Deepwater Positioning

iSURVEY Scores Lundin Norway Contract

Survey and positioning services provider iSURVEY informs it has been awarded a contract to  perform a drilling hazard survey campaign in the North Sea and in the Barents Sea, on behalf of Lundin Norway.Work commences in June, with a seabed geological survey and continues with the series of drilling hazard surveys, which are planned to continue into the autumn.The Norwegian-headquartered surveyor called the contract one of its most significant to date.

N-Sea Names New Chief Executive

Chief Executive of the Netherlands based subsea inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) services provider.van Poppel succeeds Gerard Keser, who steps down from his current role after eight years with the company to take up a position on the company’s advisory board.With a solid track record in the marine contracting environment, van Poppel has contributed to the growth and transformation of companies such as Fabricom and Boskalis Subsea Cables & Flexibles (formally VBMS), creating market leaders renowned for their innovative solutions and focus upon both customer service and delivery.“My

Magseis Fairfield Lines Up GoM Survey

Norway based marine seismic surveyor Magseis Fairfield announced Wednesday it has received a letter of intent (LoI) for a two-month deepwater data acquisition program in the Gulf of Mexico.The survey is due to commence late in the fourth quarter of 2019, the company said.Magseis Fairfield CEO Per Christian Grytnes said, “The award demonstrates our strong position in the Gulf of Mexico and the high activity level in this market.”

TGS, Schlumberger Partner for Ocean-bottom Node Project

TGS and Schlumberger’s geophysical services product line WesternGeco will work together to develop opportunities to co-invest in additional multiclient ocean-bottom node projects in the deepwater  U.S. Gulf of Mexico under a new collaboration agreement announced Wednesday.This collaboration includes the previously-announced 2,350 square kilometer Amendment Phase 1 project in the Mississippi Canyon and Atwater Valley protraction areas. Supported by industry prefunding, Amendment Phase 1 commenced in early 2019 and data acquisition is expected to complete in the third quarter of 2019.Both TGS

ROVOP Opens Rotterdam Office

Subsea robotics specialist ROVOP announced Tuesday it has opened a new office in Rotterdam to support to mainland Europe based clients and further strengthen the company's position in the market.The newly appointed Business Development Manager in the Rotterdam office, Job Biersteker, has been active in the subsea industry for nearly a decade and has held various positions including remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) technician, project engineer and project manager.Biersteker said the new base is located at the quayside and features on-site system storage and maintenance facilities and will

Partners Set Out to Cut Offshore Emissions

operational complexity with objective measurement, ultimately enabling optimal utilization and more sustainable fleet management.The multi-year project is backed with Innovation Norway’s largest funded offshore vessel, environmental technology project in 2018. It aims to be a gamechanger in how marine operational decisions are supported by providing more accurate, timely and easily consumable information to decision makers; from the vessel’s chief engineer to the chief operation officer based shore-side.“The partnership is focused on building a platform for intelligent efficiency,

i-Tech 7 Hires New Business Development Manager

i-Tech 7, Subsea 7’s life of field business unit, has appointed Craig Roberts as its new regional business development manager for its Asia Pacific & Middle East region.Roberts, who joins from Total Marine Technology (TMT) where he was operations manager, will be based in the company’s Perth office, in Australia. He brings to the role more than 25 years’ experience in the offshore oil and gas industry, specializing in the delivery of remotely executed subsea solutions and tooling across the entire lifecycle of a subsea development.Roberts will work with Simon Hird, i-Tech 7’s

Heerema Wins Hollandse Kust Zuid Alpha Project

Heerema Marine Contractors said it has been awarded the Petrofac contract for TenneT's Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ) Alpha project, one of the largest offshore wind farm zones being developed in the North Sea off the Dutch coast.The award entails the transport and installation of the HKZ Alpha HVAC platform. This platform is a high-voltage substation, an essential component of offshore wind farms that run electricity to the mainland, in this case the Maasvlakte.The 2,800-metric-ton jacket for the HKZ Alpha substation will be installed in the second quarter of 2020 followed by the 3,800-metric-ton

