PGS Sells OptoSeis to Geospace Technologies
Norwegian marine geophysical company PGS said it has sold its OptoSeis fiber optic sensing technology business to Houston based Geospace Technologies.The transaction includes an initial cash payment at closing of $1.8 million, plus contingent cash payments of up to an additional $23.2 million over a five-and-a-half year earn-out period. Contingent payments will be derived from revenues generated from products and services utilizing the acquired fiber optic technology."After reorganizing during the fourth quarter 2017, we started exploring opportunities to divest our non-core OptoSeis technology
Rovco Grows Its Team
Remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) and hydrographic survey company Rovco said on Wednesday that it has established a dedicated business development team to support its growth plans as it looks to increase its presence in key international markets.Brian Allen, CEO of Rovco, said, “The expansion of our business development team is in direct response to increased activity across both the oil and gas and renewable energy sectors, and is a key step forward in our ambitious plans to increase our workforce over the next 12 months.Paolo Cattaneo, Brett Laurenson and Alex Pretty collectively
Two MVP30-350 Systems for Geological Survey of Ireland
The Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) has purchased new Moving Vessel Profilers (MVP) in a move that aims to improve the productivity, safety and data quality of survey operations, Canadian manufacturer AML Oceanographic announced.The two MVP30-350 systems were ordered for installation aboard a pair of 16-meter survey catamarans that will help complete a large scale project to map all Irish waters by 2026. GSI is working on the project in partnership with the Marine Institute of Ireland under the joint program INFOMAR.The first of the two systems was commissioned aboard RV Mallet in November 2018
Subsea Vision & Photogrammetry Lab Formed
Offshore robotics company FORSSEA ROBOTICS chose GMS as main technical partner to certify its real-time visual positioning technologies. A joint laboratory will be created to develop a common offer covering camera calibration, subsea image treatment and innovative photogrammetry solutions.FORSSEA ROBOTICS decided last year to adapt its Atoll ROV embedded visual docking technology into a stand-alone product. The company was already manufacturing and commercializing underwater cameras, mainly for R&D underwater vision applications.The so-called V-LOC (Visual LOCalization) technology has been designed
Oil Removed from WWII Era Shipwreck
A U.S. Navy led team has removed 229,000 gallons of oil from a sunken World War II era German heavy cruiser that has been resting on the seafloor near the Marshall Islands for more than 70 years.After being transferred to the U.S. as a war prize, the cruiser Prinz Eugen was loaded with oil and cargo and used to assess survivability of warships during the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests in the Pacific. The ship survived two atomic blasts before being towed to Kwajalein Atoll, where it capsized and sunk in December 1946.Now, 72 years later, a project team led by Stephanie Bocek of the Navy's
Artificial Intelligence Aids Subsea Object Detection
A developer of real-time 3D sonar technology and real-time subsea intelligence has launched a new product that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically detect and recognize distinct underwater objects.Coda Octopus announced Tuesday that it is launching the initial product of its AI-based Automatic Object Detection (AOD) software product series, the Survey Engine Automatic Object Detection Package (SEADP), which enables geophysicists to automatically accomplish the previously painstaking and costly task of manually sifting through data to identify, tag and report on boulders within a seabed
Ridge Hires Sandal as Subsurface Manager
Norwegian offshore consultancy Ridge has appointed Ole Jacob Sandal as subsurface manager, effective November 1, 2018.Sandal possesses extensive international and North Sea experience gained over 20 years in the oil and gas business, with roles ranging from exploration, drilling, corporate management and business development, combined with. He brings to the role a broad technical background, with a masters in petroleum geophysics and geology from University of Bergen, and a large national and international network within oil and gas business, research and finance.In connection with this appointment
OPT Rolls Out New Products
.(Photo: OPT)Subsea batteries create a sea floor energy storage solution for remote offshore operations. These subsea batteries use lithium ion batteries (often replacing traditional lead acid batteries) to supply power that can enable subsea equipment, sensors, communications and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) and electric remotely operated vehicles (eROV) recharge. OPT’s PB3 PowerBuoy is complimentary to subsea batteries by providing a means for recharging during longer term deployments, or the batteries can be used independently for shorter term deployments. Ideal for many remote offshore
Construction Starts on OSU's Research Ship
