Petronas, FASTsubsea Working on 'Low-cost' Subsea Multiphase Pump
Petronas Research, a subsidiary of the Malaysian oil and gas giant Petronas, has joined a joint industry project to develop and test a low-cost, topside-less subsea multiphase pump.The company has signed a contract with FASTsubsea, a joint venture between Aker Solutions and FSubsea, to take part in the project.According to the agreement, Petronas Research will support the development and testing program while FASTsubsea is bringing the product to the market in 2022."Getting this participation from a large operator such as PETRONAS is a significant achievement, not least given current industry
Rovco to Survey Proposed 96MW Floating Wind Farm Site
Subsea survey services and ROV provider Rovco has won a contract to carry out survey work on Erebus, a planned 96MW offshore floating wind farm 45 km off the coast of Pembrokeshire, in the southwest of Wales.Rovco said Monday that Blue Gem Wind, the joint venture between Total and Simply Blue Energy had awarded it the survey contract worth one million pounds.The survey, set to begin in August, will consist of a detailed geophysical and environmental site investigation to assess the seabed and sub-surface conditions at both the wind farm and along the potential cable routes to shore.Hugh Kelly, Project
GeoSpectrum Unveils New Long-range Acoustic Underwater Transducers
kilometers and capable to effectively operate under ice, the C-BASS family of transducers is suitable for a wide range of subsea applications, including communication/transmission from shore or surface units to submarines; divers’ alert and communications; communication with Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) for control/positioning; mine sweeping, as well as augmentation of submarine signatures when transiting in or out of ports or narrow passages.C-BASS transducers are available in a variety of sizes and configurations from the 20 cm diameter configuration that can even fit in a medium UUV up
SMD to Supply ROV for Petrovietnam Subsidiary
U.K.-based Soil Machine Dynamics Limited (SMD) said it has won a multimillion-dollar contract to supply a medium-sized work class remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) to PTSC GEOS & SUBSEA SERVICES CO., LTD., (PTSC G&S), a subsidiary of Petrovietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC). The Quasar is the second of its kind to be ordered by PTSC G&S, nearly a decade after the first ROV was purchased.The Quasar II ROV is capable of survey, construction and drill support operations. Due for delivery in February 2021, the ROV it will work alongside the existing SMD ROV, performing a
Surveyors Map Sunken Liberty Ship off Texas Coast
U.S.-based marine data acquisition services company TDI-Brooks said it recently mapped the Liberty Ship George Vancouver off Freeport, Texas while out on a seabed survey project with the R/V Brooks McCall. The multiple multi-phase geophysical and geotechnical site surveys program consisted of pipeline routing and subsea structures to facilitate route and project design for offshore developers.Equipment used to map the ship was a Teledyne Reson SeaBat T-20 multibeam sonar with integrated Applanix POSMV for Motion. Applying the mesh tools to the multibeam survey shows an example of the shipwreck.Texas
INTERVIEW: Kris Kydd, Head of Robotics, at Total E&P UK; Total’s “Stevie the Robot”
to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by increasing efficiency and reducing the amount of transportation of personnel that will be required. We are also participating in the recently approved OGTC project for accurate remote methane monitoring using beyond visual line of sight (BVLoS) unmanned aerial vehicles.