Geoquip Marine Names Laloe as Director

Switzerland-headquartered  geotechnical engineering and offshore drilling company Geoquip Marine has announced the appointment of industry veteran Jean-Luc Laloe to its Board of Directors.Jean-Luc, who has almost 40 years of experience in the offshore oil and gas industry, has joined as an independent non-Executive Director.Jean-Luc originally entered the Offshore Engineering and Construction industry in 1980 and in the course of his career he has worked with Technip, Stolt Offshore, and Acergy /Subsea 7. He has held a wide variety of positions with a broad portfolio of responsibilities, including

OceanGate Hires Scoville

OceanGate Inc, a provider of manned submersible services has hired veteran subsea engineer, Dan Scoville, to join their team as Director of Systems Integration and Marine Operations. Scoville brings with him a diverse background in subsea vehicles, inspection, and engineering as well as a passion for deep sea discovery and exploration.As Director of Systems Integration and Marine Operations Scoville will oversee operational engineering for OceanGate’s fleet of three manned submersibles. Additionally, he will oversee all marine operations and play a critical role in the continued development

STR, Forssea Agree Exclusive Partnership

French subsea firm Forssea Robotics and UK-based Subsea Technology & Rentals (STR) have agreed a global exclusive partnership.The moves follows a partnership formed between the two companies in June last year (2018). As part of the new partnership, STR has invested in Forssea Robotics Visual LOCalisation (V-LOC) Positioning technology, which will be available globally for operations. The V-LOC positioning system is a computer vision-based method able to track and position underwater markers with millimetric accuracy. The V-LOC technology is embedded inside an innovative camera, called the NAV

TGS Acquires Spectrum

Seismic survey company TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company (TGS) said it will acquire rival seismic survey company Spectrum ASA.The transaction is expected to be completed as a statutory merger pursuant to Norwegian corporate law between TGS and Spectrum, with merger consideration to Spectrum shareholders in the form of 0.28x ordinary shares of TGS for each Spectrum share, in addition to a cash consideration of $0.27 multiplied by the Exchange Ratio subject to the transaction closing after the ex-date for the TGS dividend payable in th third quarter of 2019 (expected to be early August 2019).Definitive

Canyon Charters Otto Candies Vessel

Subsea services company Canyon Offshore said it has entered into an agreement with vessel owner Otto Candies for the charter of the Jones Act-compliant inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) vessel Ross Candies.The charter will commence in July 2019 upon completion of a previously scheduled regulatory dry dock. Canyon, the robotics division of Helix Energy Solutions Group, said it expects the vessel to support IMR operations for clients operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.Jeremiah Hebert, Vice President Americas Region of Canyon Offshore, stated “Canyon Offshore is pleased to announce we have

WHOI Names Murray Deputy Director & VP for Research

(WHOI) announced that Dr. Richard W. Murray has accepted the position of the Deputy Director & Vice President for Research of the institution. He will assume the office on September 1, 2019.A geochemist whose research focuses on interpreting chemical records of climate change and volcanism in marine sediments, Murray joins WHOI from Boston University, where he has been since 1992 and is currently a professor of Earth and Environment. Murray was director of the Division of Ocean Sciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 2015-2018. In addition to his regular duties at NSF, he also

Aqueos Charters Otto Candies DSV

Subsea services company Aqueos Corporation said it has entered into a multi-year agreement with vessel owner Otto Candies for the charter of the US-built multi-role DP-2 diving support vessel (DSV) Kelly Ann Candies.The high spec vessel has a built-in 14-man Draeger saturation diving system complete with three-man bell, moon-pool bell launch with cursor, self propelled hyperbaric lifeboat (SPHL), 60-ton crane and berthing for 76 persons. The vessel has a Canyon Offshore work class remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) with an in-built, integrated ROV control room and an ABS classed, IMCA complaint