Construction of a new Oregon State University (OSU) bound research ship that will advance the science of coastal environments, and support research on topics such as ocean acidification, hypoxia, and sea level rise, officially began today at Gulf Island Shipyards in Louisiana.Officials from OSU the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Gulf Island Shipyards LLC gathered at the shipyard in Houma, La. for the keel-laying ceremony, marking the start of fabrication of the state-of-the art ship. The ship will be the first in a class of Regional Class Research Vessels funded by the NSF.During the ceremony
UK Hydrographic Office Wins National STEM Inspiration Award
The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has been awarded Highly Commended at the STEM Inspiration Awards, in recognition of their outstanding commitment to encouraging young people into science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers.According to a press statement, held at the House of Lords on November 1, and attended by guests across industry, education and government, the STEM Inspiration Awards, organised by STEM Learning, celebrated the work of individuals and organisations in inspiring young people into STEM careers. Finalists in the large employer category included Nissan, Just Eat, Legrand
Ocean Infinity Orders Five HUGIN AUVs
Hydrographic and geophysical survey company Ocean Infinity has placed three separate orders for a total of five Kongsberg Maritime HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Systems, increasing its inventory to 15.Kongsberg Maritime said the AUVs are supplied with its latest generation HISAS 1032 synthetic aperture sonar, giving Ocean Infinity a total of six HUGINs with the ability to deliver high resolution imaging in its fleet.HISAS generates high resolution range independent imagery and full swath bathymetry. Coupled with the other sensors on board, the HUGIN AUVs produce a data set including HISAS
New Research Vessel Ordered for Belgium
Spanish shipbuilder Freire is constructing a new oceanographic research vessel for Belgium. The IMO polar code compliant vessel will be designed to carry out research and survey tasks in the North Sea and its adjacent sea areas, but also in the Mediterranean and more northern areas.The research vessel will cater for the requirements of the Belgian marine scientific community when performing advanced marine research and education at sea – today and in the coming years. This will include research within the fields of geology and sedimentology, fisheries, biology, chemistry, oceanography (including
N-Sea Expands Its Middle East Capabilities
Inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) subsea services provider N-Sea said it has reinforced its commitment to the Middle East with expanded its service capabilities in the region.N-Sea, which opened its regional office in Dubai in 2016, said its TUP (transfer under pressure) Diving System has recently arrived in the Middle East for refurbishment and work in the regionDesigned and built in-house by N-Sea, the TUP Diving System is a mobile, surface-oriented closed bell diving system comprising a three-man bell, launch and recovery system, triple lock decompression chamber and gas diver control
Newport News Awarded $197 Mln for Submarine Work
U.S. shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced Tuesday that its Newport News Shipbuilding division has been awarded a $197 million modification to a previously awarded contract from General Dynamics Electric Boat to provide long-lead-time material and advance construction activities for the first Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine.The advance procurement funds will be used to purchase major components and commodity material and to begin advance construction on Columbia (SSBN 826). Newport News is a major subcontractor for the construction of the new class of ballistic-missile
Teledyne CARIS Unveils Bathy DataBASE 5.2
Teledyne CARIS has released Bathy DataBASE 5.2, which introduces enhanced tools for validating and creating chart features from lidar surveys as well as new bathymetry compilation techniques.This latest version includes an updated workflow process found in BASE Editor designed for performing both quality control and feature set building from lidar data. Bring LAS/LAZ data into the BASE Editor environment to assess quality, adjust classification, and compare against other sources. Identify relevant features in the point data and imagery, and easily model as S-57 features directly in the area-based
Next-Gen Autonomous Survey Vessels
Fugro has signed a joint development agreement with autonomous vessel technology firm L3 ASV to create the next generation of autonomous vessels for the commercial survey market.The partnership brings together the expertise of both companies for the joint development of a variety of fit-for-purpose unmanned surface vessels (USVs). Delivery of the first USV, designed for medium- to large-scale hydrographic survey applications, is scheduled for Q2 2019.“We believe that over time a significant portion of our marine business can be optimized through the use of autonomous and remote technology
Kreuz Glorious Mobilized for ONGC Project
Singapore-headquartered subsea services business Kreuz Subsea and Indian consortium partner Seamec Ltd completed the mobilization of the Kreuz Glorious vessel to commence a two-year project with India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).The scope of work includes the inspection of 27 offshore jackets in the Mumbai High North, Mumbai High South, Heera, Neelam and Bassien assets, located off the coast of Mumbai in the Arabian Sea.The construction work barge is specifically designed to work around complex jackets which are often inaccessible by more traditionally utilized DP2 diving vessels.
