Oceaneering has been recognized by the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) as a winner of the 2026 NOIA Safety in Seas Awards competition. Oceaneering won the 2026 Safety Practice Award for the company’s High Hazard Task Elimination program.
Oceaneering’s High Hazard Task Elimination program is a systematic offshore safety initiative that replaces reliance on human behavior with engineered hazard elimination, including robotic inspection technologies such as Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) systems that remove personnel from high-risk environments entirely. Accountability is embedded across every business unit through KPIs tied directly to leadership compensation. Since 2021, the program has delivered 110 engineered controls and eliminated an estimated 63,000 High Hazard Task occurrences, making fatality prevention a measurable operational deliverable rather than a safety aspiration.
Rod Larson, President and CEO, Oceaneering, said: “We are honored to receive this recognition for our High Hazard Task Elimination program, which reflects how deeply safety is embedded in our culture and the way we operate. By prioritizing engineered hazard elimination over reliance on human behavior, we are making fatality prevention a measurable, operational responsibility. This mindset—supported by technology, robotics, and accountability at every level—guides how we design work and make decisions every day. As we look ahead, we remain focused on advancing solutions that remove people from harm’s way and continue strengthening a culture of safety across our organization and the offshore energy industry.”
In 2020, Oceaneering was previously recognized with the Safety Practice Award for the Liberty™ Resident ROV System.
The Safety Practice Award recognizes specific technologies, approaches, methods, or projects with direct and demonstrable impacts on improving safety.
This year’s competition was evaluated by an independent panel of judges consisting of independent offshore safety consultants, representatives from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Ocean Energy Safety Institute, and Endeavor Business Media, the publisher of the sponsor of this year’s awards, Offshore Magazine. NOIA has held the Safety in Seas Awards competition since 1978 to recognize those who contribute to improving the safety of life in the offshore energy industry.