M2 Subsea Wins Premier Oil Contract
Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) services provider M2 Subsea has said it has secured a contract to provide inspection services for Premier Oil’s Balmoral Floating Production Vessel (FPV).M2 Subsea, which has bases in Aberdeen and Houston, will carry out the 2018 inspection of the vessel’s hull, flowlines, umbilicals, risers and subsea template.The Balmoral is a purpose built semi-submersible FPV which is situated in the Balmoral field, block 16/21a and 16/21b of the central North Sea. The work scope will be carried out by M2 Subsea’s Mohican ROV at a depth of 140m. The Mohican
Ocean Gliders: The New Storm Chasers
Unmanned ocean gliders go deep to help improve hurricane forecastsA fleet of 15 autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV), or gliders, will be deployed to collect important ocean data in the Caribbean Sea and tropical Atlantic Ocean that could prove useful to forecasters this hurricane season.NOAA, the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System and university partners will begin deploying the torpedo-shaped, remotely-operated, battery-powered gliders from vessels off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in mid-July. Ten of the gliders will come from the U.S. Navy, and the others from NOAA.The gliders will
US Navy Testing New Anti-submarine Technology
LCS Anti-Submarine Warfare Mission Package Completes Two Testing MilestonesProgram Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) announced the successful completion of two Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Mission Package testing milestones, July 16.The first was a 10-day Dockside-1 test event on the Dual-mode ARray Transmitter (DART) Mission System Towed Body and associated launch-and-recovery assembly components in Fort Pierce, Fla. The second was a full-power, in-water test of the active array at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Seneca Lake Detachment's test facility in Dresden, N.Y.
N-Sea Hires van Peet as Survey Lead
U.K.- and Netherlands-based subsea provider N-Sea has appointed Hans van Peet as the company’s survey authority.Hans van Peet, who joins the organization from Heerema Marine Contractors, brings more than 30 years of specialist experience in survey, positioning and ROV intervention to the role. He previously led subsea services for a variety of leading offshore companies, including the technical management of major frame agreements for ROV and survey and positioning services.Based in the Netherlands, van Peet will be responsible for overseeing all survey activities within N-Sea, as well as
Symbiotic Autonomy for Deep Water Survey
Marine technology partners have developed a new long endurance, multi-vehicle, autonomous survey solution.ASV Global (ASV), in partnership with Sonardyne International Ltd., the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and SeeByte, have delivered a long endurance, multi-vehicle, autonomous survey solution after a two-week trial in Scotland’s Loch Ness. The tests were the culmination of the three-year ‘Autonomous Surface and Sub-surface Survey System’ collaborative project, part-funded by Innovate UK and Dstl, which set out to produce an integrated system to perform low cost, full water
Closed Bell Diving Courses Relaunched at The Underwater Centre
A subsea training and trials center has become the world’s only commercial diving school to offer a closed bell saturation diving system with a self-propelled hyperbaric lifeboat (SPHL), following a major refurbishment.Thanks to significant investment and support from the global oil and gas sector, The Underwater Centre relaunched its three-week closed bell diving course in June. The first course was fully subscribed and applications are open for future courses.Subsea 7 and TechnipFMC have provided technical support, site supervision and conducted the refurbishment work on behalf of The Underwater
Possible Meteorite Fragments Found in Marine Sanctuary
tsunami.A group of scientists from NOAA, NASA and the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET) working with the 64-meter research vessel E/V Nautilus used an EM302 multibeam sounder and subbottom profiler to first map the site of impact, and then recover parts of the meteorite with the help of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) capable of diving to depths unreachable by human divers. The meteorite debris field was found about 16 miles offshore, lodged in the seafloor's mud and sand, in waters about 350 feet deep.Dr. Marc Fries, NASA’s curator of cosmic dust, said the search – which included the use
High-tech Sensors Advance Tsunami Monitoring
Accurate and long-term measurements of sea level, tidal harmonics and tsunami activity are a growing requirement to address global coastal developments and risk mitigation programs. Real-time tsunami monitoring and warning systems are being developed to save lives, model wave propagation and quantify coastal hazards.The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) has recently taken delivery of five new RBRquartz³ BPRs (bottom pressure recorders) from oceanographic instrumentation manufacturer RBR for a long-term research program with the Insitu Marine Laboratory for Geosystems Research (iMARL).
