Ocean engineering is generally considered to be concerned with studies on the effects of the ocean on the land and with the design, construction and operation of vehicles, structures and systems for use in the ocean or marine environment. The practice of engineering differs from that of science in both motivations and objectives. Science seeks understanding of the principles of nature in terms of generalizations expressed as laws and classifications. Engineering seeks the application of knowledge of the physical and natural world to produce a benefit expressed as a device, system, material, and/or process. From the standpoint of the financial sponsors of an engineering project, the ideal approach is one of minimal risk in which only proven knowledge, materials and procedures are employed. There is frequent departure from this ideal in anticipation of the increased benefit expected from a large increase in performance of a structure or device. The process of acquiring this new capability is engineering research. Historically, ocean engineering developed with the application of engineering principles and processes to the design of ships and, later, to the machinery that propels them. In most societies, naval architecture and marine engineering are recognised as the origin of ocean engineering. In fact, the design of a ship constitutes the original systems engineering programme involving hydrodynamics/fluid flow, structural design, machinery design, electrical engineering and so on as well as requiring knowledge of the ocean environment (waves, corrosion, etc.).

I Subsea Work Systems.- 1 Advances in Marine Robotics Technologies - Strategic Applications and Programs.- 2 Design Considerations for Underwater Robotics Systems.- 3 Control Capabilities of JASON and its Manipulator.- 4 Subsea Work Environment for Submersibles.- 5 The Japanese Manganese Nodule Mining System.- 6 Seabed Sampling with an Expendable Acoustic Penetrometer System.- 7 A Site-Specific Sampling System for EEZ Hard Mineral Deposits.- 8 Development of Unmanned Submersibles for Underwater Operations in Japan.- II Acoustic Sensors and Telemetry.- 9 High-Frequency Commercial Sonars: A Survey of Performance Capabilities.- 10 U.U.V. Acoustic Sensors.- 11 ATS System Theory and Test Results.- 12 Long and Short Range Multipath Propagation Models for Use in the Transmission of High-Speed Data through Underwater Channels.- 13 Features of Beamsteering and Equalization When Applied to Hydroacoustic Communication.- 14 Underwater Acoustics for Submersibles.- III Subsea Automation Technology.- 15 Underwater Optical Surveying and Mapping - Transferred Research Effort Strengthens Ocean Technology Development.- 16 Automated Processing and Interpretation of Sensory Data for Deep Ocean Resource Development.- 17 Recent Advances in Accurate Underwater Mapping and Inspection Techniques.- 18 Subsea Communications for Semi-Autonomous ROVs.- 19 Technology Transfers in Underwater Acoustics: Commonality Between Ocean and Naval Systems Applied in Undersea Warfare and Hydrocarbon Markets.- IV Future Technology Requirements.- 20 The Importance of Ocean Development to Newly Industrialised Countries and Less Developed Countries.- 21 Future Ocean Engineering, Subsea Work Systems and Technology Requirements as Related to Ocean Resource Development.