
Authorities Reviewing Evidence from Titan Submersible Tragedy
Authorities from the U.S., Canada and France are combing through evidence recovered from the Titan submersible that suffered a catastrophic implosion en route to the wreckage of the Titanic in June.Investigators from the U.S. Coast Guard, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) and the French Marine Casualty Investigation Authority (BEAmer) conducted an onsite evidence review in Newport, R.I., on November 8, as part of their respective parallel safety investigations."This effort underscores the importance of international and interagency coordination

Converted OSV Enters Service in the UK as an Underwater Surveillance Ship
A converted offshore support vessel has taken on a new life as a dedicated underwater surveillance ship for the U.K.'s Royal Navy.Christened during a ceremony in London on October 10, RFA Proteus will be operated by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary as a launchpad for remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) and a home to a suite of specialist capabilities similar to those found in the offshore oil and gas industry.The ship, built in 2017 as a subsea construction vessel named Topaz Tangaroa, was acquired by the U.K. Ministry of Defense in January and converted at Cammell Laird for its new role as a

Titan Submersible Debris and Human Remains Recovered from the Seafloor
The U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday said its engineers recovered remaining debris and presumed human remains from the imploded Titan submersible in the North Atlantic.The evidence recovered from the seafloor by marine safety engineers with the Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) was transferred to shore for analysis as part of ongoing investigations into the fatal incident.In June, the Titan imploded while on a voyage to visit the wreck site of the famed sunken ocean liner Titanic, killing all five people on board. The deep-sea submersible, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, was

Austal USA Awarded US Navy TAGOS-25 Contract
Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA announced it has been awarded a contract potentially worth more than $3 billion for the detail design and construction of new TAGOS-25 class ocean surveillance ships for the U.S. Navy.The $113.9 million fixed-price incentive (firm target) and firm-fixed-price contract includes options for detail design and construction of up to seven T-AGOS 25 class ships which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $3.195 billion.Austal, as the prime contractor for the TAGOS program, has teamed with L3Harris Technologies (L3Harris), who will serve as

PXGEO Names Tony Bowman CEO
Offshore seismic survey firm PXGEO announced it has appointed Tony Bowman as chief executive officer, effective April 3, 2023.Bowman joins PXGEO from an executive career at Schlumberger. During his almost 30-year tenure, he held a number of senior roles across multiple geographical locations, including president, WesternGeco as well as president, Schlumberger Information Solutions.Bowman’s appointment follows the departure of CEO Duncan Eley, who has decided to resign and leave PXGEO. The company's founder Peter Zickerman will serve as interim CEO.PXGEO also announced changes to its board of

Wreck of USRC Bear Found off Nova Scotia
U.S. Coast Guard Ship has finally been solved. U.S. Revenue Cutter (USRC) Bear, lost at sea in 1963, has been found on the seafloor about 90 miles south of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, NOAA Rear Adm. Nancy Hann announced Thursday.Widely considered one of the most historically significant ships in American history, Bear was purchased by the U.S. government and first put into service by the U.S. Navy as part of the rescue fleet for the Greely Expedition to the Arctic in 1884, attaining legendary status for the rescue of the expedition's few survivors. The Bear was transferred from the Treasury

OTC 2021 Postponed
One of the world's largest conferences and exhibitions dedicated to the offshore energy industry will be postponed next year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.The Offshore Technology Conference, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors to Houston annually, will be postponed from May 3-6 to August 16-19, the event's board of directors announced Monday, citing continued challenges and health and safety concerns presented by the pandemic."By postponing OTC to the second half of 2021, we aim to preserve the significant work of the program committee and authors, as well as minimize the

AI- and Solar-powered Autonomous Ship Mayflower Launched
A new Mayflower has been launched in Plymouth, 400 years after its historic namesake set sail from southwest England to America.The new vessel won't be carrying pilgrim settlers across the Atlantic. In fact, it won't hold any crew or passengers at all. The sleek AI- and solar-powered trimaran is autonomy level five, meaning it can operate independently with no human intervention. Next year, it will embark on the famous ocean voyage from Plymouth, England to Plymouth, Mass. completely autonomously, gathering vital environmental data.Two years of design, construction and AI model training has

Salvors Outline Plan to Recover Titanic's Telegraph System
Marine salvors on Wednesday outlined plans to recover the Marconi wireless telegraph from inside the RMS Titanic after being cleared by a U.S. judge in May to retrieve a piece of history from the world's most famous shipwreck.Originally scheduled to embark on the mission to recover the system this summer, the private company with exclusive rights to salvage artifacts from the ship announced it has shifted its expedition to spring/early summer of 2021 to abide by ongoing travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic."The safety of our crew, ports where we conduct business and foremost the