Haun, Eric
Editor-
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…
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AQUIND Interconnector Geophysical Survey Completed
Swedish based marine surveyor MMT has completed a geophysical seabed survey and delivered the final report for the proposed AQUIND Interconnector offshore cable route linking the British and French electric power grids.The survey, which commenced in November 2017, involved two of MMT’s high-tech vessels – M/V Franklin for offshore works and M/V Seabeam for nearshore works – and found no major obstacles to the proposed cable route between Portsmouth in the U.K.
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MH370 Search Comes to a Close
The U.S.-based company that has been scouring the seas in a hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 said its current search will soon draw to a close without having been able to crack one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.Flight MH370 disappeared with 239 people on board while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014. It’s believed someone may have deliberately switched off the…
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Finns Want to Carve Trump’s Face on a Glacier
President Donald Trump reportedly told South Dakota Representative Kristi Noem it is his dream to be added to Mount Rushmore.There might not be space for the 45th American president’s likeness alongside some of his most immortal predecessors on Mount Rushmore, but a group of Finnish environmentalists say they want to fulfill Trump’s dream in a different way.Members of a Finnish NGO say they want to commission Project Trumpmore…
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Interview: Antony Croston, Trelleborg Offshore
Antony Croston is Business Group Director at Trelleborg’s offshore operation in Houston, responsible for the externally-facing functions of the business covering engineering, business development and project management.MTR caught up with Croston ahead of next week’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston to discuss some of Trelleborg’s latest developments in buoyancy, FEA and engineering analysis…
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Top Five Trends in Offshore Wind
As technologies mature and dramatic cost-cutting continues, the future is looking bright for offshore wind. Below are five trends to keep an eye on.1. Follow the LeaderOffshore wind’s established leader, Europe, will continue to show the way forward and build capacity. At the end of 2016, nearly 88 percent of the world’s offshore wind installations were located in European waters. In 2017, Europe saw a record 3…
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Paul Allen’s Crew Finds Another Historic Shipwreck
The USS Helena (CL 50) is the latest in a string of historic shipwrecks discovered by Paul G. Allen’s expedition crew aboard the state-of-the-art research vessel Petrel.The U.S. Navy's storied St. Louis-class light cruiser began her World War II service at Pearl Harbor and took part in three significant battles during the Solomon Islands campaign before being sunk by Japanese torpedoes on July 6, 1943, during the Battle of Kula Gulf.
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The World’s Largest Ocean Garbage Patch is Growing Rapidly
The world’s largest heap of ocean garbage is growing at an alarming rate. The 600,000-square-mile collection of ocean plastic and trash floating halfway between California and Hawaii known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch now contains four to 16 times more plastic than previously estimated, with pollution levels increasing exponentially, new analysis reveals. It’s estimated some 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic weighing 80…
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Sea Machines Opens Office in Hamburg
Boston-based developer of autonomous vessel technology Sea Machines Robotics announced it will open an office in Hamburg, Germany in a move aimed at better access to European-based customers, innovators and investors. The company said its second office will provide convenient access to several key locations and will support growing demand for engineering, sales and marketing across Europe. Sea Machines…
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Ocean Infinity Buys Its 9th HUGIN AUV
Ocean Infinity, the U.S. company currently searching for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, said it has grown its fleet of 6,000 meter rated Kongsberg HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV). The latest purchased HUGIN vehicle, Ocean Infinity’s ninth, will be specifically configured to conduct under-ice surveys and features Kongsberg’s Highly Integrated Synthetic Aperture Sonar (HISAS). Other…
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US Navy to Survey Downed Aircraft in the Philippine Sea
The U.S. Navy said it has contracted a research vessel owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen to survey the location of a downed C-2A Greyhound plane before attempts are made to recover the aircraft from 18,500 feet below the surface in the Philippine Sea. The C-2A Greyhound was transporting 11 crew and passengers when it crashed into the ocean on November 22, 2017, killing three. On December 29…
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Polarcus Awarded 4D Project in Asia Pacific
Marine geophysical company Polarcus Limited said it has received a letter of award for a 4D marine seismic acquisition project in the Asia Pacific region. The project is due to commence in the first quarter of 2018 and will run for approximately one month. A Polarcus spokesperson said the company could not share further information around the project. Following this award the Polarcus’ active fleet is 100 percent booked for the first quarter.
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Expedition to Capture First 4K Images of the Titanic
A manned submersible set to survey the RMS Titanic wreck site this summer will be equipped with a range of high-tech underwater imaging equipment that will capture the first ever 4K images of the historic shipwreck. Starting in June 2018, manned submersible services provider OceanGate Inc. will lead a group of scientists, content experts and mission specialists to explore and survey the wreck site in a series of week-long missions from St. John’s, Newfoundland.
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Bibby Offshore Recapitalization Completed
Subsea services provider Bibby Offshore Holdings Limited said it has completed the recapitalization of its balance sheet announced on December 5, 2017. The agreement to recapitalize the balance sheet was approved January 10 by 98.7 percent of noteholders of the £175 million (approximately $243 million) 7.5 percent senior secured notes, and makes noteholders the new owners of the group. “The completion…
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Researchers to Laser Scan Titanic Wreckage
A research team armed with the latest in state-of-the-art underwater technology will set out this summer to capture laser data of the RMS Titanic wreckage. The six-week expedition will depart from St. John’s, Newfoundland in June, sending scientists, content experts and mission specialists to explore the historic wreck site aboard OceanGate's manned submersible Cyclops 2, the first to survey the Titanic since 2005.
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Real-time Sonar Fit onto US Navy Minehunting AUV
A real-time synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) system has been integrated and tested on board a U.S. Navy autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that will perform minehunting duties for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Rhode Island. The AUV, a fully modular REMUS 600 manufactured by Kongsberg Maritime subsidiary Hydroid, was designed through funding from the Office of Naval Research to support Naval operations requiring extended endurance…
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Downed US Navy Aircraft Found in Philippine Sea
A U.S. Navy team has located a C-2A Greyhound aircraft that crashed in the Philippine Sea on November 22. The downed aircraft rests at a depth of about 18,500 feet, making the salvage operation the deepest recovery attempt of an aircraft to date, the Navy said, adding it will make every effort will be made to recover the aircraft and fallen Sailors, despite very challenging conditions. Eight of the 11 crew and passengers on board were recovered immediately following the crash.
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China's Giant Floating Solar Plant Goes Live
China's Three Gorges Group started producing power from a 150-megawatt floating solar plant in east China, the largest of its kind in the world, official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. The solar power project in Huainan in Anhui province, developed by the new energy unit of state-run Three Gorges Group, is expected to be in full operation in May next year, the report said. The one-billion-yuan…