Olis Robotics Hires Boyer as CCO

Olis Robotics, a Seattle based developer of next-generation remote robotics software, said it has hired Tom Boyer as the Chief Commercial Officer to spearhead new business development across core verticals, including offshore energy.Boyer brings to the role 20 years of experience managing both start-up and large corporate organizations to launch innovative new products and services. He most recently served as a vice president for Kymeta Corporation, and previously held program management and business development lead positions with SAIC, Ravenwing (acquired by Boeing) and BAE Systems. Boyer earned a

Canada's New Observatory Uses 'Seafloor GPS'

A major new seabed observatory that will provide critical information about earthquake and tsunami hazards is to be deployed offshore Vancouver, Canada, using long endurance acoustic sensing technology supplied by Sonardyne International Ltd.The new Northern Cascadia Subduction Zone Observatory (NCSZO) will use a “seafloor GPS” network to monitor long-term movements of the subducting Juan de Fuca plate and overriding North American tectonic plate. Data gathered by the new observatory will play a critical role in informing assessments of earthquake and tsunami risk to the large populations

Pacific Drilling Goes Digital with Oceaneering

An industry-first partnership aims to enable better, more reliable connectivity on board offshore drilling rigs, marking a key step for the implementation of new and expanded digital services.Oceaneering International and Pacific Drilling announced Monday that they have entered into a five-year Digital Services Package agreement to provide Pacific’s customers with better reliability and improved throughput enabling streaming video and real-time data. Better, more reliable onboard connectivity will allow customers to leverage data to make better decisions, faster, the companies say. As a

McDermott Wraps Up Ichthys LNG Campaign

McDermott International announced Monday it has completed the final offshore campaign for the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG Project, located offshore Western Australia.This was the second of two remaining work packages left under McDermott's contract, which was the largest subsea contract ever awarded at the time, the company said. Most of the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) for the subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) contract awarded in January 2012 was completed by the end of 2017.The final offshore campaign involved subsea tiebacks to new drill centers and

Case Study: Cables in Underwater Missions

more than 600 ocean research deployments. It safely holds the weight of 500 kilograms of equipment, including a carousel of 24 12-liter sample bottles. As it is lowered through the water column to depths of 7,000 meters, it endures factors including cold temperatures, bending, tension cycling, corrosion, marine abrasion, compression and even attack by sea-life. It must flex and bend to deal with winching, marine currents, and pressures exceeding 550 bar (55,000 kPa).Each cable provides the physical connection for real-time power and communication connectivity. Designs have to be rigorous, and manufacturing

Tappan Zee Constructors ‘See’ Below the Hudson

With Trimble Marine Construction Systems and Teledyne Marine Imaging, bridge deconstruction projects can now have pinpoint accuracy.The Project @ a GlanceCustomer Profile: Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC is a consortium – including Fluor Enterprises, Inc., American Bridge Company, Granite Construction Northeast, Inc., and Traylor Bros., Inc. – that was hired to design and build the new Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, one of the largest single design-build contracts for a bridge project in the United States. The project was started in January of 2013 and, after a phased opening that

Teledyne Introduces New ADCP

Building upon the 20-year success of its Long Ranger Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), Teledyne RD Instruments (TRDI) announces the launch of its next-generation long-range ADCP, the Pinnacle 45.Rated to a depth of 2,000 meters, the 45 kiloHertz phased array Pinnacle ADCP delivers a 1,000-meter current profiling range with a decreased size and weight, a game-changing field-swappable system configuration for real-time or self-contained applications, independent or interlaced long-range and high-resolution modes, as well as many other innovative new features and product enhancements.The Pinnacle

Support Vessel Delivered to Oceaneering

Oceaneering International announced Monday that it has taken delivery of a newbuild subsea construction support vessel, Ocean Evolution, built by BAE Systems in the US.The US-flagged, Jones Act-compliant multi-service vessel (MSV) has completed sea trials and received all necessary ABS and U.S. Coast Guard certifications and is currently in Port Fourchon, La., completing final outfitting and preparing for project work scheduled to begin in June.Oceaneering said the vessel is designed to serve deepwater stimulation and intervention needs with its well stimulation and well intervention design, ABS Well

