Getting Defensive

Defense Innovation Days organized by the Southeastern New England Defense Industry Alliance (SENEDIA) promises to bring together an “A List” of speakers and attendees from industry, government and academia for a common mission: for an open discussion on current trends and to engage in discourse on the future of technology and the defense industry. Scheduled for September 3-5 in Newport, RI, Defense Innovation Days promises not only a compelling conference and speaking line-up…

Aker Solutions Wins Order at Zohr Offshore Gas Field

Aker Solutions won a contract to deliver its longest-ever umbilicals system at the Zohr offshore gas field in the Egyptian part of the Mediterranean Sea. The agreement with Petrobel in Egypt is worth more than NOK 1 billion and will be booked in the second quarter. It stipulates the delivery of 180 kilometers of steel tube umbilicals that will connect the Zohr subsea development to an offshore control platform.

Acoustic Technology Company Expands its Reach

St Andrews Instrumentation, one of the UK’s designers and manufacturers of acoustic technologies, has invested in a new headquarters and test center as it advances its global production ambitions, the company announced. The company has taken a lease on two units at Mill Court Industrial Estate in Tayport, Dundee, effectively tripling the size of its premises. The moves comes after three years of research and development and around $1.6 million of investment by the University and the SOI Group.

MTR 100: MMT

No. MMT has surveyed more than 50,000 sq. .km of seabead and more than 5000 km of pipelines. Specializing in high-resolution marine surveys, MMT is one of the world’s leading marine survey companies. It collects, processes and visualizes the conditions of the seabed and the assets on it. Continuously expanding and developing its core skills, it offers assured surveys in bathymetric, geophysical and geotechnical services…

High-tech Dives on an Ancient Wreck

When sponge divers first chanced upon the shipwreck off the Greek isle of Antikythera in 1900, they couldn’t have known that it would become the richest ancient shipwreck ever discovered. But they soon found that this was no ordinary wreck, as they pulled up jewelry, coins, glassware, and life-size bronze and marble statues now housed in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The pièce de résistance was the unique and mysterious Antikythera Mechanism…

Treasure Hunters, GME, Seek Funds For Deepwater Salvage

Florida-based Global Marine Exploration, Inc. (GME) seeks to raise $12 million dollars to continue development of their deep underwater salvage division GME Deep . This effort is the next step in the company's plan to rescue billions in gold and treasure from the ocean depths. GME, in collaboration with world-renowned shipwreck explorer and archaeologist Sir Robert Marx, will be hosting a private investment event in Orlando, Florida.

Gemini Sonar Integrated onto CoPilot Software

SeeByte, creator of smart software for unmanned maritime systems, and Tritech International Limited, a business dedicated to providing imaging and ancillary equipment for use in underwater applications, have integrated the Gemini sonar onto SeeByte’s CoPilot software. The system was demonstrated on Heriot-Watt University’s Seaeye Falcon 1256 ROV in the university’s wave tank facilities. CoPilot provides ROV pilots with a simple point-and-click tool to fly the ROV.

Europe’s Deepest Glider Under Development

Nineteen partners from across Europe have come together to develop Europe’s first ultra-deep-sea robot glider. This glider will be capable of sampling the ocean autonomously at depths of 5000m, and maybe more in the future, for up to three months at a time. This project, which includes the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), has won 8 million Euro of funding from the European Union’s Horizon2020 programme to develop and test this innovative new technology.

Meet The Chatty Scientist

A brand new communication platform aims to help scientist share their research with the world. The new online science communication platform, called The Chatty Scientist, offers interactive resources and modern, flexible training that helps scientists discover the tools to best communicate their research, increase exposure and connect with audiences around the world. The Chatty Scientist is the brainchild of the platform's founder and CEO…

Maersk Drilling Name First Ultra-Deepwater Drillship

The new drillship was named 'Maersk Viking' by Mrs. Nathalie Newman, wife of Mr. Harry E. Newman Jr., ExxonMobil Global Drilling Manager in a ceremony at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in Geoje-Si, South Korea. Maersk Viking is the first in a series of four ultra deepwater drillships to enter Maersk Drilling’s rig fleet. The four drillships represent a total investment of USD 2.6bn and will be delivered from the SHI shipyard in late 2013 and 2014.

