International Submarine Symposium Looks Ahead to Gathering in Hamburg for 2026
The World Submarine Organization (WSO) and Submersible Operators Group (SOG), in partnership with the MTS Submarine Committee and Det Norske Veritas (DNV), have announced the 23rd International Submarine Symposium, scheduled for September 15–18, 2026 at the International Maritime Museum and DNV Headquarters in Hamburg, Germany.This four-day symposium will bring together industry leaders, submarine operators, researchers, regulators, and innovators from around the world to explore advancements in submarine technology, operational best practices, and safety standards. Participants will gain
O-Ring Seal Design: Face Seals for External Pressure
;s, after a perplexing housing leak at sea, I reversed engineered and found underwater connectors from two companies that would predictably fail prematurely, at 1/3 of their catalog value, due to poor o-ring seal design. Presented with the evidence, the companies resisted change, so I presented at MTS conferences and wrote on “End-user Verification of Quality Control.” In the end, the companies revised their designs and obsoleted the poor ones.Some basics:1. The o-ring seal is a means for creating a barrier to fluid flow. The o-ring seal assembly consists of an o-ring installed
Lander Lab: Selection Criteria for Underwater Cable and Connectors
;TE/SEACON (Google “TE SEACON”)Teledyne Impulse https://www.teledynemarine.com/brands/impulse WeTechnologies https://wetechnologies.com/ AcknowledgementsI learned a lot from Ray Hayworth, General Dynamics Electric Boat Division, who shared his experience broadly, spoke at MTS cable and connector conferences, and published design guidelines for use at Electric Boat. R. Frank Busby’s Manned Submersibles text is still a classic and available as a free download (https://archive.org/details/mannedsubmersibl00busb). Bob Wernli and Bob Christ’s “The ROV Manual:
MTS Member Webinar: Expanding Spotter’s Subsurface Sensing Suite with a Hydrophone and Dissolved Oxygen Sensor
Join the Marine Technology Society (MTS) and MTS member - Sofar Ocean - on November 7th at 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST for a webinar moderated by Sofar Ocean Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Evan Shapiro. Sofar Ocean will introduce two new subsurface integrations for their Spotter platform: a hydrophone and a dissolved oxygen sensor.Evan will be joined by Chris Verlinden of Applied Ocean Sciences (AOS) and Austin Vincent of Precision Measurement Engineering (PME), who will detail how they used the Bristlemouth connectivity standard and its open source protocol to efficiently integrate the new sensors with
MTS, SUT to Honor Marty Klein with Capt. Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration
The Marine Technology Society (MTS) and the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT) announced Martin “Marty” Klein as the distinguished recipient of the 2024 Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration. This prestigious award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding, sustained, and international contributions to the development, application, or propagation of marine and underwater technology toward the advancement of ocean exploration. Martin Klein, a name synonymous with ocean exploration, is a true pioneer in the field of underwater technology. Known as the “father
Inspiring Future Ocean Explorers with Landers
float. The surface float will suspend the camera at that specified depth in the water column, perhaps to observe fish gathering beneath a kelp paddy.The Marine Technology Society-San Diego Section is helping spread the word about the STEM Lander as a tool of education and research. MTS-SD member Beto Campos is taking his son, Gabriel and his STEM Lander out to a local fresh water lake to learn about limnology. They strapped a small underwater flashlight onto their STEM Lander to help their waterproof action camera capture better images in darker deeper water.Figure 8. MacArtney
Marine Technology Society Awarded $3.9 Million for Ocean Enterprise Engagement
The Department of Commerce and NOAA on Monday announced $3.9 million to the Marine Technology Society (MTS) to establish a multi-year framework to engage the Ocean Enterprise as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The Ocean Enterprise includes public, private, non-profit, tribal and academic entities that provide ocean observation, measurement and forecasting data or deliver operational ocean information products and services.“Ocean data and information powers America’s robust marine economy," said U.S Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. "As part of
After Titanic Sub Disaster, Industry Faces Scrutiny
or the European company DNV.Of roughly 10 submersibles that exist in the world and are capable of diving to the depth of the Titanic - nearly 4,000 meters below the surface - only OceanGate's Titan was uncertified, said Will Kohnen, chairman of peer-review group Marine Technology Society's (MTS) committee on manned submersibles.Most tourist submersibles explore coral reefs and other natural phenomenon at 500 meters or less.In 2018, Kohnen authored a letter warning OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush that forgoing third-party certification for the Titan could result in a "catastrophic"
Experts Raised Safety Concerns About Missing Titanic Submersible in 2018
as the American Bureau of Shipping, a leading classifier of submersibles, or the European group DNV, an independent quality assurance and risk management company that sets standards for the design safety of underwater vehicles.Will Kohnen, chairman of peer-review group Marine Technology Society's (MTS) committee on manned submersibles, addressed a letter dated March 27, 2018, to OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush, who is piloting the missing vehicle. In the letter, Kohnen expressed what he said were widespread concerns about the Titan, and Kohnen said he later discussed the letter with Rush
February 2026
