NOAA holds Keel-Laying Ceremony for Charting and Mapping Vessel
A keel-laying ceremony has been held for Navigator, a new charting and mapping vessel being constructed for NOAA. The vessel is being built by Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors, LLC., in Houma, Louisiana.In 2023, NOAA announced the addition of two new charting and mapping vessels to the NOAA fleet. Surveyor is expected to be completed in 2027 and Navigator in 2028. The ships will be used primarily for ocean mapping and nautical charting as part of NOAA’s mission to deliver tools and information to help mariners safely navigate the $2.3 trillion worth of cargo that comes in and out of the nation’
USV Provides Near Real-Time Deep Ocean Current Observations
;In total, three deployments covering more than 30 days, the SP-48, which can sustain 2 to 3kt operations and sprints up to 5kt, covered around 1,500nm. During this time, more than 135 GB of high-resolution ocean currents and related parameter data at up to 800m above the bottom were harvested. Going forward, data gathered during the mission will improve models that forecast currents such as topographic Rossby waves, providing critical insights for science and safety in the region and opening new avenues for future research.
Kraken Books Multi-Million Dollar Sonar and Subsea Battery System Orders
Kraken Robotics has secured about $8.6 million (CAD 12 million) in new orders for its synthetic aperture sonar systems and subsea battery technologies from defense and commercial customers, including Teledyne Marine, Terradepth and two NATO navies.The orders cover Kraken’s synthetic aperture sonar (SAS), KATFISH towed SAS spares and SeaPower subsea batteries, the company said.Teledyne Marine has ordered both SAS systems and SeaPower batteries, which will be integrated on its Gavia and SeaRaptor autonomous underwater vehicles for undisclosed end-users.Kraken’s SAS will also support Terradepth
Hull Cleaning Robotics: Army Beats Navy – the Hegseth Way!
Sticking to legacy tactics won't beat China — adopt Secretary Hegseth's and the Army initiatives or surrender the edge.In a recent address, Admiral Christopher Grady, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, underscored the urgent need for a robotic hull-cleaning system to enable anytime maintenance, reduce drag, boost speed, and minimize fuel consumption for naval vessels. Hearing this, I immediately recognized an opportunity for the U.S. Army to step up and drive maritime innovation forward—at wartime speed. We transformed that vision into reality in record time, successfully
Subsea Supplies Targets US in Partnership with DRIFT Offshore
Subsea Supplies has announced a strategic partnership with DRIFT Offshore to enhance subsea operations for its growing US customer base. This collaboration will provide customers across the region with faster access to Burton subsea connectors and cable assemblies, combined with DRIFT Offshore’s technical expertise from its base in Florida.The partnership represents a joint $250,000 investment in machinery, tooling, stock, and test equipment to support expanded operations. By providing local stock availability and faster response times, it will reduce downtime and enhance supply-chain reliability
Protecting Nature is Not Only About Preserving Beauty
CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero spoke on November 23 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, saying: “Protecting nature is not only about preserving beauty; it is about safeguarding life itself for future generations.” She was recounting an Uzbek conservation principle.The government of Uzbekistan is hosting the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES this week. The conference on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) runs from November 24 to December 5 with 185 parties working to ensure that international trade in wild animals
NUWC Division Newport Hosts Warfighters Panel, ‘Cup O’ Joe’ to Celebrate Veterans
came together at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport on Nov. 13. Spearheaded by Commanding Officer Capt. Kevin Behm and moderated by Deputy Technical Director Steve O’Grady, the command hosted “Passing the Watch: Submarine Generations” to celebrate veterans before an engaged audience in Chafee Auditorium.Staged as a talk show with O’Grady serving as the host, the warfighters panel included Behm, retired Lt. Ronald Renner, retired Cmdr. David Kelly and active-duty Sailor Lt. Andrew Emge. The event featured compelling storytelling, plenty of laughter and
PacWave Inks ‘Historic’ US Wave Power Purchase Deal
PacWave, administered by Oregon State University, has signed a power purchase agreement with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), paving the way for wave-generated electricity to be supplied to the U.S. grid for the first time.The agreement marks a major step for CalWave, which will deploy its xWave technology at the PacWave test site. The company said the project represents its move from research and development into commercial operations after previously exporting power only to a microgrid at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography during a 2021–22 open-ocean deployment.The five-year
New Deep-Sea Coral Found on Nodules Targeted for Mining
. Guadalupe Bribiesca-Contreras from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and Senckenberg scientist Dr. Nadia Santodomingo have discovered a new species of deep-sea coral that lives attached to polymetallic nodules – the same mineral-rich rocks that are the focus of growing international interest for deep-seabed mining.The coral, Deltocyathus zoemetallicus – now described in a new study published in the “Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society” – was found more than 4,000 meters below the surface in the Clarion–Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the Pacific Ocean. This is
August 2025
