Sealartec Wins USCG Contract Under the Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) Program
Technology previously demonstrated aboard the U.S. Navy's Stiletto test platform will advance to operational evaluation aboard a Legend-class National Security Cutter.Israel-based maritime technology company Sealartec has secured a U.S. Coast Guard contract under the Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) Program to supply its ALR-S autonomous launch and recovery system for installation, testing and operational assessment aboard a Legend-class National Security Cutter (NSC).The award advances the technology from an experimental U.S. Navy platform to a structured evaluation aboard one of the Coast
Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute, MITRE Builds Living Ocean Atlas
Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute (GMGI) is partnering with MITRE in its effort to build a Living Ocean Atlas, one that can show where marine life is now and predict how it will change, a concept GMGI describes as “Google Maps for the ocean.”The two organizations have signed a research agreement to jointly develop The Virtual Living Ocean. It will combine years of environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling by GMGI, a nonprofit based in Gloucester, Massachusetts, that addresses challenges facing oceans, human health, and the environment through innovative scientific research and education, with
Coast Guard Wraps Up Seasonal Great Lakes USV Evaluation
The U.S. Coast Guard is concluding its scheduled 2026 seasonal evaluation of six Saildrone Voyager Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) on the Great Lakes this week ahead of forecasted winter icing conditions. Following the completion of this seasonal evaluation, the Coast Guard intends to conduct an additional test and evaluation period in the spring of 2027 as part of a service-wide effort to evaluate how autonomous technologies enhance Coast Guard missions and assist operators.Deployed between April and November 2026 across the Great Lakes, the six 33-foot, wind- and solar-powered vessels provided
Impossible Metals Tests AI Autonomous Deep Sea Mining Robot
Deep-sea mining firm Impossible Metals said on Monday it has successfully tested an autonomous robot that uses AI to selectively retrieve critical minerals at depths of more than 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) in the Pacific Ocean.Parts of the ocean seabed contain potato-shaped rocks known as polymetallic nodules filled with copper, nickel and other minerals used in electric vehicles and electronics.Many companies in the nascent industry plan to use a vacuum-like device to retrieve those nodules, sparking controversy from environmentalists.Impossible Metals, which is backed by Y Combinator
The Metals Company Hopes for US Seabed Mining Permit Decision Next Month
The Metals Company said on Monday the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is expected to decide by mid-December on its application for a deep-sea exploration license and commercial recovery permit, a key step in its seabed mining plans.Shares of the company were up 13% in morning trading.Here are more details:The Canadian company started the application process last year to secure its exploration license and commercial recovery permit under the US Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources ActThe company is seeking the license and permit to mine deep-sea mi
Maritime Market: Cable Layer Fleet Gains Scale, Scope
Accelerating demand for subsea power and telecoms cable network construction is fuelling major expansion of the world fleet of purpose-designed cable laying, maintenance and repair vessels.Driven by the growth of the offshore renewables sector and its advance into deeper waters, as well as by widening investment in cables connecting electrical grids in different countries, emergent generations of cable ship are distinguished by scale, productivity, and technological intensity. Ongoing geopolitical tensions are also giving a fillip to the development of subsea cable infrastructure, whereby
General Dynamics Mission Systems Awarded $15m MEDUSA Contract Modification
General Dynamics Mission Systems announced it was awarded a $15 million contract modification to exercise options under a previously awarded contract for the Mining Expendable Delivery Unmanned Submarine Asset (MEDUSA).Building on the prototype, software and engineering work advanced under the July contract modification, this follow-on award continues MEDUSA's maturation and expands the program’s support infrastructure.MEDUSA is a submarine-launched delivery system that uses an expendable unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) to deploy diverse payloads with precision. Purpose-built to
SubSea Craft, NSI Demonstrate Autonomous Systems in Maritime Exercise
U.S.-based Naval Systems, Inc. (in partnership with Dragonfish Technical Solutions, LLC) (NSI/DF) and U.K.-based SubSea Craft successfully demonstrated an integrated suite of advanced unmanned maritime systems during a multinational maritime exercise conducted October 5–8 off the coast of California. At the request of the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research & Engineering (OUSW(R&E)) exercise personnel, SubSea Craft and NSI/DF combined their autonomous systems to deliver an integrated demonstration capability, pairing SubSea Craft's MARS Unmanned Surface Vehicle
Modernizing Dredging Procurement: Building on American Capacity and Competition
, and the movement of goods throughout the country.The Dredging Contractors of America (DCA) supports the Corps’ goals of improving project delivery, coordinating schedules, reducing unnecessary costs, and maintaining reliable navigation channels.As the Corps develops its Dredging Evolution for Enterprise Production (DEEP) initiative and proposed Enterprise Dredging Delivery Center (EDDC), decisions about project groupings, competition, and contractor participation will shape the American dredging industrial base for years.DCA has addressed these issues with Corps leadership through meetings
August 2026
