Tech File: A Robotic Reach in Offshore Wind
With a background in subsea and offshore, coming up with new ideas is the norm’ for UK-based engineering consultancy STL (Submarine Technology Limited), writes Elaine Maslin.The last few years have been no different. The company has been focusing on ship-based robotics, including robotic arms. These aren’t just any robotic arms – they’re motion compensated systems for deploying/recovering people and robots to and from fixed or moving objects. That could be wind technicians to an offshore wind turbine or an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in and out of the water – all
A Robotic Reach in Offshore Wind
With a background in subsea and offshore, coming up with new ideas is the norm for UK-based engineering consultancy STL (Submarine Technology Limited), writes Elaine Maslin.The last few years have been no different. The company has been focusing on ship-based robotics, including robotic arms. These aren’t just any robotic arms – they’re motion-compensated systems for deploying/recovering people and robots to and from fixed or moving objects.That could be wind technicians to an offshore wind turbine or an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in and out of the water – all with a
AUV Extravaganza: Tech Advances in Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
bywords of some of the latest generations of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) hitting the market, but not for all. Some are taking a more industrial mass production approach and/or going for a more fixed payload offering, to bring slimmer, lighter but still highly capable vehicles to the market. Elaine Maslin spoke to some of the manufacturers with their latest vehicles on show at this year’s Oceanology in London.The range of colors – pink, grey, yellow, orange – not to mention shape and size of AUVs on show at this year’s Oceanology reflected more than just their different
Carbon Capture & Storage: A New Lease of Life for Submarine Pipelines?
Since 2019, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) have risen up the political agenda, globally, offering a route to decarbonization, as well as (more recently), increased energy security. Many are eying use of existing pipeline to make both happen. Elaine Maslin takes a look.Hydrogen production and CCS offers a more or less “green” decarbonization options for oil and gas companies, alongside carbon capture and storage (CCS), especially if existing offshore infrastructure could be reused to make it happen. Instead of bringing natural gas onshore from offshore reservoirs, existing
Edward Heerema – Dutch Courage with Single-minded Focus
largest construction vessel, Pioneering Spirit, to the market. The company, which also brought innovation to the pipelay sector, has added its latest trick to Pioneering Spirit – its jacket lift system. But Allseas is also targeting deepsea mining and has its sights on the offshore wind market. Elaine Maslin caught up with Edward Heerema to find out more.The first time I met Edward Heerema was at the company’s offices in Delft, in the Netherlands. As a Brit, I was used to not getting milk with my cup of tea in Dutch offices (or KLM flights). But, as an international company, Allseas was used
Oceanology ’22 Day 3: New Companies, New Ideas
The final day at Oceanology International in London was quieter, but the conversations still continued, including those with a new cohort of companies looking to offer new ways of doing business, as MTR's Elaine Maslin found. The final day of this year’s Oceanology International conference, being held at London’s Excel Centre, was a quieter affair than the past two days, but those who remained were treated to dockside demonstrations in warm sunshine and continued conversations about new ways of doing business on the show floor.A host of new companies were present at this show
Oceanology ’22 Day 2: New Demands Drive Ocean Innovation
Day two at Oceanology International in London had a full crowd and plenty of demonstrations of collaboration, as the industry looks to new horizons, as MTR’s Elaine Maslin found on the show floor. Making new industries fly can demand new ways of working while new technologies can open up whole new classes of vehicle. Demonstrations of both were clearly visible at Oceanology International at London’s Excel Centre.The challenges are big, including building out the huge amounts of offshore wind that will be needed to ensure net zero goals, explained Brent Warner, head of World
Oceanology '22 Day 1: Expect More Data and Disruption in the Ocean Space
Day one at Oceanology International in London was bustling with activity, as MTR's Elaine Maslin found, reporting from the show floor.Data and disruption are coming up as key themes at this year’s Oceanology International conference, in what’s the first time the event has run in three years. The event, being held at London’s Excel Centre, has attracted an international crowd, including a cohort of new entrants, keen to network and share their latest platforms and service offerings.In the dockside demo area, a plethora of uncrewed surface vessel (USVs) are plying the water while
Autonomy: Sun, Sail & Subsea – Not a Holiday, but a Hybrid UxV Platform
Ten years ago, Ocean Aero’s unique hybrid sailboat-submarine was a novel idea being developed in a San Diego garage. Today, the company has a growing fleet of vehicles on the water and a $14 million funding injection to take it the next level. Elaine Maslin reports.Earlier this year, a great illustration of the ongoing adoption of marine autonomous systems was made through the International Maritime Exercise (IMX) 2022, a US-led training event involving 60 partner nations and international organizations. The event, held in the Middle East, was hailed as the largest unmanned exercise in the world
February 2024
