Haun, Eric
Editor-
One for Wasted Sea Stars
A new beer has been brewed with the goal of raising awareness about sea star wasting syndrome, a pandemic killing millions of sea stars along the U.S. Pacific Coast and across the country. Reportedly the largest marine animal disease event in recorded history, sea star wasting syndrome describes a set of symptoms, including lesions and tissue decay on the arms and body of starfish that eventually cause parts of the creature to fall off and can lead to death.
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Subsea 7 Bags Norwegian North Sea Contract
Subsea 7 S.A. announced it has been awarded a pipeline and construction contract worth approximately $300 million from Wintershall Norge AS for the Maria field development. The contract consists of engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of 95 kilometers of rigid flowlines and associated structures to develop the Maria field located in the Norwegian Sea at a water depth of approximately 300 meters.
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Bergen Group Cancels Rig Facilities Sale
The Bergen Group has decided to terminate a sales agreement that would see Semco Maritime acquire its rig service yard facilities at Hanøytangen. The real estate and the rig service activity at Hanøytangen will continue to be under the Bergen Group's ownership. According to Semco Maritime, the transaction, initially announced on April 13, 2015, was subject to final closing no later than April 30, but ran into “unforeseen issues” which caused the Bergen Group to cancel the deal.
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Savannah, Ga. Opposes Offshore Drilling
The city council of Savannah, Georgia on April 30 unanimously approved a resolution opposing offshore seismic testing and oil drilling activities, the Savannah Morning News reported. The city’s opposition comes as the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is trying to open the mid and south Atlantic coastal areas to exploration and development of offshore drilling as part of the Obama Administration’s…
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IADC to Present Well Control Training Program at OTC
The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) will announce a new industry well control training program at Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Houston on Wednesday, May 6. The new WellSharp program represents a collaborative, industry-led effort to completely redefine well control training and assessment. According to IADC, the program emphasizes rigorous training for every person with well control responsibilities, whether office-based or rig-based.
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World's Largest Ship: Pioneering Spirit Awaits Completion
Final construction aboard the world’s largest vessel, Pioneering Spirit (formerly named Pieter Schelte), is wrapping up in the Port of Rotterdam before the vessel can be commissioned off Norway this summer. Built primarily at DSME’s Okpo Shipyard in South Korea, Allseas’ installation/decommissioning and pipelay vessel Pioneering Spirit was inaugurated with a ceremony in Rotterdam in February 2015.
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Hansson Sees Positive Outlook for NAO
Nordic American Offshore Ltd. (NAO) executive chairman, Herbjørn Hansson, has increased his ownership in the company, purchasing an additional 50,000 NAO shares with his son, Alexander, yesterday at about $7.83 per share. In a letter to NAO shareholders, Hansson shared thoughts on the progress the company has made since first being listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in June 2014, entering the Platform Supply Vessel (PSV) market against high…
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North American Rig Counts Continue Decline
The number of U.S. oil and gas rigs declined by 48 last week, according to data released today by Baker Hughes, which shows the number of U.S. rigs is now down to 1,310, a decrease of 461 from a year ago and the lowest since January 2010. Of the U.S. rigs shut down this week, 37 were oil and 11 were gas. Oil rigs are now down to 1,019 and gas rigs down to 289, showing respective decreases from a year ago of 406 and 53.
