Haun, Eric
Editor-
New Remotely Operated Hydrographic Survey Boat
Teledyne Oceanscience has introduced a new remotely operated hydrographic survey boat suited for inland waters such as streams, rivers and lakes. The new trimaran style Z-Boat 1250 is “sturdy enough for tough terrain but light enough to be one person portable,” according to Teledyne. The vehicle has a lightweight hull manufactured from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic, and is IP67 rated, which makes it well suited to survey in most water conditions.
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Six AUVs Dive Simultaneously at 5,000+ Meter Depths
A fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) recently launched during a survey mission in the North Atlantic have completed the deepest known commercial dive performed by multiple AUVs simultaneously. The mission, carried out by seafloor monitoring, mapping and exploration firm Ocean Infinity, saw six Kongsberg HUGIN AUVs descend to ocean depths greater than 5,200 meters, reportedly a world’s first for this type of vehicle.
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What's New at BlueTech Week?
BlueTech Week 2017 aims to bring together industry, academia and government in sunny southern California. Now in its ninth year, the annual event has grown to encompass seven events in five days, scheduled for November 6-10, 2017. MTR caught up with Michael Jones, president of The Maritime Alliance (TMA), to discuss ‘what’s new’ at this year’s event. How has BlueTech Week evolved over the years, and in what ways has it stayed the same?
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The Quest to Find and Explore USS Indianapolis
Sunk by Japanese torpedoes near the end of World War II, heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis disappeared to the darkest depths of the Philippine Sea, where it remained undiscovered for more than 70 years. Recently a team of civilian researchers led by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen set out equipped with an arsenal of high-tech search equipment on a mission to locate the historic vessel last seen on July 30, 1945.
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Klein's Side Scan Sonar, Then and Now
The company known today as Klein Marine Systems, Inc. has origins stretching back to the 1960s when Marty Klein, who many consider to be the father of side scan sonar, began building his own devices from his home in Lexington, Mass. As this iconic subsea technology company approaches 50, MTR speaks with Marty Klein as well as Klein Marine System’s general manager, Frank Cobis. When did you realize you were destined for a career in the subsea world? Marty Klein: Wow.
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The AUV That Helped Find USS Indianapolis
A team of civilian researchers led Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen have found the wreck of the World War II heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis (CA 35), lost July 30, 1945. Aiding Allen’s team in the discovery was a 6,000-meter-rated autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), the REMUS 6000, manufactured by Kongsberg Maritime subsidiary Hydroid Inc., which gathered the sonar data that helped locate the USS Indianapolis…
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Telegraph Recovered from Lusitania Wreckage
More than 100 years after the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, divers have recovered yet another artifact from the wreckage of the historic ocean liner. The Lusitania was sailing from New York to Liverpool on May 7, 1915 when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the Head of Kinsale. A second explosion then led to the vessel’s sinking and the loss of 1,198 lives, marking a key moment in World War I history.
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Seabed Geosolutions Wins Brazil Survey Work
Fugro said its joint venture with CGG has secured a contract from Petrobras for a 3D ocean bottom node (OBN) survey in the Brazilian Santos Basin. The seven month contract awarded to the survey firms’ joint venture Seabed Geosolutions is valued at around $90 million and is scheduled to commence at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017 or early 2018, Fugro said. According to Seabed Geosolutions CEO…
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New Heavyweight Torpedo Enters Final Development
A new torpedo design being developed under the Artémis program, which aims to equip all French Navy nuclear submarines with new high-performance heavyweight torpedoes, has propelled into its final development phase with the recent completion of a successful round of test firing off the Mediterranean coast. The F21 torpedo is being developed by European naval defense and marine renewable energies technology company DCNS…
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NOAA Hydrographic Survey Spending in Question
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) needs to improve its strategy for analyzing costs and expanding private sector involvement in collecting hydrographic data, says a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). As one of its many duties, NOAA is tasked with collecting hydrographic data. This data, which is used in helping to create critical nautical charts, is either collected using NOAA’s own fleet of four survey vessels…
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Aerial Drone Scans for Pirates off Somalia
A team of antipiracy personnel currently on patrol off Somalia has deployed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to help scan for potential pirate activity in the region. As part of the counter-piracy military operation EU NAVFOR Somalia, also known as Operation Atalanta, the UAV crew from Spain’s 11th Squadron has been conducting air surveillance and reconnaissance patrols off the Somali coast using its ScanEagle drone from the deck of Spanish Navy ship ESPS Galicia.
