New Partnership Strengthens US-Australia Subsea Tech Research

Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport and Flinders University of Adelaide, Australia, signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) on Oct. 25 to foster new technologies in support of AUKUS, the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.The CRADA marks a significant step forward in advancing collaborative research between the U.S.

ABB Power System for World’s Largest Diamond Recovery Vessel

The world's largest, and first custom-built, diamond recovery vessel, to be owned by Debmarine Namibia, will feature an advanced power system by the Swiss company ABB.The vessel is being built by Damen at Damen Shipyards Mangalia on the Black Sea in Romania. The newbuild will be delivered to Debmarine Namibia, a joint venture between the Government of the Republic of Namibia and De Beers Group in 2022.

US Aims to Improve Ocean Observations with $2.7 Million for New Robotic Floats

NOAA and the Department of Commerce on Wednesday announced that $2.7 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) will be used to replenish and expand an important array of robotic floats in the Argo program that measure ocean and climate data.The Argo array is made up of a fleet of robotic instruments that measure temperature and salinity in the global ocean, drifting freely with the currents.

Partners Secure DEFRA Backing to Improve Marine Biodiversity Monitoring

A consortium of Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) and hydroacoustic technology companies consisting ACUA Ocean, GeoAcoustics Ltd and Unmanned Survey Solutions (USS) has secured funding under the Defra - Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs - Improving Observation Capabilities of Biodiversity in UK Waters: Phase 2 program. The consortium's demonstration seeks to combine three cutting-edge technologies…

Inverness Schoolchildren Take the Top Prize @ GUH STEM Challenge

Secondary school pupils from across the United Kingdom were in Aberdeen recently for the culmination of an annual nationwide competition organized by Global Underwater Hub. The young students were taking part in the final of the organization’s STEM Challenge competition, which tests the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills of 13 and 14-year-old pupils. The initiative tasks the youngsters to design…

Oceaneering's Hybrid AUV/ROV Achieves TRL 6 For Pipeline Inspection

Subsea services and technology specialist Oceaneering said Monday that its Freedom AUV, has achieved Technology Readiness Level 6 on a 1-9 scale.Oceaneering said that its Freedom, a hybrid AUV/ROV system, is the result of a long-term collaborative relationship between Oceaneering, TotalEnergies, and Chevron dating back to 2014, with Equinor joining the collaboration in 2019. In 2014, Oceaneering began efforts to optimize the delivery of a pipeline inspection service from an AUV.

PLAT-I Operational in Nova Scotia

An innovative tidal energy platform has generated first power from the tidal currents of Grand Passage in Digby County, Nova Scotia.Following a period of commissioning and testing environmental monitoring equipment, Sustainable Marine Energy has satisfied the requirements set out by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans to commence operation of tidal turbines on the PLAT-I platform. Originally developed and tested in Scotland with support provided by Scottish Enterprise…

Scientists See Rising Threat of Coral Bleaching

As unusually warm ocean temperatures cover the north Pacific, equatorial Pacific and western Atlantic oceans, NOAA scientists expect greater bleaching of corals on Northern Hemisphere reefs through October, potentially leading to the death of corals over a wide area and affecting the long-term supply of fish and shellfish. While corals can recover from mild bleaching, severe or long-term bleaching kills corals. Even if corals recover, they are more susceptible to disease.

FAU to Develop Use of USVs for Bridge Inspections

The task of inspecting and maintaining Florida’s network of approximately 11,450 bridges is arduous, especially since so many of the state’s bridges span rivers, canals and saltwater areas. Researchers in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University have received a one year, $187,000 grant from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to research and develop the use of unmanned marine vehicles for on-water bridge inspections.