Flying new Routes Subsea

infrastructure used for work on the turbines that we can tap into.”Images: Modus Seabed InterventionLast year, Modus deployed a HAUV offshore NW Australia to perform circa 240km of pipeline integrity survey, producing stunning images, as well as point cloud data, of both the pipeline and passing marine life (see inset with detail of the shark’s teeth, taken at 2knts) using a Cathx Scout laser profiling and HD imaging spread alongside a multibeam echosounder (MBES).The survey time was half of what it would have taken using a traditional ROV to perform the survey and it could have been faster

Ocean Infinity Names Paul Helmore as CCO

American seabed exploration company Ocean Infinity has announced the appointment of Paul Helmore as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).Paul has spent his career to date in business development roles, and brings a track record of managing complex commercial situations and driving international growth.  He joins Ocean Infinity from Schlumberger, where most recently he was Director Global Accounts, responsible for overseeing relationships with many of the company’s fastest growing, technology led, customers, said the seabed survey and ocean exploration company.During his career at Schlumberger

Two Join Deep Down Board

Houston based deepwater oil and gas production and distribution equipment and services company Deep Down announced on Tuesday that it has appointed to experienced small cap investors to its board of directors.David J. Douglas and Neal I. Goldman fill two recent vacancies on the board, expanding from two to three the number of independent directors on Deep Down's four person board.Douglas is the Principal of Jamaka Capital Management, Deep Down's largest institutional investor, with ownership of approximately 11% of total shares outstanding.Goldman is the President and Founder of Goldman

New Subsea Wireless IP Camera Technology

Next generation subsea technology deployed for the first time in the North Sea has helped to improve safety and reduce costcfor an offshore oil and gas project, said Scotland based WFS Technologies.The firms's new cutting-edge computing and subsea wireless IP camera technology deployed on a pipeline construction project enhanced diver safety and generated significant cost savings by avoiding the need for additional subsea vessels, it said.The work was undertaken for a new subsea pipeline which was recently installed and was necessary to bypass a platform being decommissioned. As part of the final

Phoenix Promotes Regh

Phoenix International Holdings has announced the promotion of Jon Regh to Area Manager of its Houston, TX location. In his new role, Regh will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day revenue producing activities of the office, as well as providing direct oversight of the sales and marketing program; with the goal of maximizing utilization of company assets, increasing market share, and expanding into new markets.Prior to joining Phoenix, Regh’s 38+ year career began as a surface/saturation diver and steadily progressed through the ranks from Project Superintendent to Offshore Constructio

Acteon Acquires Benthic

Subsea services group Acteon announced Thursday it has agreed to acquire offshore marine geotechnical and geophysical survey company Benthic. The transaction is expected to complete in May 2019.Houston headquartered Benthic adds deepwater and ultra-deepwater surveying capabilities to Acteon through its proprietary portable remotely operated drill (PROD) technology. Benthic’s latest generation PROD system can conduct in-situ penetration testing and collect samples and cores in extremely challenging conditions, including seabed slopes greater than 20° and water depths exceeding 3,000 meters.

Sonardyne’s SPRINT-Nav 700 selected for new under-ice AUV

of the ice. A2KUI will also be equipped for acoustic tracking using Sonardyne’s Ranger 2 Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) system, which is fitted to the UK research vessels RRS James Cook, RRS Discovery and the new polar research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough.”Dr Alex Phillips, Head of Marine Autonomous Systems Development, at the NOC, says, “The development of Autosub2KUI by the NOC builds on the successes of previous generations of Autosub, including Autosub3, which has previously penetrated up to 60km under the ice from the ice-edge. Autosub2KUI will provide the UK science community

OceanGate Names Shuman COO

Manned submersible services provider OceanGate said it has named Robert Shuman as Chief Operating Officer effective immediately.As COO, Shuman is responsible for ensuring operational excellence and positioning the company for future growth. He is tasked with overseeing strategic prioritization, resource alignment, and accountability across the company.Shuman brings with him over 15 years of senior level management in business development, project management and operations. His previous experience has been in satellite communications, cloud-based products, smart antennas, online education, and VoIP