Florida Current is the Weakest Its Been in a Century
The Florida Current, which forms the start of the Gulf Stream, has slowed over the past century and is the slowest it has been at any point in the past 110 years, a new study reveals.Researchers have developed a method of tracking the strength of near-shore ocean currents using measurements made at the coast, offering the potential to reduce one of the biggest uncertainties related to observations of climate change over the past century.“In the ocean, almost everything is connected,” said Christopher Piecuch, an assistant scientist in the Physical Oceanography Department at the Woods Hole
Cellula Robotics Partners with the NOC to Advance Marine Autonomy
facilities in Burnaby, on the outskirts of Vancouver. It also has a regional office in Aberdeenshire, U.K., which currently concentrates on business development, customer support and project management.Cellula is engaged in three main commercial product development programs, autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) systems, subsea geotechnical systems and bespoke subsea robotics systems engineering and control system products. Cellula have clients across the globe in offshore defense, oil and gas, ocean exploration and renewables markets.Cellula Robotics have worked with the NOC previously, supplying
Fugro ROV Supports North Sea Link Cable Installation
Fugro has completed a contract for Nexans to provide remotely operated vehicle (ROV) survey and monitoring support services to lay the North Sea Link cable through a mountain and along a lakebed in Norway.National Grid NSN Link Ltd and Statnett SF are building an electricity interconnector between Kvilldal in Norway and Blyth in the UK which, on completion, will be the longest subsea interconnector in the world.Fugro, based in the Netherlands, provided survey and monitoring solutions to support the installation of two cables through the mountain between Hylsfjorden and Lake Suldalsvatnet, and along
TGS Makes Surprise $600 Mln Offer for Part of Rival PGS
Seismic surveyor TGS, a supplier of geological data to the global oil industry, on Thursday said it had made an unsolicited cash offer of $600 million for a key part of rival PGS.If successful, the offer to buy PGS's so-called multi-client library would significantly broaden TGS's worldwide geophysical data offering, the company said.PGS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.In addition to spending cash from its current holding, TGS said it will borrow $200 million and also conduct an equity issue to pay for the transaction.While TGS' strategy has been one of
Reach Subsea Adds to Its ROV Backlog
Reach Subsea, Oslo-listed subsea services provider for the offshore energy sector, has added to its contract backlog.The company had in its 1Q 2020 report said that it had secured 750 project days (representing 1,250 ROV days) for the remainder of 2020.In a statement on Wednesday, Reach Subsea said that since the 1Q report, it has, together with cooperation partner MMT Sweden AB, been awarded additional contracts and call-offs under frame agreements for 2020 execution, representing about 250 project days (400 ROV days). The projects involve both inspection, survey, and construction support work
Founding CEO Gillham Steps Down at 2G Robotics
Gilson, 2G Robotics’ Product Development Manager, will take over as Acting General Manager.Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Ontario, Canada, 2G Robotics is a leader in mobile scanning and imaging technologies that improve the speed and accuracy of subsea inspection using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and manned-submersibles.Under Gillham’s leadership, the company pioneered the use of lasers to generate high-density point clouds that help identify small features, defects and collect precision measurements for a variety of survey tasks. 2G Robotics
U.S. Navy, NOAA Strike Deal to Fast-Track Unmanned Maritime Systems
The advent of autonomy in the maritime and subsea space has received a significant boost with the announcement that a pair of U.S. government titans, the United States Navy and NOAA, have inked an deal to jointly expand the development and operations of unmanned maritime systems.“With the strengthening of our ongoing partnership with the Navy, NOAA will be better positioned to transition unmanned maritime technologies into operational platforms that will gather critical environmental data that will help grow the American Blue Economy,” said retired Navy Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D.
Ocean Explorer Finds WWII Submarine off Hawaii
Hawaii.This is the 7th US WWII submarine found by Tiburon Subsea CEO Tim Taylor and his "Lost 52 Project" team. This recent discovery utilized pioneering robotics and methods at the forefront of today's underwater technology. The explorers applied a combination of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV), remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and advanced 4D Modeling photogrammetry.The USS S-35, built at the end of WWI, launched in 1919 and commissioned in 1922 was an active U.S. submarine until March of 1945 and was torpedoed as a target ship on April 4, 1946. During WWII the S-35 made seven
Case Study: Unmanned Tech Narrows Data Gap on Yellow River ... World’s "Most Sediment-laden River"
survey equipment and rent a suitable work boat. Operating on water also poses high risks to personals.Personnel install and debug equipment at the dock. Image: OceanAlphaUnmanned Technology SolutionNot long ago, the Second Topographic Survey Team of the Ministry of Natural Resources used unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned surface vessels to carry out integrated multi-element topographic surveys in the Qiankun Bay section of the Yellow River.The underwater topographic survey was carried out using OceanAlpha's ME120 autonomous surface vessel platform equipping a multi-beam sounding system.The ME120
All American Marine to Build NOAA Research Vessel
