MarineLabs

2024, as seen through BuoyCam 🌊 📸    From sunsets to wildlife cameos—and every wave, storm, and sailboat in between—these images offer a glimpse of what it’s like on the water across our sensor network. More than great views, BuoyCam provides mariners with 360-degree real-time visual context for navigating safely. By capturing real-time conditions like fog, debris, and rough seas, BuoyCam helps users confidently interpret weather data and assess visibility for safe operations. That’s a wrap on 2024. Here’s to safer seas, smooth sailing, and a wonderful start to the New Year!

Oh buoy, it’s been a year to remember! Here’s to calm seas and merry moments ahead. Happy holidays from all of us at MarineLabs.

🎧 In the latest episode of Portside Perspective by Port Strategy, MarineLabs CEO Scott Beatty discusses the importance of accurate weather data in decision-making and building climate resilience for ports. Tune in to explore how real-time and predictive coastal intelligence is transforming port management—delivering rapid, tangible benefits, including optimized operations, enhanced safety, and improved environmental performance. Integrating MarineLabs’ technology into ports is simpler than you might think, and the impact is game-changing. Please note: you may be asked to register your email to listen to the episode.

Our team used OpenAI’s video generation model Sora to bring a photo of Y42, the red can buoy in Ucluelet, to life. 🌊 Storm watching without the rain gear? 10/10 would recommend. 

We’re expanding the horizon! MarineLabs’ Forecast AI now delivers 10-day highly accurate, hyper-local weather forecasts, up from our already proven 48-hour model. “If your team is using legacy weather models or weather apps like Windy, MarineLabs’ Forecast AI is an opportunity to move to a more accurate, more geographically tailored, and more reliable solution,” said MarineLabs CEO Scott Beatty. Because ports, vessel pilots, and others in the maritime industry deserve more dependable data to stay ahead of the weather. 🚢 Make Informed Decisions: Make more correct calls in weather conditions near your upper limits, reducing operational downtime and saving costs. 📅 Plan Smarter: Gain better insights into upcoming weather windows. Access hourly forecasts up to 5 days, transitioning to 3-hour intervals for up to 10 days. That’s more visibility than ECMWF’s 6-hour gaps after 6 days. 🌊 Enhance Safety with Improved Accuracy: 80% lower error for wave height compared to GFS and 47% lower compared to HRES (more data points available on our website at the link below). 📲 Stay Notified: Set up custom alerts to warn you when weather thresholds will be crossed. Learn more about our 10-day hyper-local forecasts and how Forecast AI outperforms traditional models: https://lnkd.in/g4N_G2St

For those in the maritime industry, checking the weather forecast doesn't always provide the full picture. On the BC coast, like many other coastal regions, high mountains and narrow channels can whip up unpredictable winds, fog, and intense waves. With current weather stations few and far apart, captains and coast pilots often resort to piecing together multiple data sources to make decisions. MarineLabs is taking the guesswork out of maritime safety. With our expanding North-America-wide sensor network, we deliver accurate, hyper-local forecasts to help mariners make more informed, safer decisions. It's a new level of accuracy that is already enabling coast pilots and port authorities to anticipate risks and act with more certainty. Forecast AI also has the potential to reduce fuel use and carbon emissions, as captains can adjust speeds to avoid storms rather than pushing to get into port. Learn more about how marine weather forecasts are getting an AI upgrade via Popular Science https://lnkd.in/gZJ7RRFx

Every second counts when you're guiding vessels through challenging coastal waters. We equip BC Coast Pilots Ltd. with real-time weather data and hyper-local metocean forecasts—giving them the tools to make weather-dependent decisions with confidence. Our products can help vessel pilots: - Navigate safer with real-time data - Plan smarter with hyper-local multi-day forecasts - Optimize timing for smooth coordination between vessel and pilot - Minimize risks when boarding in challenging environments Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gsYkSr6x

Our sensors measured fierce wind and waves in this week’s ‘bomb cyclone,’ including waves off Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island that reached a max height of 15.72m / 51.6ft (nearly the height of a 5-story building). 🌊 💨 With more stormy weather expected today, we’re keeping an eye on our sensor network along the BC coast. Stay safe!

You know us for delivering world-class coastal intelligence for marine safety and climate resilience. But did you know we’ve also been featured on Saturday Night Live? Yes, you read that right. The most extreme rogue wave ever recorded—measured by MarineLabs in November 2020—made Weekend Update. Watch it here (pro tip: watch till the end for our mention, and note: some content might not be workplace-friendly 😅): https://lnkd.in/gKWuHyaz Who knew rogue waves could make it big on late-night TV? Weather data’s cool like that. 🌊

On November 17, 2020 at 11:50am in the middle of a storm, MarineLabs measured the most extreme rogue wave ever recorded, a 17.6 meter giant off the coast of Ucluelet, B.C. 🌊 What makes this rogue wave astounding was its size relative to the surrounding waves—nearly three times larger, making it a once-in-a-1,300-year event. Rogue waves, often unpredictable and dangerous, are known for their sudden force and size. By measuring extraordinary events like this, we’re helping to better understand the ocean and its impact on marine safety. Our expanding North-America-wide network of sensor nodes plays a key role in gathering this critical data—enhancing safety, streamlining marine operations, and building climate-resilient coastlines. Our observation of this wave—as seen in the animation below based on our inertial measurement unit (IMU) data*—was the subject of a scientific report from researchers at the University of Victoria, published in the journal Scientific Reports: https://lnkd.in/g_NHBwKK *The official recorded height included in the publication is 17.6 meters. The IMU based measurement showed over 19m; Our back-up GPS based measurement recorded 17.6m, thus the more conservative value was taken in the analysis.