Coral Reefs Suffer Fourth Global Bleaching Event
Along coastlines from Australia to Kenya to Mexico, many of the world's colorful coral reefs have turned a ghostly white in what scientists said on Monday amounted to the fourth global bleaching event in the last three decades.At least 54 countries and territories have experienced mass bleaching among their reefs since February 2023 as climate change warms the ocean's surface waters, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch, the world's top coral reef monitoring body.Bleaching is triggered by water temperature anomalies that cause
Saildrone and Thales Australia Advance Autonomous Undersea Surveillance
Thales Australia’s BlueSentry thin-line towed array will be integrated with Saildrone Surveyor-class USVs for autonomous anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions in the open ocean.The Saildrone Surveyor is the largest in the Saildrone range of USVs and is capable of extreme, long-endurance missions in the open ocean. Equipped with the newest evolution of Thales’s BlueSentry towed array, the Surveyor will conduct autonomous underwater intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for ASW applications.At 20 meters long (65 feet) and weighing 15 tons, the Surveyor classifies as a medium USV
Ocean Floor a Reservoir for Plastic Pollution
New research from CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, and the University of Toronto in Canada, estimates up to 11 million tonnes of plastic pollution is sitting on the ocean floor.Every minute, a garbage truck’s worth of plastic enters the ocean. With plastic use expected to double by 2040, understanding how and where it travels is crucial to protecting marine ecosystems and wildlife.Dr Denise Hardesty, Senior Research Scientist with CSIRO, said this is the first estimate of how much plastic waste ends up on the ocean floor, where it accumulates before being broken down into
Vestdavit Hits New Sales Record as Orders Increase 76% From Last Year
for Vestdavit, currently accounting for about 50% of sales, and the company has secured further orders to consolidate its leading position, which is predicated on a 40-year track record of supplying innovative davit systems with proven reliability for navies around the world, including the US, UK and Australia.While the U.S. is the company’s biggest naval market, its davits are in use by the vast majority of navies within the Nato alliance and it also secured its first naval orders in Canada and Colombia last year, according to Isaksen.One of the sales highlights for the company last year was securing
Woodside Hires Subsea 7 for Trion Subsea Installation Services Offshore Mexico
Australia's top oil and gas company Woodside Energy has awarded a contract to Subsea 7 for subsea installation services for the Trion development offshore Mexico.Subsea 7 described the contract as large, which means its value ranges between $300 million and $500 million.The scope of contract for Subsea 7 includes engineering, construction, and installation of the subsea umbilicals, risers, and flowlines, as well as the associated subsea architecture.The project, which Woodside and Pemex are developing in partnership, involves a wet tree subsea system connected to an infield floating production
Decom Engineering Enters Australia with Triple Contract Win
Northern Ireland-based Decom Engineering has secured three decommissioning contracts worth over $635,000, marking its entry to the Australian decommissioning sector and strengthening its position in the Asia Pacific region.The decommissioning specialist was commissioned to supply and operate its chopsaw cutting technologies on behalf of a major operator in Victoria's Bass Strait as well as contract awards from two other clients for scopes in Australian waters.Decom performed three cuts on a 20'' concrete weight coated carbon steel rigid pipeline and 25 cuts on a 13" in-filled flexible
Malaysia Says MH370 Search Must Go On
."The Malaysian government is committed to the search (for MH370) and the search must go on," Loke said at a remembrance event on Sunday.Malaysia engaged Ocean Infinity in 2018 to search the southern Indian Ocean, offering to pay up to $70 million if it found the plane.Malaysia, China and Australia earlier had ended a fruitless two-year, A$200 million ($130.46 million) underwater hunt in January 2017.Loke said Malaysia would talk to Australia about cooperation in resuming the search once Ocean Infinity's proposal is approved by Malaysia's cabinet.V.P.R. Nathan, whose wife Anne Daisy
CSIRO Researchers Maps SS Nemesis Wreck Site
until marine survey company, Subsea Professional Marine Services, discovered and reported the uncharted wreck to Heritage NSW in May 2022.Subsea located the wreck during an underwater survey off Wollongong, NSW, and undertook an initial inspection of the site using a remotely operated vehicle.CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, was petitioned by Heritage NSW to investigate the wreck to gather further data to aid in its identification.RV Investigator was able to conduct a detailed seafloor mapping and camera investigation of the wreck while on a transit voyage from Hobart to Sydney
The APAC Offshore Market: Riding the Wave of Success into 2024 and Beyond
improved and the increasing pace of FID announcements indicates confidence in the market upcycle, with exploration sentiments also rising alongside the uptick in drilling activities. For the APAC region, Rystad Energy expects E&P vessel spending to grow by 17% this year, towards $2.2 billion. In Australia, this figure is set to surge by 62% to $184 million. This wider trend is in alignment with the strategy plans announced by the various NOCs in the region, as new projects offer strong economic fundamentals. Petronas and ONGC have declared their continued focus on domestic exploration, while PTTEP
February 2024
