Autonomous Vehicle Maps the Arctic Seafloor

Far above the Arctic Circle, an autonomous surface vehicle set out to map the seafloor in an effort to improve nautical charts in areas where there is scarce data and vessel traffic is increasing.A team of engineers and students from the University of New Hampshire’s (UNH) Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, together with personnel from NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, recently returned from an Arctic…

Project to Enable Autonomous Navigation in Denied Environments

A new project involving leading ship technology companies aims to help unmanned autonomous vessels navigate, even when they lose access to global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). The project will combine underwater positioning systems from Sonardyne International Ltd. and Guidance Marine Limited’s relative surface positioning systems into one integrated solution to enable vessels to maintain safe…

Eni Debuts ‘Clean Sea’ Technology

Eni’s Clean Sea technology: from research laboratories to industrial application in the Mediterranean and West Africa. Clean Sea, proprietary technology designed by Eni's research laboratories, will be used for the first time for marine environmental monitoring and offshore asset inspection in the Mediterranean region and West Africa. Clean Sea is the result of one of Eni’s most recent research and development projects, focusing on environmental characterization and protection.

Teledyne Optech to Bring Bathymetry Solutions to OI

Teledyne Optech announced that it will be taking its most powerful and flexible surveying tools to London, England for Oceanology International 2016 on March 15-17. Members of Teledyne Optech’s science and engineering team will be at stand F100 to explain the full capabilities of these tools and show how they can help governments, businesses and researchers to monitor the coastal environment quickly and accurately.

SeeByte and ASV Partner on Maritime Autonomy

SeeByte, a creator of smart software technology for unmanned systems, and ASV, a supplier of Unmanned and Autonomous Marine Systems, have formed a commercial partnership where the two companies will collaborate to bring new advanced capabilities and solutions to the field of maritime autonomy. This agreement sees SeeByte and ASV build upon previous collaborative work to develop the next generation…

Havyard Cancels Subsea Newbuild

Norwegian shipbuilder Havyard Ship Technology AS reports the cancelation of an order for an advanced subsea vessel placed by an undisclosed "international shipping company" in June last year. The unidentified shipowner has cancelled its contract "in light of the continuing challenges in the offshore market internationally”, says a company statement. Back in October last year, Havyard said that delivery of the vessel (newbuilding 123)…

IMO Type Approval for Gyro Compass with INS

Kongsberg Maritime received IMO Type Approval (Wheelmark) for its MGC R3 COMPASS system. The gyro compass fits well into the range of offerings from Kongsberg for navigation and ship control systems. The MGC R3 COMPASS integrates Kongsberg’s already established Motion Reference Unit (MRU) platform with high-end gyro compass technology, providing a reliable and accurate solution for any navigational purposes.

Van Oord First to Adopt Tritech Gemini

Dutch contracting company, Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors B.V. [Van Oord], have purchased a suite of Gemini 720is multibeam imaging sonars. The Gemini 720is sonars, combined with customized Gemini SeaTec software, will enable Van Oord to automate basic tasks such as monitoring the touchdown point of pipelaying operations on Stingray, the shallow-water pipelay barge; thus eradicating the need to deploy a highly-skilled operator and reducing the overall project time and costs.

Tomorrow’s Gulf Lease Sales Important Even Today - NOIA

“Historically, Central and Eastern Gulf of Mexico lease sales have drawn strong interest from industry; however, a combination of factors – continued low commodity prices, increased Federal regulation, and the Administration’s clear lack of support for domestic fossil fuel production – could result in rather small sales tomorrow, continuing the downward trend witnessed over the past few years. In this tough economic environment…

WHOI Selects Ranger 2 USBL for RV Neil Armstrong

Houston-based subsea technology company, Sonardyne Inc., has announced that its deep water acoustic positioning system, Ranger 2 USBL, has been selected for the U.S Navy’s new oceanographic research vessel, R/V Neil Armstrong. The ship is operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) on behalf of the Navy and replaces the recently retired R/V Knorr vessel which had been in operation since 1970.

