Haun, Eric
Editor-
Austal USA Awarded US Navy TAGOS-25 Contract
Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA announced it has been awarded a contract potentially worth more than $3 billion for the detail design and construction of new TAGOS-25 class ocean surveillance ships for the U.S. Navy.The $113.9 million fixed-price incentive (firm target) and firm-fixed-price contract includes options for detail design and construction of up to seven T-AGOS 25 class ships which, if exercised…
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PXGEO Names Tony Bowman CEO
Offshore seismic survey firm PXGEO announced it has appointed Tony Bowman as chief executive officer, effective April 3, 2023.Bowman joins PXGEO from an executive career at Schlumberger. During his almost 30-year tenure, he held a number of senior roles across multiple geographical locations, including president, WesternGeco as well as president, Schlumberger Information Solutions.Bowman’s appointment follows the departure of CEO Duncan Eley, who has decided to resign and leave PXGEO.
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Wreck of USRC Bear Found off Nova Scotia
The decades long mystery of a missing U.S. Coast Guard Ship has finally been solved. U.S. Revenue Cutter (USRC) Bear, lost at sea in 1963, has been found on the seafloor about 90 miles south of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, NOAA Rear Adm. Nancy Hann announced Thursday.Widely considered one of the most historically significant ships in American history, Bear was purchased by the U.S. government and first put into service by the U.S.
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OTC 2021 Postponed
One of the world's largest conferences and exhibitions dedicated to the offshore energy industry will be postponed next year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.The Offshore Technology Conference, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors to Houston annually, will be postponed from May 3-6 to August 16-19, the event's board of directors announced Monday, citing continued challenges and health and safety concerns presented by the pandemic."By postponing OTC to the second half of 2021…
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AI- and Solar-powered Autonomous Ship Mayflower Launched
A new Mayflower has been launched in Plymouth, 400 years after its historic namesake set sail from southwest England to America.The new vessel won't be carrying pilgrim settlers across the Atlantic. In fact, it won't hold any crew or passengers at all. The sleek AI- and solar-powered trimaran is autonomy level five, meaning it can operate independently with no human intervention. Next year, it will embark on the famous ocean voyage from Plymouth, England to Plymouth, Mass.
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Salvors Outline Plan to Recover Titanic's Telegraph System
Marine salvors on Wednesday outlined plans to recover the Marconi wireless telegraph from inside the RMS Titanic after being cleared by a U.S. judge in May to retrieve a piece of history from the world's most famous shipwreck.Originally scheduled to embark on the mission to recover the system this summer, the private company with exclusive rights to salvage artifacts from the ship announced it has…
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New Report Outlines Big Potential for Offshore Wind
Offshore wind currently represents just a small piece of the world’s energy supply. But that’s changing faster than ever before as new and existing players look to tap the huge resource potential—and market opportunities—being unlocked by shrinking costs and technological advances, as outlined in a recent comprehensive market report.In the coming two decades, the rapidly maturing offshore wind market…
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Australia Pressing Yang Ming to Pay for Container Cleanup
Dozens of containers lost from a ship at sea have been recovered off the coast of Australia as the country's maritime authority continues to press the vessel's owner to pay the $11 million cleanup costs.The 63 boxes plucked from the bottom of the Tasman Sea are among more than 80 lost from Yang Ming's containership YM Efficiency about 20 miles from shore in June 2018. The Australian Maritime Safety…
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First YM Efficiency Containers Retrieved
Work is underway to retrieve dozens of containers lost from a containership off the coast of Australia, with the first boxes raised to the surface this week. The first container was recovered from the seafloor on Monday using a hydraulic crane and rigging, remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) and a specially manufactured steel basket, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said. Another two…
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Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) 2020 Canceled
The 2020 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic."While OTC’s purpose is to provide an opportunity for those in the offshore petroleum industry from around the world to meet and share knowledge, our first priority is to the health and safety of our attendees and exhibitors. Therefore, OTC has made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s conference…