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ECA Group Introduces New Inspection-Class ROV
ECA Group’s new remotely operated vehicle (ROV) H300-V launched in February 2017 is dedicated to observation and inspection missions in harsh environments. A new release of the ECA Group H300 ROV series, the H300-V is positioned between the H300 MK2 and H800 vehicles to meet the demands associated with operating in harsh environments, the manufacturer said. According to Philippe Roumegue, ECA Group Sales Director – Robotics Department – ROVs…
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There's a New Manned Submersible on the Market
There’s a new manned submersible on the market with potential to perform a diverse range of tasks – from commercial to research to defense. Having completed sea trials and its first commercial dive, the Stingray 500, first in a series of new models from Canadian manned submersibles manufacturer and operator Aquatica Submarines and Subsea Technology Inc., is now poised to make waves in the defense, research and offshore commercial markets.
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adidas is Making Shoes from ‘Up-cycled’ Ocean Plastic
Each year more and more plastic is finding its way into the world’s oceans, collecting in gigantic circling whirlpools at sea, sinking to the seafloor or washing back up onto our shores. This plastic is often ingested by aquatic life and seabirds who mistake these fragments for food, and is even found in supermarket shellfish. Now footwear and apparel brand adidas has teamed up with environmental group…
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AUV Mission in the Great Lakes
A recent first-of-its-kind mission to the Great Lakes included the deployment of a long-range autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to help scientists better understand one of the world’s largest and most complex freshwater environments. The five Great Lakes (Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior) were carved out by glaciers thousands of years ago and today stretch across an expansive 246,000 square kilometers, holding an estimated 20 percent of the world’s freshwater.
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Wave Energy Prize's $1.5 Million Winner Announced
Ninety-two teams competed in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Wave Energy Prize, which began in April 2015 and seeks to spur the development of wave energy converters that will ultimately reduce the cost of wave energy in the U.S. Now, following 18 months of designing, building and testing, a winner has emerged. A duo from Portland, Ore., Alex Hagmuller and Max Ginsburg – together AquaHarmonics – were named the winners of the $1.5 million grand prize for their AquaHarmonicsWEC concept…
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The Next Generation in Subsea Compression Technology
Just one year after the first subsea compression systems went on stream at Statoil’s offshore Åsgard field, industry giants Aker Solutions and MAN Diesel & Turbo now aim to cut the size and weight of such systems by at least 50 percent. Compressors are used to maintain output as reservoir pressure at gas-producing fields drops over time – typically installed on platforms above sea level. The two 11.5…
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DOF Subsea Wins Athena Decommissioning Work
Subsea services provider DOF Subsea said it has been awarded a contract by Ithaca Energy for phase 1 of the decommissioning of the Ithaca operated Athena Field in the U.K. North Sea. Athena is located in U.K. Continental Shelf block 14/18B in the central North Sea (Outer Moray Firth area) at a water depth of 130 meters. DOF’s scope of work includes the removal of the subsea water column infrastructure that has been used on the field…
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New Vessel Aims to Transform the Fishing Industry
Seattle-based company Blue North has christened F/V Blue North, a state-of-the-art vessel designed to transform the fishing industry by improving conditions for workers, reducing environmental impact and harvesting seafood more humanely. Designed with sustainability in mind, the new longliner is geared specifically for the Alaskan cod fishery, built by Dakota Creek Industries, Inc. of Anacortes, Wash. from a design (ST-155L) by Norwegian firm Skipsteknisk AS.
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Blue Robotics Launches New ROV: BlueROV2
Torrance, Calif. The BlueROV2 is a high-performance yet affordable remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that leverages a six-thruster vectored configuration typically only seen in higher-end vehicles, meaning the new ROV is smooth, stable and highly maneuverable, its manufacturer said. Available in a number of configurations, a standard BlueROV2 kit costs approximately $3,000 and provides a platform to attach scientific equipment…
