Marine Technology Reporter Blogs

13th Annual MTR100 set to publish in the July/August 2018 edition of Marine Technology Reporter -- the world's largest circulation b2b subsea publication. Top companies in the global subsea sector are invited to apply now for the "MTR100". Marine Technology Reporter's annual MTR100 awards edition is the subsea industry's most awaited annual ranking of the leading companies serving the global subsea industry. - & much more. Apply today to have your company considered for coverage in the July/August 2018 edition.

This week Teledyne Marine is holding its Technology Workshop at the Catamaran Resort in San Diego, an event which attracted 270 registrants from around the world to southern California for discussions and presentations on new and emerging technologies, as well as insights on how the products and systems are deployed in the real world. The event is a great success, with Teledyne Marine serving as a gracious host start to finish. But the real value of the event is the fact that it is not simply an advertisement for the company, rather a true collaboration of Teledyne Marine, its customers and many additional companies that collaborate ... and in some areas even compete ... with Teledyne Marine's 23 brands.

At the Ocean Business exhibition in Southampton, Marine Technology Reporter's "Marine Technology TV" brand will be on hand to conduct topical interviews on new and emerging technologies for the subsea sector. If you will be @ Ocean Business in early April, contact Greg Trauthwein ([email protected]) for details on arranging your video shoot, either in the Marine Technology TV 'studio' on the show floor, or in your booth in front of your technology. View recent samples from Oceanology International North America here: http://www.marinetechnologynews.com/videos/video/interview-margaret-leinen-director-scripps-institution-of-100004

At the Ocean Business exhibition in Southampton, Marine Technology Reporter's "Marine Technology TV" brand will be on hand to conduct topical interviews on new and emerging technologies for the subsea sector. If you will be @ Ocean Business in early April, contact Greg Trauthwein ([email protected]) for details on arranging your video shoot, either in the Marine Technology TV 'studio' on the show floor, or in your booth in front of your technology. View recent samples from Oceanology International North America here: http://www.marinetechnologynews.com/videos/video/interview-margaret-leinen-director-scripps-institution-of-100004

http://digitalmagazines.marinelink.com/nwm/MarineTechnology/201703/ The March 2017 edition of Marine Technology Reporter is available, and I'm really pleased to present the work of Ben Kinnaman and his Greensea Systems team. Ben is an excellent interview, and his team's work toward better connecting man and machine is enlightening.

At Oceanology International North America in San Diego, the Marine Technology TV 'crew' set up short for the week in the Marine Technology Reporter booth and recorded more than a dozen topical interviews with leading industry executives and leaders. The first is interview is with William Kikendall, President, Teledyne Marine RDI & SeaBotix, who discusses how Teledyne Marine adapts to evolving markets, as well as the company's strategy to leverage its broad base of brands. See the video by following the link: http://www.marinetechnologynews.com/videos/video/teledyne-marine-adapts-to-evolving-markets-100002

This is the 12th ANNUAL MTR100, the brainchild of Marine Technology Reporter magazine (www.marinetechnologynews.com), which is the world's largest circulation b2b magazine in the world serving the subsea sector. MTR100 is the pinnacle edition every year for MTR, and within it highlights the good works and innovation of 100 leading companies in the sector. There is no cost to participate, but to be considered for inclusion companies must apply. Deadline for applications this year is July 3, 2017.

In San Diego @ Oceanology North America, the world's leading magazine to the subsea sector -- Marine Technology Reporter with a global circulation of more than 25,000 -- will debut its "Marine Technology TV" brand with a series of short, topical technical interviews on the show floor. Watch this space in the coming weeks for dozens of video interviews with executives from the world's leading subsea technology companies. If you happen to be in San Diego on February 14 or 15, 2017 and would like to schedule one of the remaining interview slots, Email Greg Trauthwein ([email protected]) or Eric Haun ([email protected]).

I am happy to report that the application for  the 2016 MTR100 is now open to any and all companies serving the global subsea sector, available at: http://mtr100.marinetechnologynews.com/. MTR100 is the brainchild of Marine Technology Reporter magazine (www.marinetechnologynews.com), which is the world's largest circulation b2b magazine in the world serving the subsea sector. MTR100 is the pnnacle edition every year for MTR, and within it highlights the good works and innovation of 100 leading companies in the sector. There is no cost to participate, but to be considered for inclusion companies must apply. Deadline for applications this year is June 20, 2016. Link: http://mtr100.marinetechnologynews.com/.

Offshore communication requirements have greatly increased in the last decade, with the market focusing on bandwidth and availability. Ceragon Networks (formerly Nera Networks) was a key player when Norway’s oil boom started in the early 1970. The first system delivered was VSAT systems, followed a few years later by the first LOS microwave systems. With today’s change to IO (Integrated Operations) throughout the business, Ceragon has adapted to this with new, advanced, ATEX certificated radios and stabilized antennas. IO has now pushed the bandwidth requirement beyond what is possible and economically justifiable with VSAT systems. Today there are minimum requirement of 32Mb/s to most drill rigs and +100Mb/s on larger production rigs.

The main purpose of the heavy weather launch and recovery system is to stabilize and centralize the WCROV (Work Class ROV) and Tether Management System (TMS) with a device called a cursor which restricts horizontal movement while transitioning through the air/sea interface (called the splash zone). The splash zone presents the greatest risk of damage to the WCROV, TMS, and potentially the vessel. Large waves and high winds can cause the ROV and TMS to swing wildly, potentially impacting the vessel structure. As the vehicle is raised, this motion is amplified many times, which can make it difficult if not impossible to launch/recover the WCROV in foul weather. Another hazard is the close proximity of the WCROV to vessel hull mounted thrusters during entry and exit into the splash zone.