Defense Research and Development Canada Upgrades its AUV
Defense’s (DND) science and technology organization, Defense Research and Development Canada (DRDC), under the Built in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP).The systems, which are supplied with a specialized Subsea Processing Unit (SPU), will be installed on a shallow-water IVER Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and a 5,000m depth-rated ISE Explorer AUV.The SCM system works by running a simple AUV calibration routine at the beginning of the mission and using it to compute a suite of coefficients that can correct the data in real-time. The software then outputs the raw magnetic vectors and total field
Ocean Robots Gather Live Data from Volcano Lava Flow
Two high-tech autonomous ocean robots have been deployed to capture live ocean data close to where lava is flowing into the ocean from Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano.By using Liquid Robotics’ unmanned Wave Gliders, scientists have the rare opportunity to study the effects of the lava entering the ocean, the plume it creates and the interactions of the lava and seawater directly from the surface of the ocean. Scientists note that very few volcanic eruptions and lava flows have ever been monitored in real time from the ocean.Over a three-week mission, the long-duration wave and solar powered Wave
Ocean Infinity to Charter Island Pride
Ocean Infinity announced it has agreed to a seven-year contract with Island Offshore for the charter of vessel Island Pride.Ocean Infinity said the ship will expand its platform for autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) data acquisition and analysis and support a variety of operations globally.Island Pride is a multi-functional subsea support and construction vessel of UT 737 design. The vessel is 103 meters in length with a beam of 21 meters and free deck space of 880m2. It is equipped with deep water crane and two work-class remotely operated vehicles (ROV).“Given our success in the market and
JW Fishers Showcases Tech for Firefighters
Present day fire departments not only fight fires, but also answer medical calls, conduct rescue missions, assisting in evidence recovery, and execute underwater search operations. Underwater equipment manufacturer JW Fishers Manufacturing provides tools for fire departments across the globe.In April of 2018, JW Fishers attended the annual Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) in Indianapolis, Indiana. The first conference was held in 1929 in Chicago and was organized to discuss training measures, standards and firefighting best practices. By 1939, attendance had reached a high of 247 people
M2 Subsea Secures $13.3 Mln in Projects
Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) services provider M2 Subsea said it has secured contracts worth more than £10 million ($13.3 million) over the past six months.The company, which has bases in Aberdeen and Houston, has conducted more than 10 projects across the oil and gas and renewable markets. M2 Subsea’s fleet of ROVs have been mobilized across the globe for contracts in the North Sea, Southern North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, India and the Middle East with workscopes ranging from inspection surveys to leak detection studies.Building on several renewable projects in 2017, the firm also secured
Elon Musk Sends Submarine to Aid Thai Cave Rescue
Billionaire inventor Elon Musk has sent a “kid-size submarine” to aid rescuers working to save a Thai soccer team that has been trapped in a flooded cave for more than two weeks.A team of Thai and international divers began rescue attempts this weekend and have so far freed eight boys, while another four and their coach face their 17th night trapped on a ledge more than two miles inside the flooded Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex.“Mini-sub arriving in about 17 hours. Hopefully useful,” Musk said in a tweet Sunday. “If not, perhaps it will be in a future situation.”&l
Subsea Robotics for Renewables
using welded nodes, will also present inspection challenges, says the OWA.In addition, currently 70% of subsea power cable failure modes cannot be monitored in-situ, inhibiting accurate health monitoring, says the HOME Offshore group. “By integrating technologies, such as autonomous underwater vehicles and advanced sonar technology, we will gain a new insight into the condition of these subsea assets,” says Dr David Flynn, director of the Smart Systems Group at Heriot-Watt University, and a member of the HOME Offshore group.There’s going to be a large market to address. Some 3.1 GW
ROVOP Reports Record Year
ROVOP Limited, an independent operator of underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), has marked a major business achievement after reporting record revenues and employee numbers for the company. ROVOP has also reported its best ever EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes Depreciation and Amortization). ROVOP Limited, the UK trading business of ROVOP, last year boosted its turnover by 39% to £19.7m ($26m), despite very challenging market conditions and continued pricing pressure, while its EBITDA increased 50% from the prior year level of £4.8m ($6.3m)to a record £7.2m ($9.
Oceanscan Invests in Sonardyne Acoustics
ideal for nearshore operations being run from vessels of opportunity and for construction barges that need survey grade positioning performance, without the cost and complexity of a deep water USBL system. Oceanscan’s new Mini-Ranger 2 systems are likely to be employed tracking remote operated vehicles (ROVs), side scan sonars and magnetometers for use in offshore wind construction, including unexploded ordnance (UXO) survey and debris clearance
Hydroid's Most Compact AUV Ever Produced
When scientists and engineers at Hydroid set themselves the task of designing one of the most compact autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) ever produced, they collaborated with Nortek to provide high-quality navigational equipment capable of fitting such a small form factor. Hydroid has built on REMUS AUV technology – first developed at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts – to become a leading manufacturer of trusted, field-proven lightweight AUVs for underwater search and survey. Acquired by Norwegian technology firm Kongsberg Maritime in 2008, the
JFD Completes First Phase of Open Sea Trials of its DSRV
JFD, part of James Fisher and Sons plc, completed the first open sea launch, dive and recovery of the deep search and rescue vehicle (DSRV) for the first of two 3rd Generation Submarine Rescue Systems being delivered to the Indian Navy, the company announced.The DSRV completed a full launch deployment, dive and recovery in open sea, replicating the operating conditions of a real submarine rescue operation. The completion of this phase of open sea trials represents a significant milestone in the ongoing delivery and acceptance of the 3rd Generation Submarine Rescue System, which is grounded in a
Aquabotix Scores USN Funding
funding from the United States Navy’s Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) to deliver a solution geared towards unexploded ordnance missions for the United States Navy. After delivery, this solution will be incorporated into Aquabotix’s key product SwarmDiver or other unmanned underwater vehicles manufactured by Aquabotix, to support unexploded ordnance detection missions by the United States Navy and allied forces. Ordnance that was disposed of or did not explode when deployed in previous conflicts poses a risk of detonation, even decades later, and is found in shallow waters across
