Tech File: The Apium Data Diver
The Data Diver is a new type of vehicle: a hand launched gps enabled boat that doubles as a motorized profiling system. With only two moving parts, the vehicles travel at up to 4 knots, reversing motor direction to dive vertically up to 100 meters. Apium developed these vehicles to study swarm control algorithms to perfect the simple and intuitive control of groups. With this swarming ability and the company’s rugged “drive and dive” vehicle architecture, new types of distributed data collection are possible. Apium is currently developing a product based upon this technology, with
Diver Rescued off North Carolina Coast
A diver in distress was rescued by U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) responders off the North Carolina coast on Sunday. Crew members aboard the 25-foot diving boat Under Pressure reported to USCG Sector North Carolina watchstanders in Wilmington, N.C. that a diver had surfaced with shortness of breath and dizziness 35 miles south by southeast of Wilmington. The diver was medevaced by a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and brought to Air Station Elizabeth City where awaiting EMS personnel transferred him to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Va. A video of the medevac is available
Virginia-Class Submarine Indiana Launched
The Virginia-class submarine Indiana (SSN 789) was launched into the James River at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division, the shipbuilder announced. The boat was moved to the shipyard’s submarine pier for final outfitting, testing and crew certification. “Launch is a true testament to our shipbuilders’ roughly four years of hard work,” said Matt Needy, Newport News’ vice president of submarines and fleet support. “Over the next several months, we will work closely with the Indiana crew to bring this great ship to life.
Arctic Council Meeting Stirs Hidden Tensions
As foreign ministers from countries with territory in the far North celebrated an agreement on fighting climate change this week, one topic seethed below the surface: growing competition for Arctic resources and sea lanes as the ice melts. Russia, one of eight members of the Arctic Council which includes the United States, Canada and the Nordic countries, has been pouring money and missiles into the Arctic as well as reopening and building bases there. This is bringing its Arctic military presence to the highest level since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union. Although the Arctic
US Navy Partners with ALFA International
The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport has entered into an agreement with ALFA International Inc. of Woonsocket, R.I. for the commercialization of NUWC XP-1, a high-performance polyurethane developed for protection of marine acoustic and optical equipment. The two-part polyurethane exhibits good hydrolytic stability and acoustic properties while also being optically clear, the manufacturer said. NUWC XP-1 can be cured at room or elevated temperatures in less than 24 hours. “Navy chemists and material scientists first developed the polyurethane known as NUWC XP-1 in the
Seabed Geosolutions Wins Brazil Survey Work
Fugro said its joint venture with CGG has secured a contract from Petrobras for a 3D ocean bottom node (OBN) survey in the Brazilian Santos Basin. The seven month contract awarded to the survey firms’ joint venture Seabed Geosolutions is valued at around $90 million and is scheduled to commence at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017 or early 2018, Fugro said. According to Seabed Geosolutions CEO, Stephan Midenet, the OBN survey is the “industry’s largest ever” and will span more than 1,600 square kilometers. Midenet added that Seabed Geosolution
Liquid Robotics Names Nightengale CFO
Caryn Nightengale, former Director of Corporate Development for Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS), has transitioned from her role at Boeing to join Liquid Robotics as Chief Financial Officer. In her new position, Caryn is responsible for the financial management, information technology, contracts and Global Trade Controls (GTC) departments. She will report directly to Gary Gysin, President and CEO. Nightengale has a background in corporate development, investment banking and financial management. Her career focus has been leading companies through complex organizational transformation
Rising Temperatures Threaten Mediterranean Sea Species
Water temperatures in the northwestern Mediterranean are increasing much faster than global averages, threatening the survival of several species, French researchers said. Weekly water temperature readings by researchers at the Villefranche-sur-Mer oceanography laboratory have shown that Mediterranean surface water temperatures have increased by 0.7 degrees between 2007 and 2015. The researchers, who believe their findings apply to an area that includes Spain, France, and Italy, also said in a note summarising their study that the water's acidity has increased by nearly seven percent.
