession, has also lined up visits to several universities to raise awareness of the insolvency and restructuring profession.

Kicking off in the London School of Economics on 12 October 2022, representatives from the Steering Group will also visit the University of Glasgow, University of Leeds, Nottingham Trent University, University of Nottingham and the University of Wolverhampton, with more to follow later in the year.

Angela Crossley, Steering Group Co-Chair, said:

We are extremely proud to welcome the first cohort of Diversity and Inclusion Champions, who will help break down barriers and contribute to creating inclusive workplaces in the insolvency and restructuring sector.

The new champions bring a wide range of experiences and diversity, and hail from across the country. Using their valuable insights, we want to reach out to even more diverse audiences and showcase how a role in the insolvency profession can be enormously stimulating and fulfilling.

Caroline Sumner, R3 CEO and Co-Chair of the Steering Group, said:

Our inaugural group of Champions will play a critical role in helping amplify the group’s work, develop and promote best practice, and attract the next generation of insolvency and restructuring professionals.

They’ll build on the excellent foundation the members of the Steering Group have given us by providing additional support, expertise and insight into the challenges and opportunities facing the insolvency and restructuring profession as it seeks to become more diverse and inclusive.

• Rehan Ahmed, Quantuma Advisory Limited

• David Ampaw, DLA Piper

• Hannah Aynsley, Interpath Advisory

• Heather Childs-Potter, Insolvency Practitioners Association

• Charlotte Cooke, South Square

• Frances Coulson, Wedlake Bell LLP

• Fiona Coyle, Accountant in Bankruptcy

• Christina Fitzgerald, Edwin Coe LLP

• Kirran Gibson, Begbies Traynor Group

• Luke Hoare, Grant Thornton

• Asma Iqbal, Chadwick Lawrence

• Megan Kemp, Chamberlains & Co

• Emma Mealiff, FRP Advisory

• Roya Panahi, DLA Piper

• Stewart Perry, Field Fisher

• Anthony Simmons, FRP Advisory

• Eleanor Temple, Kings Chambers

• Ali Walji, EY

• Michelle Westmerland, Leonard Curtis