Unique Group Debuts New Survey USV

Unique Group, a provider of  services and solutions for the offshore, subsea and life support industries, has designed and developed its first Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) called Uni-Cat.With proven hydrographic survey capabilities, the Uni-Cat can be used effectively for bathymetry survey offshore and in shallow waters, claimed a press release from the integrated subsea and offshore solution provider."It is ideal to be used in locations where conventional survey methods are not feasible," the release said.The Uni-Cat USV is purpose built with a long-lasting battery and the endurance

EvoLogics Presents 'Tiny' Modems

EvoLogics has introduced the latest addition to its range of underwater acoustic modems, the new generation S2C T modems, at Ocean Business 2019 in Southampton, UK.Dubbed “tiny”, this light and ultra-compact design represents a size reduction of almost 20% compared to EvoLogics M-series mini-modems at only 25 cm standard height and 1200 g weight, the manufacturer said.The S2C T series form factor will be available for EvoLogics’ high frequency models, catering to modern size- and weight-sensitive applications with four frequency range/directivity options.The new model features a

Advanced Tech Helps Guide Pioneering Spirit

Marine pilots relied on the latest inertial measurement technology to help guide the world’s largest construction vessel during a recent call at Maasvlakte in the port of Rotterdam.Measuring 372 by 124 meters, Allseas' Pioneering Spirit is the largest construction vessel in the world, designed for the single-lift installation and removal of large oil and gas platforms and the installation of record-weight pipelines.With large vessels such as this, final entrance and docking maneuvers in the close confines of port are typically controlled by a pilot. When Pioneering Spirit made its way into

OPT, Acteon Exploring Joint Opportunites

US based ocean energy solutions company Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) and UK based subsea services and solutions company Acteon Field Life Service, an Acteon Group subsidiary, have entered into a nonexclusive memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop, explore and exploit mutual opportunities in the global oil and gas and renewables markets, the companies announced on Thursday.“We see a strong potential in this collaboration, where OPT’s PowerBuoy products and services and Acteon’s integrated subsea services and solutions, coupled with its global network of facilities, personnel

Kongsberg to Equip Belgian Research Vessel

Kongsberg Maritime will deliver an integrated suite of subsea technology to a new Belgian research vessel. Already under construction at Freire Shipyard in Vigo, Spain, the advanced new replacement for the Belgian research vessel RV Belgica is due to be handed over to the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) in October 2020.Launched in 1984, RV Belgica carried out many years of service, however, emerging mechanical issues in 2013 catalyzed plans to build her replacement. Kongsberg Maritime’s delivery for the new vessel is based on a substantial integrated subsea package, comprising

Mainstay to Build Wave Energy Device

Welsh workboat builders and marine engineers Mainstay Marine Solutions said it has won a contract to build and assemble the main structure for an Australian wave energy developer’s demonstration device.Measuring 75m long, 17.5m wide and 5m high, Bombora’s 1.5MW mWave wave energy converting device harnesses the potential of marine energy in the form of pressure on the seafloor. mWave features a series of membranes which rests beneath the ocean’s surface on the seafloor, and as waves pass over the device, air inside the membranes is pushed into a duct and through a turbine to generate

Seabed Geosolutions Wins GoM Survey

Marine seismic surveyor Seabed Geosolutions announced Wednesday it has been awarded a 3D ocean bottom node (OBN) survey in an ultra-deepwater area of the Gulf of Mexico by an unnamed major energy company.Covering 270 square kilometers and in water depths up to 2,100 meters, the survey will commence in the third quarter of 2019 and take approximately four months to complete, said Seabed Geosolutions, a joint venture between Fugro and CGG.It will be executed with ocean bottom nodes deployed by remotely operated vehicles and simultaneous source acquisition, with an imaging target that lies beneath a