Osiris Projects Launches New Survey Vessel

Specialist seabed mapping company Osiris Projects has this week launched the fifth vessel in their fleet, the 14m GRP catamaran MV Proteus. Designed to provide an excellent working platform for coastal survey operations, MV Proteus can work up to 60 miles from a safe haven under MCA Category 2 and has a maximum speed of 24 knots. The vessel benefits from a shallow draft of just 1m making her ideal for inshore operations…

Acoustic Pingers Aid Robosub Contestants

The Robosub competition began 18 years ago to advance the development of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV). Cosponsored by the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR), the competition’s goal is to challenge a new generation of engineers to accomplish realistic missions in an underwater environment and get young people excited about careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

UTEC Survey Adds Two Additional Gavia Offshore Surveyors

Teledyne Gavia reported the sale of two additional 1,000m depth rated Gavia Offshore Surveyor Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) to UTEC Survey Inc., (Houston, Texas). UTEC purchased its first Gavia AUV in August 2011 then took delivery of a second vehicle in April 2012. After honing their AUV operations over the past two survey seasons, the company decided to increase the fleet with the purchase of two further vehicles…

SBM Offshore Looks Back Comfortably on 2013

“From a difficult start, 2013 has been a year of achievements. As we close, we are updating the market on further steps that mark SBM Offshore’s progress and our determination to manage our business rigorously and efficiently. We are pleased to announce that the Deep Panuke facility has received Production Acceptance Notice and is formally on hire. This has been a tough project, but its delivery reflects the advances we have made.

MTR100: QPS-US (Quality Positioning Services)

No. QPS are specialists in software solutions for marine spatial data. Software products for efficient data collection, advanced post processing and 4D visualization include QINSy, Qimera and Fledermaus. QINSy is a software suite used for various types of maritime geomatic surveys, ranging from simple single beam surveys up to the very complex offshore construction works.

Seychelles Coast Guard Undergo Enhanced Training

Over the last eight weeks six Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG) divers have been undergoing training conducted by EUCAP Nestor’s experts to enhance their diving and operational capabilities. The course commenced on July 17th and concluded today in Victoria. A closing ceremony for the course was held at the Seychelles Coast Guard base. The focus of activity for this course was the enhancement of the Seychelles…

Lockheed Martin’s Revolutionary AUV

During the OTC Brasil 2013, one of the standout presentations was on the Lockheed Martin Marlin AUV. At first glance it resembles what you’d expect from any top of the line AUV. Yet on closer examination it offers capabilities that may be real game-changers for the industry. After the presentation MTR’s Correspondent in Brazil, Claudio Paschoa spoke to Dan McLeod, Senior Program Manager at Lockheed Martin.

Johan Sverdrup Field Concept Selected

Statoil and the partners in the Johan Sverdrup field have decided on a concept for the first development phase. The partners have agreed on a field center consisting of four installations and power from shore. The partners have decided on power from shore for the Johan Sverdrup field in the first phase, which will reduce total CO2 emissions from the Utsira High area by 60-70%. “This is historic. We have not made a concept selection for a field this size since the 1980s…

HUGIN AUV Chosen for Polish Navy Countermeasures

Remontowa Shipbuilding in Gdansk, Poland, has selected Kongsberg Maritime to supply a HUGIN 1000 MR Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and associated underwater communications and positioning equipment for mine countermeasures (MCM) applications, as part of a minehunter class vessel delivery for the Polish Navy. The HUGIN 1000 MR AUV has been selected as it is specifically designed for MCM operations and can detect, classify and identify mines in a single mission.

iXBlue and Septentrio Create ATLANS-C

iXBlue, a leading provider of navigation, positioning, and mapping solutions, today launched its new ATLANS-C position and orientation system, developed in close cooperation with Septentrio Satellite Navigation. The system is designed to provide continuous and accurate positioning in urban environments, where global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals are obscured, intermittent, or possibly distorted by reflective surfaces.

Polar Onyx Readies for Brazilian Depths

The offshore construction vessel Polar Onyx was delivered on March 4, 2014 from Ulstein Verft to GC Rieber Shipping, as the latest addition to their growing investments into the subsea segment. The vessel’s first assignment will be to work for deepwater projects serving as pipelay support vessel for Petrobras offshore Brazil. The 130-meter long and 25-meter wide Polar Onyx is based on ULSTEIN’s SX121 design…