TDI-Brooks' New Vessel Ready for Work
TDI-Brooks' newest vessel R/V Nautilus (formerly known as Nautical Geo) is ready to go to work following a 6-month retrofit period in Las Palmas.The DP2 vessel is currently enroute to the U.S. East Coast to provide support for offshore wind operations. It is expected to be fully prepared for the first offshore wind program by early March.Built in 2000, the 75-meter-long vessel is equipped with the newly-acquired Geomiil Manta-200 CPT, which can be deployed through the mid-ship moonpool. The system has the capability to penetrate the soil up to 40-50 meters, depending on its composition.Nautilus
World's Largest Known Deep-sea Coral Reef Habitat Found
Covering 6.4 million acres, an area larger than Vermont, an underwater seascape of cold-water coral mounds offshore the southeast United States coast has been deemed the largest deep-sea coral reef habitat discovered to date, according to a paper recently published in the scientific journal Geomatics."This strategic multiyear and multi-agency effort to systematically map and characterize the stunning coral ecosystem right on the doorstep of the U.S. East Coast is a perfect example of what we can accomplish when we pool resources and focus on exploring the approximately 50% of U.S. marine
TDI-Brooks Awarded Geotechnical Coring Project Off US East Coast
inter-array packages.The scope of work includes utilizing a TDI-Brooks’ owned Datum Neptune 5K (pCPT) at 155 sites and a newly-designed TDI-Brooks pneumatic vibracorer (pVC) at 80 sites. The pVC is a light weight (4,600-lb in air), high power vibracorer and has been successfully deployed on the US East Coast >200 times for offshore wind farm (OSWF) projects. The pVC can be used for cores up to 6-m in length (and down to 9-m or 12-m with frame extension). Upon completion of the geotechnical vibracoring, all samples are sent to the TDI-Brooks’ ISO-certified geotechnical and environmental laboratori
In a First for Norway, TGS Deploys LiDAR Buoy for Offshore Wind Development
their offshore wind projects," TGS said.Utsira Nord marks the sixth global deployment of TGS multi-client floating LiDARs over the past 12 months but is the first aimed at floating wind development, being situated in approximately 270 m of water depth. The previous five buoys are active off the US East Coast, and TGS is planning additional deployments in offshore wind markets globally.It has been a busy year for Norwegian offshore wind following the announcement of the first offshore wind tenders as part of its ambition of allocating lease areas with an installed capacity of 30GW by 2040. The government
Threat to Whales Complicates US Research into Seaweed for Biofuel
In Cape Cod Bay, 10-year-old Pilgrim and her calf skim the water's glassy surface alongside the Shearwater research vessel to feed on tiny crustaceans.The two are among the last surviving 340 or so North Atlantic right whales left migrating along the U.S. East Coast – down from 480 right whales in 2010.The biggest threats they face include being struck by passing ships or getting entangled in ropes used for lobster fishing off the U.S. East Coast - scientists have recorded 98 such injuries or deaths of whales since 2017.Now, the whales face another threat as the U.S. Department of Energy
GEOxyz Opens US Office
Belgium-based offshore survey services provider GEOxyz announced it has opened its first office in the United States, located in New Brunswick, N.J., as it expands to serve the offshore wind energy industry on the U.S. East Coast"The renewable energy industry in the U.S. is an important market in full expansion and we are thrilled to establish a presence here," said Patrick Reyntjens, CEO of GEOxyz. "We have extensive experience in offshore surveying and we are eager to provide our services to support the development of new offshore wind farms on the East Coast."The new office will
TDI-Brooks Awarded Contract to Study Seabed Conditions for US Offshore Wind
U.S.-based marine services company TDI-Brooks announced it was awarded geophysical, geotechnical and benthic sampling survey campaigns to study seabed conditions within the project lease area and potential export cable corridors for offshore wind farms off the U.S. East Coast. TDI-Brooks said it expects to begin the program in April and will continue through summer 2023 with two to three vessels in operations. The data collected will help determine safe and responsible project design and engineering along with identifying potential geohazards and benthic habitats. The geotechnical
TDI-Brooks Installs Starlink on Its Research Vessels
U.S. based marine services firm TDI-Brooks announced it has installed the Starlink Maritime platform on two of its four research vessels, with plans to equip the remaining vessels at a later date.The two vessels, Brooks McCall and Miss Emma McCall, are currently working on the U.S. East Coast performing G&G surveys for offshore wind programs. Installation of the Starlink Maritime platform is next planned for installation on the Proteus currently working in the Northern GOM and Gyre working off Trinidad.Richard Byno, TDI-Brooks Director of Marine Operations, said, “We are enthusiastic to add
New Buoys Aim to Help Protect Whales from Ship Strikes
A network of acoustic monitoring buoys aims to help protect North Atlantic right whales—one of the world’s most critically endangered species—from ship strikes along the U.S. East Coast.Although North Atlantic right whales are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, serious threats to their survival abound with only approximately 336 of these great whales remaining on the planet. The installment of the buoys aims to aid in right whale’s survival and will fill a critical gap in monitoring along the East Coast. The new buoys will alert
February 2024