Researchers to Monitor Disruptive US Gulf Current

A major $2 million scientific study led by the University of Rhode Island (URI)’s Graduate School of Oceanography will monitor disruptive ocean currents in the US Gulf of Mexico, with a long term goal to improve forecasts for safer offshore operations in the region.The Loop Current System (LCS) is the dominant ocean circulation feature in the Gulf of Mexico, influencing all ocean processes in the Gulf with implications for a wide range of human and natural activities, from oil exploration to coastal eco-systems. To date, knowledge of its underlying dynamics is limited.URI’s initial study

Autonomy Advances: New Vessel Range

with Mini-Ranger 2, will be able to operate as a gateway for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) operations, enabling tracking and communications with up to 10 AUVs at the same time.“Combining these capabilities means customers have access to vessels that can perform more remote and autonomous marine operations; including tracking multiple AUVs and real-time data harvesting in hard to access environments across defense, offshore and ocean science sectors,” said Ioseba Tena, Global Business Manager – Marine Robotic Systems, Sonardyne

DMO Orders Damen Expeditionary Survey Boat

Damen Shipyards Den Helder (DSDH) and the Netherlands’ Defense Material Organization (DMO) procurement agency have signed a contract for the design, build and delivery of a prototype Expeditionary Survey Boat (ESB).The craft will be optimized for rapid environmental assessments and hydrographic surveys in harbors, river mouths, shallow waters, coastal areas and shipping channels.The craft will be manned by four persons; two to crew the boat and two technicians to operate the hydrographic equipment, and will be able to spend up over 60 hours continuously at sea at her survey speed of 5 knots.

iXblue Expanding in Australia

Navigation, positioning and imaging firm iXblue said it is expanding its local capabilities in Australia. In 2019, it will focus on developing the company’s local expertise in Inertial Navigation Systems for both defense and civil markets.“We have been present in Australia for over 10 years with a dedicated Brisbane-based team of highly qualified engineers, hydrographers, geophysicists, program managers and equipment sales staff,” said Fabien Napolitano, CEO of iXblue. “Australia being a key market for iXblue, it was only natural for us to expand our capabilities in the region.

MacArtney Equips North Sea Cable Layer

the ASN Ile de Class cable laying vessel will facilitate the laying of seismic cables on the seabed of the Johan Castberg oilfield in the Barents Sea for Equinor’s new permanent reservoir monitoring system.MacArtney’s MERMAC R40 active heave compensated (AHC) winch purchased by Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), part of the Nokia Corporation, will be utilized aboard the vessel in the laying of seismic cabling and sensors that will be permanently deployed on the Barents’ seabed to enable more frequent and improved 4D seismic interpretation of the subsurface.The AHC works to reduce the

First 'DP Digital Survey' Completed

Kongsberg Maritime, Bureau Veritas (BV) and Bourbon verify a new application that enables remote surveying of Dynamic Positioning systems on boardKongsberg, BV and Bourbon announced a first in the maritime industry: the successful testing of a new solution for DP (Dynamic Positioning) system performance and redundancy audits.The ‘DP Digital Survey’ application runs on an industrial data management system to help ensure data consistency for the verification of installed systems. It acquires information directly from the DP system and delivers it to auditors via a secure cloud infrastructure

NKT Names Kara CEO

Cable systems manufacturer NKT said its board of directors has appointed Alexander Kara as President and CEO. He will join NKT August 1, 2019.Kara joins NKT from ABB where was most recently Senior Vice President, HUB Business Unit Manager CSE, High Voltage Products with responsibility for all ABB high-voltage product plants and markets in Central and Southern Europe. Prior to that, he has held several key positions at ABB from 1987. From 2012 to 2014, he was head of ABB’s global power cables business in Karlskrona, Sweden, now owned by NKT.When Kara joins NKT, he and CFO Roland M. Andersen will

