GD to Take Next Step in 'Knifefish' Development

General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems completes the critical design review for 'Knifefish', the surface-mine countermeasure unmanned undersea vehicle (SMCM UUV). Knifefish is an essential component of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) mine countermeasure (MCM) mission package, providing U.S. Navy commanders and sailors with enhanced mine-hunting capabilities. The General Dynamics team will now…

NTSB to Search for El Faro’s Voyage Data Recorder

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it will initiate a second search expedition to the wreckage of sunken El Faro in an effort to gather further evidence in its investigation of the loss of the containership, which sank in the Atlantic during Hurricane Joaquin on October 1, 2015. A key objective of the mission, which is expected to begin in April and last about two weeks, is to locate…

Seafloor Systems Launches Hydrographic Survey ASVS

Seafloor Systems has launched its line of autonomous surface vehicles (ASV) developed for hydrographic survey applications. The EchoBoat-ASV is a multi-payload, remotely and autonomously controlled survey boat, featuring portability, improved thrust and large payload capacity. The HyDrone-ASV is a remotely and autonomously controlled singlebeam survey catamaran platform for bathymetric surveying. Seafloor’s range of ASV’s combine workhorse utility and capability with modern…

NOAA to Boost Arctic Nautical Charting

NOAA plans increased 2015 Arctic nautical charting operations, coordinating with U.S. As commercial shipping traffic increases in the Arctic, NOAA informs it is taking steps to update nautical charts in the region. NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey will use data collected by two of its own ships, Rainier and Fairweather, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy and a private sector hydrographic contractor to cover nearly 12…

Proserv Unveils Global R&D Subsea Technology Hub

Rapidly growing international energy services company Proserv officially launched a global research and development (R&D) hub in Norway to design innovative subsea controls and communications technologies. This new group strengthens Proserv’s evolving international infrastructure in support of its subsea production systems business which includes facilities in the U.K. providing subsea systems test…

Deep Ocean Engineering Debuts the Phantom L6 ROV

San Jose, Calif. based Deep Ocean Engineering, Inc. has introduced its newest addition to the Phantom series of inspection-class remotely operated vehicles (ROV), the Phantom L6. “The PhantomL6 is our latest entry into the 500m inspection class ROV arena. It comes equipped with active roll stabilization and heading gyro stabilization, allowing the pilot to control with precision, while minimizing exhausting, repetitive movement.

Kongsberg Technology for Pioneering Spirit

Following its inauguration ceremony in Rotterdam on February 27, 2015, Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit will start its first job offshore Norway this summer with an integrated Dynamic Positioning (DP) and manoeuvring system based on state-of-the art Kongsberg Maritime technology. The Kongsberg Maritime delivery includes forward and aft bridge systems in addition to an extensive automation network and the HiPAP subsea position reference system.

Cyber-Attacks New Threats for Maritime Sector

Inadequate protection against cyber risks is becoming a major threat to the maritime sector, increasingly interconnected and dependent from automation. Ports and ships have become target of hackers. Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) says that cyber risks a growing concern in shipping sector, particularly around e-navigation. The IT risk is now beginning in this area, but soon ports and ships could become attractive targets for hackers…

Fugawi Announces Android Support Via Pathaway

Northport Systems Inc., creators of Fugawi X-Traverse, and Muskoka Tech Inc., developers of PathAway GPS navigational, mapping and tracking software for mobile smartphones and tablets, announced today greatly expanded chart support for Android mobile devices. With the latest version of PathAway for Android, users with a Fugawi X-Traverse Cloud Passport now have access to 82 different product offerings including the latest in marine charts, weather information, and topographic maps.

NSWC Team Honored for Robotics Work

Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division's (NSWC IHEODTD) Advance EOD Robotic System (AEODRS) team received a 2014 Defense Standardization Program (DSP) Outstanding Achievement Award during a ceremony held at the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes, March 25. This annual award recognizes individuals and teams that through standardization have made significant improvements in quality, reliability, readiness, cost reduction and interoperability.