Second Harbor Regeneration Deployment for OSIL Buoy
A turbidity monitoring buoy built by OSIL is to be re-deployed by BAM Construction on a further dredging project in Ireland.The buoy was originally purchased as part of a network to monitor the dredging activity for the new Bantry Harbor Marina (Cork, Ireland), part of the €8.5 million ($9.6 mln) Bantry Inner Harbor Redevelopment project, which was completed recently, and the buoy will now be deployed to another BAM project having completed a full system check at OSIL.The 0.7m Small Field Buoy can easily be deployed from a small boat by hand, and will now be monitoring continuous dredging in a
Underwater Glider Goes Searching for North Atlantic Right Whales
. In 2017, 12 individuals of this endangered species died in the Gulf, likely as a result of ship strikes and entanglements in fishing gear.The 1.5-meter-long Slocum glider is a buoyancy driven underwater drone that rises and dives in the water to propel itself forward while gathering data. Onboard the vehicle, the OceanObserver system records the underwater sounds while running seven automated cetacean detectors that flag possible marine mammal calls. The glider comes to the surface every three hours to send the flagged events to shore. JASCO’s analysts review the events and send the confirmed
Technology Helps Fight Red Tide Threat
As ocean temperatures continue to rise, algae and other microorganism blooms are becoming more frequent and severe, affecting seafood production globally.In recent years, outbreaks of harmful microalgae Alexandrum cantenella, better known as Red Tide, have threatened to shut down the critical salmon export market in Chile.The government of Chile, through its Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism’s National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca), last month released procedures for well-boat operators and fish processors to implement and validate systems to inactivate the Alexandrum
USCG, NOAA Rescued an Entangled Whale
An entangled whale off the coast of California was rescued with the help of the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).NOAA personnel contacted Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders at approximately 8 a.m., on Monday, requesting assistance in locating a whale that had become entangled off the coast of Santa Cruz.The Coast Guard launched the Monterey-homeported 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat Hawksbill to search for the whale, while a helicopter crew was dispatched and located the whale approximately three miles southwest of Santa Cruz.Once on scene, the
Voices: Jill Zande, MATE II
Jill Zande, President and Executive Director at MATE Inspiration for Innovation (MATE II) was featured in last month’s MTR 100 as a top 10 ocean influencer. This month in MTR we present our full interview with Zande on the importance of attracting the next generation to a career in the oceans.How did you come to a career at MATE?As a research associate at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL), I thought that the only next step for me career-wise was to go back to graduate school, get a Ph.D., have a lab and take on graduate students. I saw the academic, Ph.D. path as my only realistic option; but I
Kraken Awarded $1 Million Defense Contract
Kraken Robotic Systems Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Kraken Robotics Inc., has recently received a sonar signal processing software contract valued at approximately $1 million dollars from an international defense contractor. The 12-month contract is with a new customer and will be supported by Kraken’s recently established Acoustic Signal Processing Group.Kraken aid it is targeting additional international opportunities in this segment and sees major opportunities within the upcoming Canadian Underwater Warfare Suite Upgrade, the Canadian Surface Combatant program and other international
US Destroyer Wreckage Discovered off Remote Alaskan Island
in undersea technology, many developed by the Office of Naval Research, are helping to reveal the forgotten histories of long-ago valor.After multibeam sonar mounted to the side of the research ship Norseman II identified a promising target, the team sent down a deep-diving, remotely operated vehicle to capture live video for confirmation. “There was no doubt,” said expedition leader Eric Terrill, an oceanographer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and co-founder of Project Recover. “We could clearly see the broken stern, the gun and rudder control, all consistent with
Fugro Advances Bathymetric Lidar Mapping Capabilities
Fugro is introducing a new bathymetric lidar system that delivers industry-leading depth penetration and point densities for nearshore and coastal mapping. Known as RAMMS (Rapid Airborne Multibeam Mapping System), the field-proven technology promises to deliver an efficient and cost-effective solution, dramatically improving upon other bathymetric lidar mapping capabilities.“Traditional bathymetric lidar technology requires customers to compromise between price, depth penetration and data density,” said Ed Saade, president of Fugro USA and regional director for Fugro’s Marine Division