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NOAA to Order New Research Ships in 2020
The U.S.' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said it expects to award contracts for the construction of two new oceanographic ships by the end of the year. Once in service, the new large oceangoing, multi-mission research vessels will support missions ranging from general oceanographic research and exploration to marine life, climate and ocean ecosystem studies, NOAA said.“When completed…
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Offshore Energy Outlook for 2020
The “new normal” is a phrase tossed around often in offshore energy circles today as those servicing and operating in the sector grapple with the harsh realities of the prolonged industry downturn. Operators, service companies and equipment suppliers have been forced to adjust to oil selling at prices well below the $100+ per barrel mark seen in years past. As of this writing, Brent oil was hovering around $62 per barrel…
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OneSubsea to Supply 20K SPS for Chevron's Anchor
Oilfield services company Schlumberger announced Thursday that its subsea arm has received a contract from Chevron to provide an integrated subsea production and multiphase boosting system for the deepwater Anchor field in the US Gulf of Mexico.The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) award will see OneSubsea supply vertical monobore production trees and multiphase flowmeters rated up to 20…
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First Manned Dive to the Titanic in 14 Years
A groundbreaking expedition in early August led a team of experts and scientists 3,810 meters below the ocean's surface to the Titanic's final resting place at the murky depths of the North Atlantic Ocean.The series of five dives over eight days aboard a high-tech Triton 36,000/2 manned submersible Limiting Factor were the first to carry humans to the historic wreck site in 14 years.Patrick Lahey, Triton Submarines president and Co-Founder…
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Ocean Cleanup Device Malfunctions
A first-of-its-kind floating ocean cleanup system deployed to collect plastic pollution from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch has been taken out of service early after it broke apart while operating halfway between Hawaii and California.The wind- and wave-propelled cleanup system, launched from San Francisco in September by Dutch nonprofit The Ocean Cleanup, consists of a 600-meter-long U-shaped floating…
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ROVs to Investigate Lost Shipping Containers
Remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) will be deployed to investigate containers lost from a cargo ship in heavy seas off Australia.The YM Efficiency, operated by Taiwan shipping company Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation, was sailing from Taiwan to Sydney in early June when it lost dozens of containers overboard amid five-meter swells in the Tasman Sea, about 30 kilometers off Australia's east coast.The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA)…
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The Ocean Cleanup Kicks Off
A first-of-its-kind floating ocean cleanup system is undergoing a final round of testing before it begins removing plastic pollution from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch halfway between Hawaii and California.The system developed by the Dutch nonprofit The Ocean Cleanup was launched from San Francisco Bay on September 8 and towed 350 nautical miles by the vessel Maersk Launcher to an offshore test site.
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Engineering Better Propulsion
“Propeller design has often been considered kind of a black art,” said Donald MacPherson, technical director at HydroComp, Inc. But it’s an art that MacPherson has always had a knack for, and today his company is known as experts in the field of hydrodynamic performance.MacPherson co-founded HydroComp together with managing director Jill Aaron in 1984. The Durham, N.H. based firm’s maritime software…
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Subsea’s Future is Blowin’ in the Wind
Offshore wind is hot, with the potential to be a significant area of growth for the global maritime, subsea and energy markets for years to come. Eric Haun does a deep dive on eight companies leading the way.GE Renewable EnergyAs offshore wind projects across the globe look to incorporate the latest innovations in wind turbine technology to maximize efficiency and drive down costs, many manufacturers are producing larger turbines on advanced foundation designs for even greater water depths.
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RRS Sir David Attenborough Launched
The hull of the U.K.’s new polar research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough was launched from Cammell Laird shipyard Saturday, marking a major milestone toward the completion of one of the world’s most advanced scientific maritime vessels.Shipyard workers, engineers, scientists and maritime industry experts were among thousands who gathered to celebrate the launch along with special guest speakers, including renowned naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough…
February 2023
