NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE modern slavery statement summary (2026)

Organisation address
National Oceanography Centre, European Way,
Southampton,
United Kingdom,
SO14 3ZH

We asked the organisation a series of questions about its modern slavery statement. Its answers are published on this page as a statement summary.

This statement provides information for all 6 recommended topics

What is a modern slavery statement?
UK law requires certain organisations to publish an annual modern slavery statement on their website, setting out the steps they are taking to address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. Read more in the government guidance on publishing modern slavery statements.
Link to full statement
Go to full modern slavery statement on organisation’s website

PDF version of the statement

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About this statement summary

All answers relate to the financial year covered by the statement. The organisation is responsible for all the information it provided. Some of our questions are optional, so organisations may not have answered all of them. The statement summary does not replace the full modern slavery statement – below we provide a link to the full statement on the organisation’s website.

Contents

Organisations covered by the statement

NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE modern slavery statement for 2026 is a group statement covering 2 organisations. See the full list of organisations covered by this statement

Statement period and sign-off details

The statement covers the following period:
1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025

The statement was signed off by:
Jeremy Darroch (Board of Trustees Chair)

It was approved by the board (or equivalent management body) on:
29 October 2025

Recommended topics covered by the statement

Government guidance encourages organisations to cover a range of topics in their modern slavery statements, setting out the steps they’re taking to address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. Read about the recommended topics in the statutory guidance.

We asked the organisation to tell us which topics its statement covers.

Topics recommended by government guidance Organisation’s response
The organisation’s structure, business and supply chains Covered
Policies Covered
Risk assessment Covered
Due diligence (steps to address risk) Covered
Training about modern slavery Covered
Goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of the organisation's actions and progress over time Covered

The organisation’s sectors and turnover

Sectors

The organisation operates in the following sectors:

  • Charitable / not-for-profit activities
  • Education and research

Turnover

Its turnover in the financial accounting year of this statement was:

£60 million to £100 million

If the organisation is a public body, this amount is based on the organisation’s budget for the year of the statement.
What does 'turnover' refer to in group statements?
If this is a group statement, this includes the total turnover for all the organisations covered by the statement.

Number of years producing statements

The organisation has been producing modern slavery statements for the following number of years:
More than 5 years
How does this work for group statements?
If the statement is for a group of organisations, this answer applies to the organisation with the longest history of producing statements.

Policies (optional)

We asked the organisation whether its policies include the following provisions in relation to its domestic and international supply chains, as well as its own operations.
Policy provisions we asked about Organisation’s response
Freedom of workers to terminate employment Included
Freedom of movement Not included
Freedom of association Included
Prohibits any threat of violence, harassment and intimidation Included
Prohibits the use of worker-paid recruitment fees Included
Prohibits compulsory overtime Included
Prohibits child labour Included
Prohibits discrimination Included
Prohibits confiscation of workers' original identification documents Included
Provides access to remedy, compensation and justice for victims of modern slavery Not included
Other
Not included

Training (optional)

We asked the organisation whether it provided training on modern slavery, and who it was for.
What counts as training?
We explained that by ‘training’ we meant anything designed to increase knowledge and skills around identifying, addressing or preventing modern slavery risks. This could range from formal training courses to broader awareness-raising activities such as workshops or webinars.
We asked who the training was for Organisation’s response
Your whole organisation Yes
Your front line staff Yes
Human resources Yes
Executive-level staff Yes
Procurement staff Yes
Your suppliers Yes
The wider community No
Other
PhD Students and tenents of our Innovation Centre

Monitoring working conditions (optional)

Engaging with others

We asked the organisation to tell us who it engaged with to help monitor working conditions across its operations and supply chains.
Organisation’s response
The organisation told us it did not engage with any of the people we asked about during the period of the statement.

Social audits

We asked the organisation to tell us about any social audits it used to look for signs of modern slavery.
What are social audits?
A social audit is a review of an organisation’s working practices from the point of view of social responsibility, and should include an evaluation of working conditions in the organisation’s operations and supply chains. By their nature, audits of supplier workplaces represent a snapshot in time.
Organisation’s response
The organisation told us it did not carry out any social audits during the period of the statement.

