At Subsea Global Solutions, our people are at the heart of everything we do. In this Employee Spotlight, we’re proud to recognize Karl Lander, Director of Environmental Services, whose leadership and technical expertise play a key role in advancing our environmental compliance and biofouling management capabilities worldwide. With a strong commitment to regulatory excellence and sustainable marine operations, Karl helps ensure our clients meet evolving environmental standards while maintaining operational efficiency.

Karl Lander brings a diverse maritime background to his role as Environmental Services Director. Following gradation from the US Coast Guad Academy with a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine engineering, Karl embarked on a unique 20 year active duty career.  Enroute to his first assignment as an engineer on an icebreaker, Karl graduated from the US Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center and went on to serve as a collateral duty diver for the next nine years. His primary duties during that time included assignments as Assistant Engineer Officer of the icebreaker POLAR STAR and Chief Engineer of the cutter MUNRO, as well as a shore based maintenance engineer for the Coast Guard’s 3 icebreakers.    

Following graduate studies at Portland State University in Engineering and Technology Management, Karl spent the 4 years at CG HQ supporting the acquisition of new cutters and small boats as well as aiding in the rollout of new logistics software for support the CG’s patrol boats.   Karl then returned to sea serving as Executive Officer of USCGs RELIANCE and HEALY, with 2 year assignment as the senior naval engineer for the Pacific Northwest and Alaska in between.  

Having visited all 7 continents and sailed all the major oceans of the world, Karl retired from the CG to the mountains of Vermont where he joined a marine robotics company. He literally and figuratively dove right in, working projects ranging from diver navigation to inspection ROV to vessel control systems. Karl then became the Program Manager for the development of an autonomous hull grooming robot. It was in this role that he developed a passion for the total issue of environmentally friendly hull cleaning and began participating in conferences and other global forums on the issue.  

It was this background and interest that brought Karl to Subsea Global Solutions, where he continues to engage globally on these issues, as well as steer our own hull cleaning advancements. To this end, Karl represents SGS within the Ballastwater and Environmental Manufacturers Association (BEMA) where he currently serves on the Board, and participates as a member of BEMA's delegation to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Additionally he is a member of marine technical committees within both the ISO and AMPP. Karl continues to be a strong advocate for policies that promote clean shipping, healthy oceans and sustainable business growth within the industry.  He routinely presents at conferences around the world and is on the advisory board of the PortPIC conference.  

Outside of work, Karl can typically be found near some sort of water, in either its liquid or solid forms. He is an avid scuba diver and fisherman, passions he shares with his partner Amy. He is also a certified ski instructor, spending time on the slopes near his home in New Hampshire, where he knows better than to try to teach Amy himself. On top of that, he has returned to the sport of triathlon and recently completed the Ironman Maine 70.3 and Ironman Cozumel 140.6 races.  

‍

Boards and Memberships

• Ballastwater and Environmental Manufacturers Association (BEMA), Board member and Treasurer
• In-Port Inspection & Cleaning (PortPIC) Conference Advisory Committee, Member
• ISO Technical Committee 8, Ships and Marine Technology,  Member
• Association for Materials Protection & Performance (AMPP) Marine Technical Committee, Member

Presentations and Publications

• Lessons in Advanced Hull Cleaning, 6^th In-Port Inspection & Cleaning (PortPIC) Conference 2025, Paper and Presentation
• The View From Below: Regulatory Lessons in Advancing Hull Cleaning, 3^rd International AntiFouling Conference 2025, Presentation
• Advancements in Capture and Treatment Technology for In-water Hull Cleaning, Pacific Ballast and Biofouling Working Group Annual Meeting, 2025, Presentation
• Advanced Hull Cleaning Technology Transport Canada Performance Verification Study, 3^rd GloFouling R&D Forum and Exhibition on Biofouling Prevention and Management for Maritime Industries, 2024, Presentation
• Proactive Cleaning, Maintenance and Inspection of Vessel Hulls Via Autonomous Robots, AMPP Annual Conference + Expo 2023 ,Paper and Presentation
• A Smarter Approach to Maintenance and Inspection, 4^th In-Port Inspection & Cleaning (PortPIC) Conference 2023, Paper and Presentation
• Autonomous Robots Enable Proactive Cleaning, 2^nd GloFouling R&D Forum and Exhibition on Biofouling Prevention and Management for Maritime Industries, 2022, Presentation
• Frequent and Habitual: How Autonomous Robots Can Make Routine Grooming and Inspection Accessible, 43^rd In-Port Inspection & Cleaning (PortPIC) Conference 2022, Paper and Presentation
• Precision Navigation for Hull Crawling Robots - Efficient robots for automated grooming and inspection, AMPP Annual Conference + Expo 2022, Paper and Presentation