Construction on the Holyrood Marine Base begun in December 2020 and is anticipated to be completed by fall 2022. The marine base is located at the South Arm of Holyrood Bay. This base will include a breakwater, wharf, and a large multi-purpose Oceans Research and Training Building.

The Holyrood Marine Base expansion project includes a new multi-purpose building to provide technical workspace, dry laboratories, classrooms and offices that will enable collaboration among researchers, students, and ocean technology partners. It also includes an adjacent subsea water lot to support research, development, and testing of next-generation ocean technology and evaluation positioning systems for remotely operated vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicles.

The total project budget for new marine base infrastructure, equipment, and technology is $23 million, with $5 million coming from the Government of Canada through ACOA, and $3.5 million coming from the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador through the departments of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation, and Natural Resources. The Marine Institute will be responsible for securing the remaining project costs.

Established in 2010, the Holyrood Marine Base houses the Marine Institute’s Centre for Applied Ocean Technology, the Offshore Safety and Survival Centre, and the Marine Services department, which operates training and research vessels. The Marine Institute completed an earlier phase of construction in 2017 to rebuild and extend the existing marginal wharf, add a finger pier, create a breakwater and install evacuation systems for ocean safety and survival education, training, and research.