GoM Rigs Evacuated ahead of Storm Cindy
Facing incoming Tropical Storm Cindy, offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico have begun evacuating platforms and rigs as the storm moves north-westward toward the U.S. Gulf Coast. Data from offshore operator reports submitted to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) as of 11:30 CDT today indicate that personnel have been evacuated from a total of 40 production platforms, or 5.43 percent of the 737 manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Personnel have been evacuated from one rig non-dynamically positioned (DP) rig, equivalent to 6.67 percent of
Wallace Joins Rovco as CTO
U.K.-based subsea company Rovco has appointed Dr. Iain Wallace o its senior management team as chief technology officer (CTO). A former technical lead for the European Space Agency, Wallace will drive the development of a real-time 3D vision system for ROVs and AUVs. He will also explore how artificial intelligence can be used to solve asset integrity issues by extracting actionable information from traditional video survey data. As CTO, he will enhance Rovco’s underwater photogrammetric 3D modeling capabilities utilizing the latest simultaneous location and mapping (SLAM)
DOF Subsea Wins Pipeline Survey Contract
Subsea services provider DOF Subsea said it has recently inked a new contract to undertake the pipeline inspection on the Transmediterranean Pipeline Company Limited (TMPC) Pipeline System in Q3 2017. The scope involves inspection of five submarine pipelines between Sicily and Tunisia and during the scope, DOF Subsea will survey over 750 km of pipeline. DOF Subsea said it will deploy the high specification survey vessel MV Geosund to complete the inspection work scope and pipeline intervention. The latest contract award comes after DOF Subsea completed a similar scope for TMPC in 2014.
Scientists Predict Third Largest GoM ‘Dead Zone’
Larger-than-average low and no oxygen area in Gulf of Mexico may affect the region’s shrimp fisheries This summer’s Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” – an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and other marine life – is forecasted to be approximately 8,185 square miles, or about the size of New Jersey, U.S. federal scientists predict. NOAA said this would be the third largest dead zone recorded since monitoring began 32 years ago – the average Gulf dead zone since then has been 5,309 square miles. The Gulf’s hypoxic or low-oxygen
New Heavyweight Torpedo Enters Final Development
A new torpedo design being developed under the Artémis program, which aims to equip all French Navy nuclear submarines with new high-performance heavyweight torpedoes, has propelled into its final development phase with the recent completion of a successful round of test firing off the Mediterranean coast. The F21 torpedo is being developed by European naval defense and marine renewable energies technology company DCNS, who performed the qualification firing in a secured maritime area under the authority of program leader Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA)
University of Gothenburg Selects HUGIN AUV
The University Of Gothenburg has chosen Kongsberg Maritime’s HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to expand Sweden’s capabilities in the field of marine research using unmanned platforms. The HUGIN, which will be funded by grants from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and managed by a project team with representatives from the University of Gothenburg, Chalmers University of Technology and Stockholm University, will be recognized as a national asset for marine research projects around Sweden and further afield. The University of Gothenburg has chosen a HUGIN configuratio
IMarEST Supports Research into Collaborative Autonomous Fleets
Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST) has awarded its Laurie Prandolini Research Fellowship of AU$14,000 to Fletcher Thompson toward his PhD research project, Project FOX (Fleet Operations and eXpeditions), which aims to “establish distributed intelligence into an autonomous marine vehicle fleet to exhibit collaborative behaviors.” Thompson holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Naval Architecture, and is a PhD candidate at the Australian Maritime College of the University of Tasmania. Greg Hellessey from the IMarEST’s Victoria Branch said that Thompson&rsq
Faroe Islands Looks to Restart Hunt for Oil and Gas
Oil companies are interested in restarting the hunt for oil and gas in the scarcely explored seas off the Faroe Islands neighbouring the more mature UK North Sea, the head of the Faroese Geological Survey said. No economically viable discoveries have been made on the Faroese shelf but the tiny nation hopes to entice energy firms to restart exploration as it shows them new geological data in London on Wednesday. "Oil firms have in many ways shown interest. We are having meetings, they buy data from us, visit us on the Faroe Islands ... So there is an interest and they are looking
The Autonomous Future of Seabed Mapping
