About Us

About Us

We pride ourselves in providing solutions that are tailored to the needs of our clients while meeting the requirements of regulators. We have established ourselves as a trusted partner to some of the largest companies in the marine construction sector.  
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Our Mission

“It is our mission to provide marine developers and their partners with superior acoustic advice and measurement services based on scientific principles and research. Our knowledgeable and professional consultants, in collaboration with our partners, will provide high-quality robust solutions that inspire confidence and exceed the needs and expectations of our clients.”

Our Team

Ian Wilson

BSc (Hons), Subacoustech director. Environmental and a highly experienced marine surveyor. After building a successful environmental survey division within a larger company over many years, Ian went on to set up Benthic Solutions Limited.

Sam East

BEng (Hons) MIOA, Subacoustech general manager. Sam is responsible for day-to-day management and operations. A graduate in acoustics with over 20 years’ experience in acoustic consultancy, technology development and project management, Sam is responsible for Subacoustech’s ongoing research and development program.

Tim Mason

BEng (Hons), MIOA, Subacoustech senior consultant. Tim is responsible for managing many of our larger projects and has over 18 years’ experience in acoustic consultancy and project management. Tim has excellent knowledge of the emerging science and regulatory expectations regarding underwater noise.

Matt Simpson

BSc (Hons) MIOA, Subacoustech senior consultant. Matt joined Subacoustech in 2018. After graduating from Southampton University in 1998 with a degree in Acoustics with Oceanography. He has significant expertise in signal processing using Python and Matlab. Matt is based in Sheffield and is a committee member of the Southern Branch of the Institute of Acoustics.

Richard Barham

BA (Hons), Subacoustech acoustic consultant. Richard has significant experience in underwater acoustic modelling. He takes responsibility for the development of our INSPIRE and SPEAR modelling packages along with our refinements of more detailed modelling. Richard manages our internal audit process to maintain our ISO9001 certification. Richard is based in Manchester.

Fergus Midforth

BEng (Hons), AMIOA, Subacoustech acoustic consultant. Fergus joined Subacoustech in 2016 from Southampton University having completed his final year project on modelling sound generating structures of humpback whales. Fergus undertakes all aspects of project work and is responsible for much of our mechanical design. 

Certifications

We undertake all work in accordance with the company Quality Policy and associated Quality Management System. We are certified to ISO 9001 : 2015 for the provision of acoustic surveys and associated consultancy.

We are also registered with Achilles UVDB, the vendor database for the utilities sector.

Our History

Originally founded in 1993, by Dr Jeremy Nedwell, Subacoustech was the UK’s first specialist underwater acoustic consultancy undertaking all forms of civil and defence related marine acoustics projects. In 2008, Subacoustech Environmental Limited was formed to address the specific issues and uncertainties around the environmental effects of underwater noise from the emerging offshore renewables sector alongside other marine construction projects.

Since that time Subacoustech Environmental has contributed baseline underwater noise monitoring and predictive modelling assessments to Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for numerous marine development projects around the world - including the majority of offshore wind farms in the UK. Further afield we have contributed to assessments in USA (East and West Coast), South America, Antarctica, West Africa and Northern Europe.

Underwater noise measurement and monitoring has always been one of our core services. For over 25 years we have been building a growing library of fully calibrated and documented underwater noise measurements from activities such as piling, blasting, dredging, drilling, shipping and other noise sources. We routinely use these measurements to validate and improve our modelling estimates, and provide increased confidence in the results, adding value to our assessments.

In 2015 Subacoustech Environmental was acquired by marine survey experts, Benthic Solutions Limited. Although the companies operate independently, we have highly complementary expertise such that together we can provide a more comprehensive survey from a single mobilisation, saving both time and money for our clients.

Today, our business model is based on close collaboration with small to medium-sized consultancies who are experts in their respective fields. Together we provide a highly responsive service with world-class expertise representing exceptional value for money.
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