Into the Deep

What started as a childhood fascination with nature evolved into OceanX, a non-profit initiative that Mark Dalio and his investment mogul father co-founded to promote ocean awareness and research through storytelling

- By Woo Qiyun Photography by Melvin Wong

With headlines often highlighting the state-of-the-art research facilities onboard OceanX's OceanXplorer, one may not realise that it is also a ship built for top-of-the-line media production, with Hollywood-standard equipment for filming and capturing photos of life underwater. A non-profit initiative by Dalio Philanthropies, OceanX was started by Mark Dalio, a renowned American filmmaker and producer, and his father, billionaire investor Ray Dalio, who is behind Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund.

Their vision for OceanX is to educate and inspire people about the natural world below sea level through audiovisual storytelling, similar to the productions we are used to seeing in the film industry. Since this May, the 87-metre-long OceanXplorer has been traversing the waters of Southeast Asia, studying its diverse marine life and ecosystems. During its brief stop in Singapore this September, we join the younger Dalio onboard the vessel to chat about the times he spent with his influential father, how he got into ocean conservation and his vision for OceanX.

Dalio spent much of his childhood outdoors, camping and diving with his father. When he was not outside, he was likely at home watching BBC's The Blue Planet and Planet Earth, or a documentary film by the late French oceanographer and filmmaker Jacques-Yves Cousteau. One of his favourites from the legend, Dalio says, is his Academy Award-winning film, World Without Sun, released in 1964.