At an industry networking event years ago, O2 Marine founder Chris Lane heard a competitor from a larger firm disparagingly refer to his start-up as an “angry poodle nipping at the heels of a great Dane”.

Four years later, his so-called poodle has outgrown the great Dane in size and scale. O2 Marine, included in The Australian Financial Review’s 2022 Fast 100 list, now boasts one of the biggest marine science teams nationally, having doubled its workforce to 45 over the past 12 months on the back of major port expansions by miners scrambling to meet the world’s appetite for Australian commodities.