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Construction Vessel Delivered to Eidesvik Offshore
Eidesvik Offshore has taken delivery of Viking Neptun, an offshore construction vessel from Kleven Verft AS. According to Eidesvik Offshore, TBN Viking Neptun is represents its largest ever investment in the subsea segment. A long-term loan facility of $124 million has been drawn with Nordea and Eksportkreditt Norway/GIEK to finance the vessel. The vessel, equipped with Reach ROVs and manned by Eidesvik marine personnel and Reach ROV personnel and engineers…
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The Road to Standardization
Will subsea documentation guidelines help pave the way for broader industry standardization? Standardization is a buzzword in the subsea sector, but for many it remains a term shrouded by uncertainty. What exactly does the subsea market stand to gain from standardization, and how can it be applied to achieve optimum benefit? But despite the questions, there are several generally accepted notions: standardization can reduce overall costs and project timeframes across the industry…
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Teams Vie for $2m Ocean Health XPRIZE
Down from 77 initial entrants to 18, a diverse group of competitors vie for the Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health XPRIXE’s $2 million cash purse. Nonprofit organization XPRIZE, which creates and manages large-scale, high-profile competitions that aim to stimulate research and development solutions to grand problems across a number of scientific fields, announced in September that 18 team were selected to…
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UNOLS Plans Early Career Workshop
UNOLS announced that it is planning a workshop MLSOC Early Career Program for the Fall AGU Meeting December 13-14, 2014 to introduce early career scientists to various facets of conducting marine seismic research though the use of the National Oceanographic Seismic Facility (NOSF). The workshop will bring together early career scientists, federal agencies representatives, members of the Marcus Langseth Science Oversight Committee…
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Arctic Wreck Found after 169 Years
After more than 169 years, Canadian researchers discovered one of the two ships from the doomed Arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin, cracking one of the largest mysteries in sea exploration. The wreck was found some 11 meters below the surface using a ROV recently acquired by Parks Canada. It is unknown whether the ship is HMS Erebus or HMS Terror, though researches expect to determine its identity within several days.
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MTR100: The Norway Way
Norway has a long and rich seafaring history, and it also sits on one of the world’s richest oil & gas resources in its sector of the North Sea. Earlier this year MTR contributor Eric Haun traversed the country in search of companies worthy inclusion in this year’s MTR100. He found, and presents here, a dozen. Announced at the end of 2012 as a joint venture between subsea systems provider Cameron and oilfield services company Schlumberger (split 60/40…
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Search Continues for Lost 1914 Submarine
Royal Australian Navy Minehunter, HMAS Yarra, has been undertaking an underwater search off Papua New Guinea for HMAS AE1, the Navy’s first submarine. AE1 was lost without a trace on September 14, 1914, with her full crew of three officers and 32 sailors. The Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Tim Barrett AO, CSC RAN, said the search had been ongoing for many years, and Yarra’s crew was up to the task: “The full expertise and training of the crew will be brought to bear in aid of the search.
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EdgeTech and Sonarwiz Training at STR
Subsea Technology & Rentals Ltd. (STR) announced it will hold industry training which includes Chesapeake SonarWiz Software Training from November 10-12, and EdgeTech Sidescan and Sub-Bottom Training from November 12-14 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Chesapeake Technology has offered sonar mapping software to the marine geophysical and geological survey industries for more than 20 years. The three-day…
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SIDUS Solutions Launches SS414 Mini Inspector
SIDUS Solutions, LLC, a specialized manufacturer of surveillance equipment, positioning devices and integrated systems, announced the introduction of their newest miniature camera: The SS414 Mini Inspector, which unites an image rich, high clarity inspection camera with integrated, variable intensity, sealed high-bright LEDs. The camera allows accurate, wide field-of-view inspection and ease of use within confined or limited spaces or when mounted on manipulator arms.
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Teledyne’s 2014 UTS Focus on Shallow Water Surveys
The Teledyne Marine Acoustic Imaging Group, consisting of RESON, BlueView and Odom Hydrographic, will host its Underwater Technology Seminars (UTS) in Hamburg, Boston and Singapore. These events follow 2014’s first UTS seminar which has already taken place in Qiandao Lake, April 15-16 in China with more than 115 delegates participating. At the three-day seminars in Hamburg and Boston the theme is “Hydrography in Harbors and Inland Waters as well as Dredge Guidance and Construction Support”.
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CTI Debuts Contact Rationalizing and Map Corrections Software
Chesapeake Technology Inc. (CTI), a producer of real-time sonar acquisition and GIS based processing software for seafloor mapping, announced two new capabilities that will allow users to better organize sonar contacts and improve sonar mosaic accuracy. New Contact Rationalizing, available on SonarWiz version 05.06.0052, allows a user to combine contacts into a single merged target with an average position.
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Teknologic Buys Ross Laboratories’ Assets
Teknologic Engineering Services Inc. announced that it has completed the asset purchase of Ross Laboratories Inc. on July 25, 2014 and formed a new company called Ross Labs LLC. The new company headquartered in Edmonds, Wash. will continue to manufacture the Ross Hydrographic survey equipment line which is sold in the U.S. and internationally. The new company will operate under the name Ross Labs LLC.