ROV system are vital to oil and gap E&P beyond saturation diving maximum depths. Full saturation diving has been conducted to depths of nearly 600 meters (2,000 feet). Beyond this depth ROVs are employed to undertake the diver’s tasks such as opening and closing valves, construction and equipment monitoring. In order to be deployed from the surface by support vessels, ROVs must be launched, recovered, and safely and efficiently operated using dedicated systems. Two systems are needed to successfully launch, recover and operate and ROV, these are the LARS (Launch and Recovery System) and TMS (Tether Management System). ROVs may be directly deployed from a simple crane…

When Aker Solutions acquired Managed Pressure Operations in 2013, it became a provider of next generation continuous circulation and managed pressure drilling (MPD) systems, which has become a critical component to the drilling process going into the future. MPD systems have proven to be reliable, enabling maximum up time and significant cost savings and has been labeled of strategic importance for pre-salt drilling by Brazilian operator Petrobras, which uses MPD systems developed by Weatherford, which was the company that first introduced large scale use of the system to the industry. The MPD system being introduced by Aker/MPO is fully automated and simple to operate, needing few people to run the equipment.

Atmocean’s wave energy system is unique in that each array of fifteen seawater pumps located up to 2 miles offshore produces pressurized water transmitted in a seafloor hose to the onshore turbine operating a generator. By using and underwater compressed air energy storage system a dramatic reductions in the net cost and availability of grid-scale energy storage is reached. Storing air at hydrostatic pressure, in equilibrium with the surrounding water allows the use of thin-walled storage vessels, and simpler, more reliable compressors. A simple, proprietary reversible air compressor runs at near-constant temperature and the heat of compression is stored in water and is restored during expansion of the air.

Water covers 71% of our world and holds a vast potential for clean renewable energy production. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers estimated in a 2010 report of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, that there is an estimated potential of 3.7 terawatts of wave energy, almost double that of current world electrical consumption, yet although it may never be possible to harvest all this energy, very little of it has been harvested up to now. Waves are mainly created by winds blowing across the oceans. Waves are distinct from daily tidal surges created by the gravitational effects of the moon as the earth spins on its axis.

Clariant, a global provider of specialty chemicals and solutions for the oil and gas industry, is has been applying its H2S Risk Management System in selected pre-salt plays offshore Brazil. The novel system encompasses the provision and management of specialty chemicals for both subsea activities (liquid H2S scavengers injected into wells) and offshore topside natural gas processing (removal of hydrogen sulfide residues using a solid adsorbent), including the entire onshore and offshore product delivery logistics and managing the removal and disposal of residues generated during the process. The system was developed by Clariant’s research centers in Brazil: the Deepwater Center of Excellence…

When Subsea 7 and SeeByte collaborated in engineering the AIV, the world’s first purpose built Autonomous Inspection Vehicle, they were looking for a new cost-effective asset for inspecting LoF (Life of Field) projects. The AIVs software was designed to dynamically control this unique hover-capable vehicle, which is already being used in Subsea 7 LoF projects for general visual inspection. It can also be used as an aid to field survey, integrity management and developments continue, looking at expanding its use to light intervention activities. One of the advantages of the AIV over other AUV’s is its capability to hover, maintaining station when necessary. It also has the ability to operate directly from a host facility such as an FPSO or rig as well as from infield support vessels.

An important marine reserve system started with the Abrolhos National Marine Park (Parque Nacional Marinho Dos Abrolhos) in 1983 and has been expanded to include three carefully managed "Marine Extractive Reserves": Canavieiras (2006), Corumbau, and, most recently, the Cassurubá Marine Extractive Reserve. This network of marine reserves is the first of its kind in Brazil and serves as a model for marine conservation. Nearly 20,000 families make a living from traditional fisheries in the Abrolhos region and they are becoming important conservation partners as they come to understand that marine protected areas are an effective tool for fisheries recovery.

The Abrolhos Marine National Park is located in the Abrolhos Archipelago since 1983. The Abrolhos are an archipelago of five islands with coral reefs off the southern coast of the state of Bahia state in the northeast of Brazil, between 17º25’–18º09’ S and 38º33’–39º05’ W., the so-called Whale Coast (Costa das Baleias). The marine biodiversity in the South Atlantic Ocean reaches its maximum level in the Abrolhos region. Seasonal populations of humpback whales go there to mate and give birth (and to nowhere else in the South Atlantic). It harbors some of Brazil's most important seabird colonies, extensive coral reefs, and several species of the world's most threatened sea turtles.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's (MBARI) Benthic Rover is a subsea lab which methodically charts deep-sea carbon cycles. To measure metabolic activity in the sediment, twin respirometry chambers isolate samples of seafloor for 3 days at a time. Agitators stir up the sediment while sensors record oxygen levels. Diagram: Ken Smith, MBARI. The rover also has two optical/acoustic scanners that detect active chlorophyll and animals like worms buried up to 4 inches in the sediment. These two pieces of information help to fine-tune the respirometry measurements and to determine how quickly sediment arrives. At the MARS site 891 m (nearly 3,000 feet) below the surface, it’s always dark and there are no plants making food.