Meredith Joins BIRNS Sales Team

Marine lighting and connector systems manufacturer BIRNS, Inc. announced that Bruce Meredith has joined its sales team as Technical Sales Manager, responsible for leading the company’s sales team, overseeing its global distributor and dealer networks and managing accounts for advanced deep submergence connectors and cable assemblies and high performance marine and nuclear lighting systems sales.Meredith brings decades of sales and marketing experience to his new role. Prior to his position at BIRNS, he served in a range of sales management leadership roles, including Western Regional Vice

Aker Solutions Buys Stake in Airborne

Airborne Oil & Gas announced Friday that Aker Solutions has joined its shareholder base to further strengthen, integrate and diversify its range of thermoplastic composite pipe (TCP) solutions for the international subsea sector.The global engineering company joins other shareholders Chevron Technology Ventures, Evonik Venture Capital, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, Shell Ventures, Subsea 7, Sumitomo Corporation and the private equity investor, HPE Growth Capital.Oliver Kassam, Airborne Oil & Gas CEO said,  “We have a very strong portfolio of organizations invested in the business

Magseis Fairfield Wins Gulf of Mexico Work

Oslo based offshore seismic services provider Magseis Fairfield said on Friday that it has received a contingent letter of award (LOA) for a three months data acquisition program for an unnamed client in the Gulf of Mexico.The survey is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2019, it said.Magseis Fairfield CEO, Per Christian Grytnes, siad, “The program in the Gulf of Mexico further strengthens our order backlog for 2019 and reflects the increasing interest in ocean bottom seismic nodal surveys.“The awarded program would be our fifth acquisition program in the Gulf of Mexico in 2019 and

DGA Taps iXblue for AUV Positioning & Monitoring

The French General Directorate of Armament for Technical Naval Applications (DGA Technique Navales – DGA/TN, formerly GESMA), an entity specialized in experimentation in the area of mine warfare, has selected iXblue's Gaps acoustic positioning system for its autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) positioning and monitoring applications."The choice of Gaps by the DGA/TN, which is the reference in France in the area of mine warfare, is a clear mark of the confidence placed in our underwater positioning technology," said Hubert Pelletier, Head of the Acoustics Division of iXblue. "Thi

Real-time ECDIS Updates via FleetBroadband

A contract signed in London at the end of last month by Inmarsat and SRH Marine SAIT formalizes arrangements for real-time Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) updating to be accomplished ‘ship-to-shore’ using an application over FleetBroadband for the first time.The SRH Delta platform, which includes chart updates, publications and notices of mariners, will be available for L-band transmission to any FleetBroadband user equipped with the new, dedicated bandwidth Application Access Point Name (APN) developed by Inmarsat.“The SRH platform is the first application by

COVE Welcomes Aboard IBM Canada

COVE announced that IBM Canada has joined the ocean business park as a tenant, one of 50 currently in residence.“We are very pleased to welcome IBM Canada to COVE,” says Jim Hanlon, CEO at COVE. “IBM has proven its commitment to the growing field of ocean data analytics and we feel this new tenancy at COVE further helps support COVE’s position as a significant hub for ocean technology, not just in Nova Scotia, but globally.”IBM is one of Canada’s top 10 private R&D investors and last year contributed more than $478 million to Canadian research activities. In

IBM Canada Joins COVE

COVE has announced that IBM Canada has joined the ocean business park as a tenant, one of 50 currently in residence.IBM is one of Canada’s top 10 private research and development investors and last year contributed more than $478 million to Canadian research activities. In September 2018, it was revealed that IBM, along with COVE, Dalhousie University, the Ocean Frontier Institute, the Government of Canada, local industry and the Province of Nova Scotia, were collaborating on the rollout of DeepSense – a world class big ocean data innovation environment.“IBM is committed to supporting

Subsea 7 Wins Three Woodside Contracts

Australia's Woodside Petroleum in recent months has awarded several oil and gas engineering contracts to Subsea 7 for two projects offshore Australia and one off Senegal, the offshore services company said on Wednesday.The three contracts awarded since December 2018 are for engineering studies related to the SNE Field Development-Phase 1 offshore Senegal, as well as the Scarborough Project and Julimar Development Phase 2, both offshore Australia. The contracts include options for Woodside to proceed to the execute phase with engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contracts.