Call for Abstracts: Small Distributed Ocean Power

Location: Portsmouth Courtyard Marriott, Portsmouth, N.H. Paper Due Date: October 21, 2016. Welcome Ice-Breaker Reception: Wednesday Nov. Full Day Conference: Thursday Nov. Organizers: MTS Marine Renewable Energy Committee; Maggie Merrill (Marine Marketing Services), Ken Baldwin (UNH) and Cliff Merz (USF/CMS) will lead the effort. The Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative (MRECo), a non-profit organization…

iXblue Offers a Full Range of INS for All AUV Types

With Phins C3, C5 and C7 range, iXblue now provides fully scalable systems that cover all inertial navigation needs for any size of AUV. Based on iXblue’s silent true solid state Fiber-Optic Gyroscope technology, the Phins Compact Family guarantees high accuracy, unrivalled reliability and proved robustness. The iXblue’s Phins Compact Family has been designed to offer the AUV industry players the ability to choose an inertial navigation system adapted to their vehicle…

C-NAV Upgrades DP Vessel Software

C-Nav, a division of C & C Technologies an Oceaneering International Company providing dynamic DGNSS Precise Point Positioning systems, has introduced a newly upgraded version of its C-Scape software. C-Scape provides independent, real-time monitoring of dynamic positioning (DP) systems, while simultaneously providing operations overview of other vessels infield and subsea infrastructures via multilayer AutoCAD files.

MacGregor to Deliver Two Arctic Subsea Cranes

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has received an order for two MacGregor active heave-compensated (AHC) offshore cranes from a Turkish shipyard for a new subsea inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) and construction vessel for a Norwegian owner. A 250 and 15-metric-ton MacGregor subsea crane will be installed on the 129-meter vessek. The 250-metric-ton unit will have its winch installed below the working deck and will also feature wire rope integrity software.

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.

OceanWise Helps to Inform the East Asia Hydrographic Community

Marine data management and GIS specialist OceanWise has delivered its third course on Data Management, Database Design and Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure (MSDI) Capacity Building to the East Asia Hydrographic Commission (EAHC). The course was facilitated and hosted by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and supported by Esri Inc, which undertook the practical elements of the course using Esri’s range of hydrographic production and MSDI software.

Biofouling Foiled: UV Light Harnessed for Biofouling Control

Since the first deployment of in-situ monitoring instrumentation, biofouling has been a problem. Without an effective solution, people have historically had to accept the limits biofouling imposes on ocean sensing work, with significant repercussions. When instrumentation is deployed in-situ, the value of the data taken during the deployment corresponds with the longevity: information gleaned from a longer deployment is often more useful than information from one of a shorter term.

NOAA Orders Newbuild Navigation Response Boats

NOAA today announced that Lake Assault Boats of Superior, Wisconsin, will build two small vessels for the Office of Coast Survey's navigation response program, part of a plan to eventually replace all six of the program's small survey boats. The combined cost of both 28-foot vessels is $538,200. "All of the navigation response team survey boats are nearing or have exceeded their designed service life," said Russ Proctor, division chief of Coast Survey's Navigation Services Division.

New Solution for 3D Subsea Monitoring

Kongsberg Maritime has launched a new solution for the detection of scouring, corrosion, deformation and marine growth, which can destabilize wind turbines and underwater structures causing expensive, and potentially environmentally hazardous damage. On show at WindEnergy Hamburg 2014, the new K-Observer system, which is part of Kongsberg Maritime’s Modular Subsea Monitoring Network (MSM), provides accurate…

AquaPix MINSAS integrated onboard ATLAS SeaCat AUV

Kraken Sonar Inc. wholly-owned subsidiary, Kraken Sonar Systems Inc., has been awarded a contract valued at over C$425,000 ($336,600) by ATLAS ELEKTRONIK Canada to supply and integrate its AquaPix Miniature Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar and Real-Time SAS Signal Processor on the Atlas SeaCat autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). Delivery is expected in September 2017. AquaPix is designed for operation on AUVs and towed platforms.