What Offshore Technologies does

Offshore Technologies (合同会社オフショアテクノロジーズ) is a privately held Japanese limited liability company founded on April 2, 2018, under the JAMSTEC Startup Support Program to commercialize ocean observation technology developed at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. The company is headquartered within JAMSTEC's Yokohama Research Laboratory in Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, and was founded by former JAMSTEC engineers Kensuke Watari and Fumitaka Sugimoto. Its mission is to make ocean observation technology more accessible to non-specialist users by reducing the cost, size, and operational complexity traditionally associated with marine scientific instruments.

The company's product portfolio centers on compact, lightweight oceanographic instruments. Its flagship product is the JES10mini, a miniature CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) sensor available in 200m, 500m, and 1,000m depth-rated variants, which can be deployed using ordinary fishing tackle and operated via Bluetooth with a Japanese-language interface. The Multipurpose Observation Float (MOF) is an autonomous profiling float with Iridium SBD and 4G LTE communications; the Multipurpose Observation Glider (MOG) provides directed, mooring-free underwater observation; and the Plafilt is a 5kg plankton and microplastic sampler operable via Wi-Fi from standard devices. Supporting accessories include optical-magnetic sensors (3,500m rated), a deep-sea laser scale (2,500m), and an LED light panel (6,000m, 5,000 lumens, ROV-compatible). The company also develops custom instruments on a contract basis and has disclosed a development-stage Mini General Purpose AUV (MUV).

Offshore Technologies generates revenue through direct hardware sales, custom development services, and contract R&D, with pricing set on a per-inquiry basis rather than published. Its go-to-market is event-driven: the company regularly exhibits at trade shows including Offshore Tech Japan, SUBSEA TECH JAPAN, the Japan Oceanographic Society annual conferences, and the Ocean and Industry Innovation Convention (うみコン). Customer segments are concentrated in Japanese research institutions and universities (JAMSTEC, Hokkaido University, Nagoya University), with documented international adoption by the University of Alaska Fairbanks for Arctic sea-ice research, enterprise R&D collaboration with Shimadzu Corporation on underwater optical communication, and adjacent use cases in aquariums (Enoshima Aquarium) and environmental monitoring.

Name

Offshore Technologies

Legal name

合同会社オフショアテクノロジーズ

Website

https://offshore-technologies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Offshore Technologies is a JAMSTEC-venture that designs and manufactures compact oceanographic instruments — CTD sensors, autonomous floats, underwater gliders, and plankton samplers — serving research institutions, universities, and underwater technology developers in Japan and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oceanographic Instruments

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Marine Sensors, Instrumentation & IoT (Condition Monitoring) (IMAJAJAI)

Keywords

• Oceanographic instruments
• Underwater sensors
• Marine observation equipment
• Autonomous floats
• CTD sensors

Headquarters

HQ city

Yokohama

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Oceanographic Instruments Sales: Sale of proprietary oceanographic observation instruments including CTD sensors (JES10mini), observation floats (MOF), underwater gliders (MOG), and plankton samplers (Plafilt), along with accessories such as optical-magnetic sensors, laser scales, LED lights, antennas, power boards, FPGA boards, and CPU boards.
2. Custom Development Services: Custom development of oceanographic instruments and consulting services for observation equipment development. Includes customization of existing products and development of new instruments to meet specific customer requirements.
3. Development Contracting: Development, manufacturing, and sales of other related instruments on consignment. Example: development cooperation for underwater optical wireless communication system with Shimadzu Corporation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Offshore Technologies develops, manufactures, and sells compact, lightweight oceanographic observation instruments, including the JES10mini CTD sensor, the Multipurpose Observation Float (MOF), the Multipurpose Observation Glider (MOG), and the Plafilt Compact Plankton Sampler, along with supporting accessories. The company also provides custom development and consulting services for clients needing specialized observation instruments or system integration, including underwater optical wireless communication and ROV/AUV-mounted sensing.