Cambla: Soft Solutions for Hard Problems

As uncertainty around the fluctuating oil price remains, the industry must continue to evolve. It is more important now than ever that companies search for effective and innovative methods to streamline their processes, in order to adapt to the challenging climate. For those willing to develop technological advancements to meet the needs of the industry, there is still an abundance of opportunities available.

Rolls-Royce Designs UK's New Polar Research Vessel

Cammell Laird has selected a Rolls-Royce design for the U.K.’s future polar research ship, which, when built, will be one of the most advanced scientific maritime vessels ever constructed. Rolls-Royce will also supply machinery and equipment for the vessel in a deal worth $43.6 million. The 128 meter long ship, which will be named RRS Sir David Attenborough, will be built at the modular construction hall at Cammell Laird’s site in Birkenhead on Merseyside.

Wavefront's Intruder Detection Sonar Chosen for Corvettes

Sonar technology company Wavefront Systems has been awarded a contract by global defense company MARSS Group to deliver its Sentinel IDS® (Intruder Detection Sonar) as part of MARSS’s NiDAR surveillance system for a fleet of Corvette-class vessels deployed in South-East Asia.The NiDAR platform will fuse a range of new and legacy sensors – including Wavefront’s Sentinel IDS sonar, navigational radars and infrared cameras – into a single user interface…

Satellite-based Solution Helps to Prevent Ship Groundings in Coastal Waters

Recent incidents of naval and commercial vessels running aground have underscored the inherent risks of operating in shallow and poorly charted coastal waters. A solution from Denver-based TCarta Marine utilizes Earth observation satellites to deliver precise water depth measurements in near-shore areas.“While the exact causes of recent ship groundings off the coasts of Oman, Greenland, and Fiji are under investigation and often complex…

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.

New Fund to Pioneer Marine Data Technologies

Up to £500,000 will be made available for businesses to develop innovative marine data technologies and applications, the European Regional Development Fund, Marine-i, announced.Marine-i is part funded by the EU and was set up to help foster innovation in the marine industry in Cornwall.Professor Lars Johanning of University of Exeter, lead partner within Marine-i, said, “As the maritime industry moves to make better and more productive use of its data…

L3 OceanServer Expands

L3 OceanServer, a developer and manufacturer of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), has recently added 4,700 square feet of space at its headquarters location in Fall River, Mass. This doubles the operational footprint of the business and will accommodate the company’s rapid growth while continuing to leverage its waterfront location for daily vehicle testing and operations. Additionally, a 46-foot research vessel…

Fugro Enables Safer Drilling for BP in Strong Currents

Fugro has provided a spectrum of services to BP Trinidad and Tobago LLC (bpTT) to allow safe drilling and completion of five subsea wells in an area of strong currents. The services include wellhead motion (fatigue) monitoring, metocean measurements and positioning services. The positioning activities were carried out onboard the drilling vessel as well as on the three supporting anchor handling tugs (one tug had subsea acoustic ROV positioning).

Sweden Picks Saab for Anti-Submarine Warfare Training

Defence and security company Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV) for delivery of advanced anti-submarine warfare training, including the autonomous underwater vehicle AUV62 in training configuration. Deliveries will take place during the period 2016-2019. As part of the Letter of Intent (LoI) between Saab and FMV, announced on June 9 2014, and which supports the Swedish Armed Forces’ underwater capabilities for the period 2015-2024…

Kraken, Square Robot Form Robotics Partnership

Kraken Sonar Systems Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kraken Sonar Inc., has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Square Robot, Inc. for the design, manufacture and support of advanced sensors and robotic systems for confined area inspection applications used by the worldwide oil and gas industry. The Boston headquartered Square Robot is a privately-held robotics company recently created by former Bluefin Robotics Corporation executives Eric Levitt, Dr.