Marine Industry Employs Boat Towed Detectors

Many marine service companies are acquiring boat-towed metal detectors and magnetometers to assist in salvage operations and geophysical surveys. These devices can locate a variety of targets including sunken vessels, ship anchors and propellers, pipelines, cables and metal debris which must be removed from an area before dredging. The two primary pieces of equipment used in these operations are a magnetometer and the pulse induction (PI) metal detector.

Coast Guard Helps Deploy Seismic Sensors in Southeast Alaska

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Maple worked with scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey to deploy 12 seismic sensors along the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault, northwest of Craig, Alaska. The team placed the ocean-bottom seismometers along a 28-mile section of the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault to improve understanding of recent earthquake activity and associated seismic and tsunami hazards in Southeast Alaska coastal communities.

Why Did the El Faro Sink?

On October 1, 2015, the 790-foot cargo ship El Faro sank near the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin. All 33 crew members died in the tragedy. The ship was equipped with a voyage data recorder, or VDR, that could reveal clues to understand what happened, but it was lost in the depths. The VDR was mounted on the mast on the ship’s navigation bridge. A search expedition mounted in October located the wreck and discovered that the bridge had separated from the hull.

Deepwater Technology Integration Key Says Petrobas

Petrobas's Solange da Silva Guedes stresses importance of integrating companies that operate in deepwater oil & gas fields with universities and suppliers. The Petrobas executive manager for production engineering highlighted this aspect in a presentation to more than 250 at the first day of the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston. "The collaboration with universities from around the world…

Singapore's Triyards Introduce New HPHT Jack-up Design

Triyards Holdings now able to design & build its own proprietary drilling jack-up rigs and self-elevating units (SEUs). The new design is for the Premium Class 400 HPHT (High Pressure, High Temperature) drilling jack-up rig, the TDU-400. The TDU-400 is designed to withstand up to 100-knot winds while satisfying wave criteria for global deployment. Able to provide accommodation for up to 220 personnel…

Mariscope Introduces New ROV to South America and Europe

In cooperation with the Kentucky-based company Acamar Maritime Solutions, LLC, Mariscope has developed the new McClean ROV cleaning system. The McClean is the first ROV with rotational heads using cavitation jetting technology to clean many types of underwater structures. During the official presentation carried out in March, 2013, in the city of Puerto Montt, Chile, Chuck Phillippe from ACAMAR and Christian Haag from Mariscope demonstrated the potentials of the system.

US to Deploy Unmanned 'Ghost Ships' to Track Submarines

To keep track of increasingly stealthy Russian, Chinese, and Iranian submarines, the U.S. is building a robotic ghost ship - an unmanned, autonomous patrol ship - to follow them around the high seas. Called the Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), the ships will detect and track diesel-powered subs, trailing from an observable distance, reports the Sputnik. Set to drift in the high seas, the robotic Sea Hunter will silently follow potentially hostile submarines.

Ulstein Delivers Fourth PSV in PX121 Series

Ulstein Verft delivered Blue Thunder, the fourth of six medium-sized platform supply vessels of the PX121 design from Ulsteinto Blue Ship Invest, on Monday, May 13, 2013. Owned by Blue Ship Invest, a wholly-owned company in Ulstein Group, the platform supply vessel (PSV) is commercially and technically under the management of Atlantic Offshore. Blue Thunder will enter a four-month contract with Statoil, with four monthly options.

Statoil Opens Research Center in Norway

Tord Lien, Minister of petroleum and energy, opened Statoil’s new research center for improved oil recovery (IOR) at Rotvoll in Trondheim, Norway. Lien and the mayor of Trondheim officially opened the IOR center. Lien commented, “The NCS is a workplace for the future, the resources are utilized in a sustainable manner and the recovery rate is record high, which benefit the employees and the financing of the Norwegian welfare state.

Keppel FELS Delivers Second Jackup Rig to Oro Negro

Keppel FELS delivered a second KFELS B Class jackup rig to offshore Mexican oil field services company, Integradora de Servicios Petroleros Oro Negro. Named Laurus at Keppel FELS today, the rig was delivered eleven days early and with a perfect safety record, Keppel noted. Laurus is the second of two high-specification jackup rigs that Keppel FELS has built for Oro Negro which will be chartered to PEMEX, Mexico's national oil company, for deployment in offshore Mexico.