Bellingham, Wash. aluminum boat builder All American Marine (AAM) said it has been awarded the contract by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to construct a 50’ aluminum research catamaran for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.The twin-engine Teknicraft Design vessel will be constructed by AAM to USCG Subchapter T standards. The vessel will carry up to 18 personnel on board on a near coastal route. Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary OCNMS) includes 3,188 square miles of marine waters off the rugged Olympic Peninsula coastline. The sanctuary extends 25 to 50
NOAA, Scripps Partner on Unmanned Systems
NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego are partnering to improve how unmanned systems (UxS) are used to collect important ocean observations and augment NOAA’s operational capabilities.The 10-year agreement provides a framework for Scripps and OMAO’s new Unmanned Systems Operations Program to collaborate on specific projects to further UxS research, development and operations.“The operational experience of NOAA’s fleet of ships and aircraft combined with the extensive research and
TDI-Brooks' New Vessel Completes Its First Projects
TDI-Brooks’ newest vessel R/V Miss Emma McCall has recently completed its first projects for the U.S.-based marine data acquisition services company on behalf of Total and Cairn Energy offshore Mexico. TDI-Brooks has the vessel on a long-term bare-boat charter from Cameron Offshore Boats.The 2003-built Miss Emma is a multi-use oceanographic research vessel outfitted for a wide variety of oceanographic research duties for operations in the Northern/Southern Gulf of Mexico (GOM), U.S. East Coast and elsewhere in the Americas. The vessel is equipped to acquire geophysical surveys for offshore
Tech File: Hybrid-Electric Propulsion for Crew-less Vessels
The move to autonomy on the world's waterways is undeniable, with the direction clear, the pace hazy. What is clear is the need for reliable, fuel efficient propulsion, and last month Torqueedo announced a deal to provide hybrid-electric propulsion systems to power XOCEAN’s XO-450 USV, a custom-designed composite wave-piercing catamaran about the length of a typical automobile.XOCEAN is embarked on a mission to to transform the way subsea data is collected, and the three-year-old company based in Ireland provides turnkey underwater data acquisition services with its growing fleet of innovative
Mediterranean Marine Life Flourishes During Lockdown
, the Italian coastguard has found.The strict rules halting business and movement for two months offered an unprecedented opportunity to monitor the impact of human activity on the sea that surrounds Italy.Since April, the coastguard has used water samples, underwater footage filmed by remotely operated vehicles and its own divers, and a census of unusual sightings of marine species close to heavily populated areas to monitor the sea.In the Secche di Tor Paterno, a protected marine reserve 8 km off the coast of Rome, moray eels and colorful fish crowd a forest of gorgonians, or sea fans and corals.&ldquo
Army Corps' Data Driven to Improve Coastal Projects
In a hotel conference room on Long Island, New York, a team of experts are processing data and information on computers. Alongside them is a large display monitor screen that's projecting the information."It's a beautiful thing. On the screen they are able to observe the condition of New York's and New Jersey's coastlines almost in real-time," said Jeffrey Cusano, Geospatial Coordinator, New York District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.The team is the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise. Recently, Cusano and other members of the U.S. Army Corps
Video: New Robotic LARS Put to the Test
over recent weeks off Israel's northern shores. In a series of tests, Sealartec demonstrated its system's capability to perform precise and fully autonomous launch and recovery of an unmanned surface vessel (USV). The recovered boat was a 5-meter deep-v monohull classic design, autonomous vehicle. Sea conditions during trials were as high as sea state 4, with gusting winds.The deployment of unmanned vessels across the maritime domain is escalating at a rapid pace. Unmanned vessels conduct a range of activities including research and surveys, secure marine assets, and supporting oil and gas
Forecasters Expect Busy 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season
U.S. forecasters expect an above-normal 13-19 named storms during the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season from June 1 through November 30, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center said on Thursday.NOAA forecasters estimate three to six major hurricanes packing winds of at least 111 miles per hour may form. The last two years have seen an above-average number of named storms with 18 last year and 15 in 2018. An average hurricane season produces 12 named storms, of which six become hurricanes, including three major hurricanes.The combination of several
Near- or Below-normal Hurricane Season Predicted for Central Pacific
There is a 75% chance of near- or below-normal tropical cyclone activity during the Central Pacific hurricane season this year, according to NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center and NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, divisions of the National Weather Service.The outlook also indicates a 25% chance of an above-normal season.For the season as a whole, two to six tropical cyclones are predicted for the Central Pacific hurricane region. This number includes tropical depressions, named storms and hurricanes. A near-normal season has four or five tropical cyclones.“This year we will
ASI Expands Lidar Portfolio with Teledyne Optech
Teledyne Optech has announced they have signed an agreement with Aerial Surveys International (ASI) to sell a Galaxy T2000, upgrade their existing Galaxy Prime to a Galaxy T2000 and install both sensors in the productivity-doubling G2 Sensor System.This purchase will enhance ASI’s capabilities through the effective 2-million point per second PRF of each Galaxy T2000. Moreover, by combining both sensors on the G2 Sensor System, ASI will bolster their capacity to a true, effective 4 million point per second that provides unmatched point density with the highest available efficiency.The