Grievance mechanisms

We asked the organisation how workers in its operations or supply chains could raise concerns or make complaints.
We asked if workers could raise concerns this way Organisation’s response
Using anonymous whistleblowing services, such as a helpline or mobile phone app Yes
Through trade unions or other worker representative groups Yes

Other ways of monitoring working conditions

We asked the organisation whether it had any other ways of monitoring working conditions across its operations and supply chains:
NOC have policies in place that regularly monitor working conditions in terms of Health & Safety Risk Assessments and personal development plans

Modern slavery risks (optional)

Warning Identifying modern slavery risks is a vital step towards eradicating it. The government encourages organisations to be as open and transparent as possible, to improve understanding, collaboration and best practice around tackling this worldwide problem.
We asked the organisation to describe up to 3 priority risks it focused on during the period of the statement, including details of the affected workers, the activity involved, and the location.

Priority risks for this organisation (1 of 3)

Supply chains need to be monitored to ensure we are not linked to any Modern Slavery crimes and checks are conducted on all new suppliers
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your own operations.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Women
  • Migrants
  • Refugees
  • Children
In which country Organisation’s response:
  • Argentina
  • Barbados
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • China
  • Costa Rica
  • Cape Verde
  • Spain
  • Iceland
  • Namibia
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: • Our supply chain risks are continuously being monitored and improvements are ongoing and included in our Sustainable Procurement Strategy detailed above.

Priority risks for this organisation (2 of 3)

Employees rights violations are avoided by completing right to work checks, maintain VISA requirements, meeting the Maritime Labour convention & using reputable employment agencies
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your own operations.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Women
  • Migrants
  • Refugees
In which country Organisation’s response: United Kingdom
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: All employee contracts are subject to a successful right to work checks which are conducted for permanent and temporary roles. Any VISA requirements are monitored to ensure the required actions are taken before a VISA is due to expire. The Maritime Labour Convention is adhered to on NOC research vessels. Due diligence checks are undertaken on any recruitment agency to ensure they do not practice poor standards such as worker-paid recruitment fees.

Priority risks for this organisation (3 of 3)

NOC ships dock all over the world. NOC only work with port agents from the Lloyds list of shipping agents to avoid poorly run and non-compliant operations
Questions we asked about this risk Organisation’s response
Where it was most likely to occur Organisation’s response: Within your own operations.
Who was it most likely to affect Organisation’s response:
  • Women
  • Migrants
  • Refugees
  • Children
In which country Organisation’s response:
  • Argentina
  • Barbados
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • China
  • Costa Rica
  • Cape Verde
  • Spain
  • Iceland
  • Namibia
Actions or plans to address this risk Organisation’s response: NOC expeditions take staff all over the world with the ships docking at various port locations. NOC will only work with port agents from the Lloyds list of shipping agents. This is because they have been subjected to robust due diligence arrangements. Where possible, senior members of staff will inspect a port agent premises to ensure NOC can be satisfied that standards are being met in terms of staff working conditions.

Indicators of forced labour (optional)

We asked the organisation whether its statement refers to finding any International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labour.
What are ILO indicators of forced labour?
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has produced a list of the most common signs of forced labour. They’re based on the definition of forced labour as ‘all work or service which is extracted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.’ More details and guidance are available on the ILO website, and in their publication ILO indicators of forced labour
Organisation’s response
The organisation told us its statement does not refer to finding any International Labour Organization (ILO) indicators of forced labour.

Demonstrating progress (optional)

We asked the organisation how its statement demonstrates progress over time in addressing modern slavery risks. They provided the following answer:
We provided engagement & awareness materials for internal staff, on our two research vessels, to suppliers, our Innovation Centre tenants and our PhD students. Our Procurement team continue to engage with suppliers to ensure they meet our standards and our supplier Code of Conduct. We used the Modern Slavery Assessment Tool to understand gaps for future improvements and to develop KPIs for future years.