Scripps Adds New Research Vessel

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego has added to its fleet a fourth research vessel, which was constructed by Armstrong Marine. The research vessel Bob and Betty Beyster is expected to launch in mid-April for use in San Diego.Armstrong Marine of Port Angeles, Washington, designed the 42-foot aluminum hulled boat. Pacific Power Group, working closely with Armstrong, fit the vessel with a Volvo Penta IPS 650 propulsion system. This is the first time PPG has mated the IPS configuration with an aluminum hulled boat.“We took a lot of time with the Scripps

Leak Detection Sonar Deployed in the US Gulf

A sonar monitoring system will help a major US oil company to reinforce its deepwater offshore asset integrity assurance in the US Gulf of Mexico.The system, a wide-area Sentry Integrity Monitoring Sonar (IMS) developed and delivered by subsea engineering specialist Sonardyne International, has been deployed on the seafloor at more than 2,000 meters water depth. The ROV-deployable Sentry IMS,  which features a titanium housing and can be installed short-term or permanently, is able to detect, classify and localize subsea releases of hydrocarbons from either the seafloor or oil and gas field

R/V Bob and Betty Beyster: New CAT For Scripps

The Research Vessel Bob and Betty Beyster is a purpose-built coastal research vessel designed for efficient operations offshore Southern California and throughout the Channel Islands.  Based at the Scripps Nimitz Marine Facility and operated as a shared-use facility, Bob and Betty Beyster provides scientists, students and engineers a capable, safe and economical platform for research and teaching.R/V Bob and Betty Beyster is a 42-foot scientific workboat with a range of 500 nautical miles, a cruising speed better than 25 knots, and a capacity for six scientists and a boat operator. The vessel has

PLAT-I Operational in Nova Scotia

An innovative tidal energy platform has generated first power from the tidal currents of Grand Passage in Digby County, Nova Scotia.Following a period of commissioning and testing environmental monitoring equipment, Sustainable Marine Energy has satisfied the requirements set out by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans to commence operation of tidal turbines on the PLAT-I platform. Originally developed and tested in Scotland with support provided by Scottish Enterprise, it was relocated to Nova Scotia and installed at Grand Passage in September 2018.On Saturday, February 23, the system

Subsea 7 Profit Beats Forecast

Subsea 7 posted higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profits on Thursday and announced a special dividend payment as well as an extension of its share buybacks.The Oslo-listed offshore services provider's adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization fell 7.4 percent year-on-year to $163 million, while analysts in a Reuters poll on average predicted a $146 million profit."A new two-year $200 million share repurchase program has been announced, enabled by our strong financial and liquidity position and improving market outlook," Subsea 7 said in a statement.Pending

Kongsberg on board South African Navy Survey Vessels

Maritime will deliver a turnkey survey package for diverse environments to the new ship, including: EM 304 Deep Water Multibeam Echo Sounder, EM 2040 Shallow Water Multibeam Echo Sounder, TOPAS PS 40 Parametric Sub-Bottom Profiler, EA640 Single Beam Echo Sounder, K-Sync Synchronization System, MDM 500 Marine Data Management System and Seapath 380-R3 Combined GNSS and Inertial Navigation System.Ensuring safe and efficient navigation and maneuvering, as well as effective survey operations, the vessel will feature the K-Bridge Integrated Navigation System and K-Pos Dynamic Positioning.Three Survey Motor

WAM-V 8 Unveiled

Marine Advanced Robotics, Inc. (MAR) has launched a new autonomous surface vessel (ASV), the 8’ Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel (WAM-V), offering new capabilities.MAR is scheduled to deliver the next generation MARV II (Multifunctional Assessment Reconnaissance Vessel) to the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (ERDC-CHL) for Pier Reconnaissance under the PIER JCTD, sponsored by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Emerging Capability and Prototyping.The system will be comprised of an 8’ WAM-V autonomous surface vessel (ASV), as well