Nauticos

Nauticos is in the business of leading ocean exploration initiatives. The clients and assignments of those initiatives may vary widely, but the overall skills and expertise Nauticos brings to each project are similar.  
 
The company is organized into three interdisciplinary, cross-trained technical divisions surrounding the collection and utilization of oceanographic information. These are Ocean Engineering and Operations (such as search and survey; and ocean exploration);  
Systems Engineering and Analysis (such as underwater navigation systems; sensors and data processing; and positioning); and Ocean Systems Technology (such as software and hardware development; and design, specification and trade studies).  
 
Nauticos’ core business is in traditional marine technology fields – working on search, salvage, oceanographic survey, and ocean mining projects for clients such as the military and the oil and gas and telecommunications industries. However, the company also has a strong interest in researching and developing projects of importance to educators, historians, and scientists and is making a name for itself with these endeavors, also.  
 
 

"Nauticos is in the business of leading ocean exploration initiatives"

Last year Nauticos was hired by the Israeli Navy to find the Dakar, an Israeli submarine that was lost in 1968 on its maiden voyage to Israel after being purchased from England and refurbished. Nauticos managed this entire project and found the sub relatively intact, in about 10,000 feet of water, in the Mediterranean between Crete and Cypress. Four years earlier, it handled the field operations management and navigation analysis for the search and discovery of the Japanese Submarine I-52 (in more than 17,000 feet of water).  
 
The company’s focus on a cross-disciplinary approach holds true for its employees, too: Nauticos is interested in workers who are broadly-skilled, self-starting, and able to handle a variety of projects. “There is a lot of overlap in what our employees do,” explains President and Co-Founder David Jourdan. “We expect all employees, regardless of their area of expertise, to work in all divisions.” 
 

"Nauticos is interested in workers who are broadly-skilled, self-starting, and able to handle a variety of projects"

The majority of Nauticos’ marine technical workers have M.A. or B.A. degrees, although it does hire some individuals, particularly in the areas of telecommunications surveys and general ocean operations, with two-year technical degrees. “A degree isn’t always an indicator of what the person’s abilities will be,” Jourdan points out. 
 
Combining different disciplines in its endeavors is a goal for Nauticos. Jourdan would like to see more exploration-oriented ventures that rely on a range of support – academic, government, and commercial, for example. “We’d like to piggy back with government and other interests, to supplement these expeditions, but with more of a commercial flavor,” he explains. This work will lead to new discoveries, which in turn will encourage new businesses, according to Jourdan. “If we can sustain a presence in the deep ocean that leads to more exciting discoveries, we’re confident it will lead new initiatives of ocean exploration,” he says.