Product overview

Offshore Technologies offers a portfolio of compact, lightweight oceanographic observation instruments. The core product line includes the JES10mini CTD sensor for measuring conductivity, temperature, and depth; the MOF (Multipurpose Observation Float) for automated vertical profiling; the MOG (Multipurpose Observation Glider) for directed underwater observations; and the Plafilt Compact Plankton Sampler for collecting particles including plankton and microplastics. Supporting accessories include optical-magnetic sensors, deep-sea laser scales, LED light panels, and communication/control boards. These products are designed to work independently or be integrated with various platforms including ROVs, AUVs, and buoys, enabling automated ocean observation without specialized equipment or expertise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• JES10mini CTD Sensor Compact CTD sensor for observing salinity, water temperature, and water depth in the sea. Bluetooth communication enables activation, setup, and data readout, with a Japanese-language operation system. Available in 200m (plastic), 500m, and 1,000m (stainless steel) pressure-resistant versions; supports casting with fishing gear, mooring, towing in chains, and mounting on underwater drones.
• Multipurpose Observation Float (MOF) Autonomous underwater float that automatically ascends and descends to observe CTD parameters (salinity, water temperature, depth) with customizable observation sequences. Data is automatically transmitted when the float surfaces; supports Iridium SBD for pelagic communications, 4G LTE for coastal communications, and 2.4 GHz wireless for settings. Continuous runtime exceeds one year; supports drift, mooring, and buoy-deployed configurations.
• Multipurpose Observation Glider (MOG) Compact underwater glider that navigates to designated observation points without seafloor mooring, automatically diving and surfacing to collect CTD data. Equipped with CTD sensor for salinity, temperature, and depth observations; transmits data automatically when surfaced via Iridium SBD (and optional SSBL) communications.
• Plafilt Compact Plankton Sampler Underwater particle sampler that collects plankton, microplastics, and other particles via suction and filtration with an underwater pump. Approximately 5 kg in air for easy handling on small vessels; operated via a Wi-Fi web application on smartphones, tablets, or PCs, with lithium-ion rechargeable battery supporting up to 24 hours of continuous sampling.
• Optical-magnetic Sensor Underwater sensor unit for detecting light and magnetism, usable to 3,500 m depth. Magnetic sensor interface: 3.3V I2C (10-bit); optical sensor interface: 3.3V analog output (max 5000 lx); dimensions 60 mm x 60 mm x 25 mm. Used for position detection of moving parts and switching applications.
• Deep-sea Laser Scale Underwater laser scale that irradiates parallel lasers 10 cm apart in water to measure object size from camera images. Usable to 2,500 m depth with a Class 3a green dot laser; requires no external power supply. Dimensions: 114 mm x 128 mm x 28 mm.
• LED Light Panel LED lighting equipment for underwater photography with wide-angle illumination, PWM dimming capability, and ROV compatibility including BlueROV2. Rated to 6,000 m depth, brightness 5,000 lumens, power consumption up to 40 W. Dimensions: 105 mm x 93 mm x 31 mm.
• Custom Oceanographic Instrument Development and Consulting Services Custom development of oceanographic instruments and consulting services for observation equipment development. Includes customization of existing products and development of new instruments to meet specific customer requirements, as well as development, manufacturing, and sales of related instruments on consignment (for example, development cooperation for Shimadzu Corporation's underwater optical wireless communication system presented at OCEANS 2022).

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2018Offshore Technologies was founded as a JAMSTEC startup venture under the JAMSTEC Startup Support Program. The company was established on April 2, 2018, with the aim of making ocean observation technology developed at JAMSTEC more widely useful to society. The company is physically located within JAMSTEC's Yokohama Research Laboratory. JAMSTEC-developed technologies (MOF, MOG, CTD sensors, Arctic under-ice observation systems) form the technical foundation of the company's product lineup.
• Shimadzu Corporation (島津製作所)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOffshore Technologies provided development cooperation for Shimadzu Corporation's underwater optical wireless communication system. The system was used to control underwater drones, with results presented at the international conference OCEANS 2022 in Chennai, India.
• Enoshima Aquarium (新江ノ島水族館)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research collaboration with Enoshima Aquarium for monitoring seawater quality in aquarium tanks. CTD sensors were installed in seawater tanks to monitor temperature and salinity in real-time via Wi-Fi. The collaboration is part of a partnership between Enoshima Aquarium and JAMSTEC (signed November 2019).

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• RBR Global: Canadian manufacturer of compact, high-accuracy CTD and oceanographic instruments (RBR Concerto, RBR Solo). RBR's compact, low-power sensors directly compete with the JES10mini's value proposition of small size and easy deployment.
• Aanderaa Data Instruments: Norwegian-based (now part of Xylem) maker of oceanographic sensors including CTDs, oxygen optodes, and current meters used in buoys and autonomous platforms. Aanderaa overlaps with Offshore Technologies across CTD and Argo-style float instrumentation.
• Sea-Bird Electronics: Now part of Danaher, Sea-Bird is the global gold standard for CTD instruments used in oceanographic research. It competes head-on with Offshore Technologies' JES10mini in the CTD segment, serving the same research-vessel and moored-buoy customers.
• NKE Instrumentation: French manufacturer of underwater instruments including CTDs and biogeochemical sensors. NKE targets compact, low-power autonomous platforms that overlap with Offshore Technologies' MOF and MOG glider use cases.
• Rockland Scientific: Canadian maker of oceanographic instrumentation focused on turbulence and microstructure measurements. Rockland serves the same academic and research-institution buyer profile that Offshore Technologies addresses.
• Turner Designs: US manufacturer of fluorometers and water quality instruments used in oceanographic and freshwater research. Turner Designs overlaps with Offshore Technologies' plankton/microplastic (Plafilt) and optical-magnetic sensor categories.
• Alec Electronics: Japanese manufacturer of CTD sensors, water quality probes, and oceanographic instruments. Alec is the most direct Japanese domestic competitor to Offshore Technologies, serving overlapping research and fisheries customers.

Others

• Liquid Robotics (Boeing): Maker of the Wave Glider autonomous surface platform. Offshore Technologies' JES10mini has been deployed on Wave Gliders (Sanriku, Arctic), making Liquid Robotics both a potential integration partner and an adjacent platform vendor.

Broad incumbents

• Kongsberg Maritime: Major Norwegian marine technology group offering subsea sensors, AUVs, and acoustic instruments. While much broader than Offshore Technologies, Kongsberg overlaps in marine instrumentation supplied to research and offshore customers.

Emerging players

• Saildrone: US-based builder of autonomous wind- and solar-powered sailing drones that carry oceanographic sensor payloads for long-duration missions. Saildrone competes for the same 'democratized ocean observation' budget that Offshore Technologies targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/OffshoreTechnologies.jp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Offshore Technologies