Announcing the Launch of OceanX, a Bold New Mission to Explore the Ocean and Bring it Back to the World

NEW YORK, June 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ray and Mark Dalio, together with James Cameron and a global coalition of leading media, science, and philanthropy partners, announced today the launch of OceanX, a bold new initiative to explore the ocean and bring it back to the world through great media. OceanX will unite next-gen technology, fearless science, compelling storytelling, and immersive experiences to educate, inspire, and connect the world with the ocean. 

"I believe that ocean exploration is more exciting and important than space exploration," says Ray Dalio, Founder of OceanX and President of Dalio Philanthropies. "We are on a mission to show people that."  OceanX will enable explorers and researchers to explore the unseen ocean, map uncharted areas of the world, observe rare deep-sea creatures and pursue scientific and medical breakthroughs—and then bring all of these wonders back to the wider world through captivating media.

"Our team of scientists, researchers and filmmakers, including from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the BBC team that brought you Blue Planet II, will explore the oceans and create exciting content and stories to inspire a human connection to the sea," says Mark Dalio, Founder and Creative Director of OceanX Media. "We plan to bring you the excitement of ocean discovery the way The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau did." OceanX will also bring the oceans to life through virtual classrooms, museum exhibits, interactive gaming and virtual reality displays, inspiring a deep and personal connection with the oceans for millions of people across the world.

All of this will be created aboard the most advanced science and media vessel ever built, the M/V Alucia2, debuting in early 2019 and building on the legacy of OceanX's current marine research vessel the M/V Alucia. The Alucia2 will feature state-of-the-art onboard dry and wet marine research labs, cutting-edge media equipment and a top-of-the-line production and media center, manned and autonomous deep-sea submersibles and helicopters and drones. Alucia2's filmmaking capabilities have been developed in consultation with filmmaker and ocean explorer James Cameron, and the ship has been designed by Hollywood's leading studio production engineers.

"With OceanX and Alucia2," says James Cameron, "we will reignite global passion for and curiosity about the ocean in our global, digitally-connected age."

OceanX's broader partners include:

• American Museum of Natural History
• BBC Studios
• Beijing Qiaonyu Foundation
• Bloomberg Philanthropies
• California Academy of Sciences
• Conservation International
• E-Line Media
• The Explorers Club
• Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
• James Cameron, Maria Wilhelm and the Avatar Alliance Foundation
• Marc Benioff
• National Geographic Society
• The Natural History Museum, London
• NHK
• Ocean Unite
• Oceanographic Museum of Monaco
• Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier, co-founders of SeaLegacy
• Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
• Rutherford and Laura Turner Seydel
• Science Philanthropy Alliance
• Shari Sant Plummer/Code Blue Foundation
• Susan and David Rockefeller Jr.
• Sylvia Earle
• Univision
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• The YEARS Project

"Our mission to explore and understand the ocean has never been more important or urgent," says David Scully of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, "and we are thrilled to be part of OceanX."

OceanX will continue the groundbreaking efforts of its media production arm, OceanX Media (formerly Alucia Productions) and the M/V Alucia in pushing the boundaries of ocean exploration. The work of OceanX Media and the M/V Alucia was featured in the internationally-acclaimed, landmark nature documentary series Blue Planet II, taking BBC Studios an unprecedented 1,000 meters below the ocean surface in Antarctica to explore the breadth of life on the Antarctic seafloor and to the Gulf of Mexico to explore the phenomena of the brine pools. Missions aboard the M/V Alucia also led to the capture of the first-ever images of the Giant Squid in Japan and the discovery of the wreckage of the crashed Air France Flight 447 off the coast of Brazil. The ship also took Sir David Attenborough on unprecedented deep sea submersible dives on the Great Barrier Reef, explored the ocean's blue holes for the Emmy Award-winning television series Years of Living Dangerously, and took actor Leonardo DiCaprio on a submersible dive for his documentary film Before the Flood. OceanX Media is a co-producer with BBC Earth on its latest Giant Screen film, Oceans: Our Blue Planet, and a partner on its corollary digital project to Blue Planet II, #OurBluePlanet. 

As renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle, who is a key supporter of this initiative, has said: "Far and away, the biggest threat to the ocean is ignorance." OceanX's primary aim is to reduce that threat by inspiring ocean exploration.

OceanX has provided lead funding for the Unseen Oceans exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, and for the part of the Audacious Project, TED's collaborative experiment to put bold ideas for social change into action, that will benefit the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. OceanX is an initiative of Dalio Philanthropies, which furthers the diverse philanthropic interests of Dalio family members and has long supported ocean exploration and awareness.

For media inquiries, please contact Rida Bint Fozi at The TASC Group at 212-337-8870 or [email protected].

About OceanX
OceanX is a mission to explore the ocean and bring it back to the world. We are committed to building a global community deeply engaged with understanding, enjoying, and protecting our oceans. For more information, visit www.oceanx.org.

SOURCE OceanX

Related Links

http://www.oceanx.org