just the guidance. “We are passionate about all aspects of seabed mapping and about using the very best technology.” Autonomy in Seabed Mapping 4D Ocean believes that autonomous solutions are far more efficient than traditional methods of mapping. Autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) can be deployed from almost anywhere, with state-of-the-art guidance systems which make for better survey progress, and fewer infill lines. ASVs are not constrained by harbors, so transit times are much reduced, and
SeeByte Wins Belgian Navy Contract
Belgian Navy buys 10 licenses of SeeByte’s SeeTrack software for its AUV fleet SeeByte, creator of smart software for unmanned maritime systems, said it has sold 10 SeeTrack licenses, including personnel training, to the Belgian Navy. SeeTrack will be integrated onto its AUV fleet which will be deployed for Mine Counter Measures (MCM). The software package includes additional specialist modules designed for mine countermeasure (MCM) operations, SeeByte said. These include Automatic Target Recognition (ART), Change Detection Tool, Performance Analysis Training Tool (PATT) and
Scientists Predict Larger ‘Dead Zone’ for Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay’s crabs, oysters and fish are under threat as scientists expect this year’s summer hypoxic or “dead zone” – an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and aquatic life – in the Bay to be larger than usual. Predictions from NOAA, USGS and partners have this year’s dead zone between Maryland and Virginia to reach approximately 1.89 cubic miles – nearly the volume of 3.2 million Olympic-size swimming pools – larger than the 30-year mean maximum volume of 1.74 cubic miles. “Despite this year’s forecast
NOAA Hydrographic Survey Spending in Question
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) needs to improve its strategy for analyzing costs and expanding private sector involvement in collecting hydrographic data, says a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). As one of its many duties, NOAA is tasked with collecting hydrographic data. This data, which is used in helping to create critical nautical charts, is either collected using NOAA’s own fleet of four survey vessels, or acquired through the private sector. Asked by Congress to review NOAA’s hydrographic data collection efforts
All Eyes on Ireland
Dr. Edel O’Connor discusses Ireland’s rapidly expanding subsea industry. Ireland’s ocean economy is a growing and vibrant part of the overall Irish economy, with up to 9 percent blue growth reported over recent years. The vision set out in the Irish Government’s ‘Our Ocean Wealth’ strategy has ambitious targets to increase the turnover from the country’s ocean economy to exceed €6.4 billion by 2020 and to double the value of its ocean wealth to 2.4 percent of GDP by 2030. Ireland’s GDP from the marine sector at 0.8 percent represents
UK, France, US Sign Trilateral Submarine Agreement
Naval leaders from the United Kingdom, France and the United States signed an agreement June 1, designed to increase coordination for anti-submarine warfare activities of the three countries as they operate in the 5th Fleet area of operations. Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) Vice Adm. Kevin M. Donegan signed the trilateral agreement with Vice Adm. Louis-Michel Guillaume, commander, French Submarine and Strategic Oceanic Forces (ALFOST) and Rear Adm. Robert K. Tarrant, commander, Operations of the Royal Navy, at Donegan's headquarters in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Missing WW II Bombers Found on the Seafloor
Latest discovery follows successful identification and documentation of five missing World War II aircraft in 2016 Two B-25 bombers associated with American servicemen missing in action from World War II were recently documented in the waters off Papua New Guinea by Project Recover—a collaborative team of marine scientists, archaeologists and volunteers who have combined efforts to locate aircraft and associated MIAs from World War II. The B-25 bomber is one of the most iconic airplanes of World War II, with nearly 10,000 of the famous warbirds conducting a variety of missions&md
Klein Marine Systems: Side Scan Sonar Training
Side scan sonar systems manufacturer Klein Marine Systems will host a three-day side scan sonar training course at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye Beach, N.H., with practical sessions on UNH Gulf Challenger, based in Newcastle, N.H. Participants will develop a thorough understanding of sonar image analysis as well as get hands-on experience with single beam sonars such as the dual-frequency Klein 4900 and the high-speed, Multi-Beam Klein 5000 V2. The course, to be held June 20-22, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., is geared toward hydrographers, first responders, police and firefighters
Anti-Submarine Warfare: Unmanned Future
being conducted from this platform has as its goal the development of cheaper, smarter solutions to give the nations a greater range of options in setting requirements for future ASW capability. Two of the CMRE’s most valuable assets are their sophisticated autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), capable of operating with a degree of independent decision-making abilities. The CMRE is working to give the AUVs the capability to listen, to evaluate and to signal the presence of submarines to operators in the command and control center. Like the increasingly used unmanned
